Abbott Elementary has a lot to celebrate as it heads into its fourth season premiere on the 2024 TV Schedule. As of now, it’s the only comedy on ABC’s fall lineup; it’s up for five Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series, and the cast has just celebrated filming their 50th episode in the best way.
Since Abbott Elementary is full of jokestars, it’s only fitting that the celebration of its 50th episode reflected its humor. Sheryl Lee Ralph (aka beloved Kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard) shared a video of the celebration with her followers on X (formally Twitter). In it, the cast can be seen gathered around a sheet cake decorated so that it looks like it’s missing the other half. Take a look:
@AbbottElemABC we’ve got something to celebrate! We’re halfway to 100 episodes!!!! pic.twitter.com/DHxgkvoyhEAugust 29, 2024
In addition to the half-cake joke celebrating being halfway to 100, the dessert also looks like it was originally decorated to honor one of the best sitcoms of all time, The Office, and its 100th episode. Given the many comparisons fans have drawn between the two shows and the fact that they share a producer, it makes sense that the quintessential workplace mockumentary would be the one the Abbott cast makes fun of here.
It’s unclear whose idea the cake design was, but it seemed to be a hit judging by the smiles in Ralph’s video. Creator and star Quinta Brunson can be seen smiling and snapping a picture alongside her co-stars including Lisa Ann Walter, who seems to be orchestrating a cast picture with the cake as the centerpiece.
In a day and age when a lot of shows get canceled after one or two 10-episode seasons, Abbott Elementary hitting 50 is a huge deal, and it deserves to be celebrated. It also means they’re halfway to the monumental milestone of 100 episodes, which comes with its own perks, like allowing the show to enter syndicated reruns. That may not mean much in today’s streaming world, but it’s still an impressive feat for a comedy show that has had to weather the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes and the forever-changing television landscape.
Back in 2021, Abbott Elementary skyrocketed in popularity, earning high praise from critics and fans alike. From hilarious dialogue and wacky scenarios to an epic will-they/won’t-they relationship between Janine and Gregory, the comedy has managed to do the near impossible. As a classic network show, it earned itself a fourth season at a time when comedies are being dominated by their hybrid counterparts like FX’s The Bear, which is expected to win big at the Emmys.
Now, the highly anticipated fourth season of Abbott promises to be the biggest one yet, and it will include a crossover episode with a yet-to-be-announced show. In addition, fans are hopeful that we’ll finally get to see Janine and Gregory romantically together since they finally acted on their feelings in the Season 3 finale. Plus, we'll also get all the school shenanigans that we know and love.
It’s safe to say we can also look forward to the 50th episode, which I suspect will be a big one for the series — perhaps it’ll be the aforementioned crossover. Whatever the case, it’s likely to garner much attention from fans and critics alike.
Thankfully, we won’t have to wait long to return to the halls of Willard R. Abbott Elementary. The first episode of Season 4 will air on ABC on Wednesday, October 9th at 9:30 p.m. ET, and it will be available to stream with a Hulu subscription the following day.
