From capturing Jacob hilariously jumping into a trash can to save his vape pen to his sad, but needed, break up with Zach, the documentary crew at Abbott Elementary manages to catch all the ups and downs of this history teacher along with all the stories about other folks at the beloved school. Considering this narrative device that has caught some of the characters' finest and lowest moments, I had to ask Chris Perfetti how his character, the aforementioned Jacob Hill, feels about the cameras following his character. Let’s just say his answer was hilariously perfect.
If you’ve been watching Season 3 of Abbott Elementary on the 2024 TV schedule (or any season for that matter), you know that Jacob loves the camera. Typically, he’s enthusiastic about the presence of the cameraman, and while he doesn’t have Gregory’s side-eye, he has given some great looks to the camera. With that in mind, I asked Perfetti how Jacob feels about the documentary crew following him around during an interview for CinemaBlend, and here’s his brilliant response:
Oh, if you could see that interaction. I have always held that, you know, Jacob thinks he's an executive producer of this documentary. You know, he knows he's not, but he wishes he were. And I think in the moments off-screen that didn't make it into the documentary Jacob is pitching ideas. I think he's asking questions about the camera equipment. I think he thinks that this show is about him. And I think we should let him believe that.
Isn’t that the most on-brand answer for Jacob? Clearly, the history teacher is very eager about the documentary crew. Based on his can-do attitude and enthusiasm for just about everything, it makes sense that he wants to be heavily involved in the creation of the documentary.
I could totally see him tapping a camera person on the shoulder, and asking them to come to his class to film a history lesson he’s teaching. Also, his begging the crew to let him do a talking head feels highly likely. I even think he’d be more eager to have the cameras in his personal life. I mean, we did see his breakup play out, he’s always been very open about his personal life with both his colleagues and the cameras, and he’s not afraid to share his takes on what’s going on with the school or even Janine and Gregory’s relationship.
Honestly, thinking about this super meta element of the comedy makes watching Abbott Elementary even more fun. Realizing that these teachers are likely constantly thinking about how they’re acting in front of the cameras and that they probably have a relationship with the people behind them adds a whole new dimension to the show.
I love thinking about how Jacob could be talking to them when they aren’t rolling about ideas he has for the documentary. It’s also fun to think about what the teachers might be actively not talking about, because they don’t want it to be shown on camera – I’m looking at you, Gregory and Janine!
As Season 3 continues, I’ll be keeping Perfetti’s hilarious comments in mind. Jacob probably does think he’s “an executive producer,” and it seems on brand for him to assume the show is all about him. And to me, all of that makes Abbott Elementary even more amusing, which is saying a lot because it’s already one of the best comedies on TV.
To see Jacob and this cast of characters on Abbott Elementary, you can catch new episodes every Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on ABC or stream them the day after they air with a Hulu subscription.
