Ever since the 2025 TV schedule began, Abbott Elementary has been churning out hit episodes, like the hilarious crossover with It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. The workplace sitcom is doing so well, in fact, that ABC just renewed it for a fifth season — which is a major feat in today’s television climate where shows are constantly canceled. Nevertheless, with over fifty episodes and more coming, it can be hard to keep things fresh, which is why big and small changes are always necessary. However, I’m a bit worried about the potential change that was hinted at in Episode 10 -- "Testing."
In true Abbott Elementary fashion, “Testing” was full of shenanigans. Janine found herself reeling after her second graders failed their practice tests and Melissa’s class didn’t. Meanwhile, Jacob attempted to get a disinterested student involved more, Ava struggled to come to terms with her feelings for the district IT rep O’Shon, and Mr. Johnson was tasked with training a new custodian (who was presumably there to replace him, though Mr. Johnson isn’t going anywhere any time soon). In addition, there’s an underlying sense that the city’s bus drivers were going to go on strike.
In the midst of all that chaos, Barbara made a shocking statement that was quickly overshadowed by the rest of the action. While getting mani/pedis with Melissa after work, Barbara began to reflect on her time as a teacher, remembering that she was once stressed about everything like Janine. However, her reminiscing led her to ask:
Melissa, you ever think about retiring?
Despite the heavy nature of the question, it’s quickly swept under the rug as Melissa gets distracted by the strike news. It’s unclear if she even heard Barbara’s question in the first place, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to come up again.
This isn’t the first time Barbara has brought up retirement. Back in Season 1, she floated the idea after learning that he favorite zoo animal was retired due to its old age. However, while that was played as a joke, this new questioning seems to be more serious. After all, Barbara has faced a handful of struggles this season as her old ways of teaching have gone under fire for being outdated. And yet, despite her hesitance to change, she has made them when absolutely necessary — like shifting the Christmas show to a winter-themed one so all her students could participate.
Given that Barbara is presumably the eldest teacher at Abbott, it makes sense that she would be the one to start having retirement thoughts. It would also allow the show to explore what that might look like for Barbara, a woman who clearly loves her job. However, I can’t imagine what the show would look like without Mrs. Howard teaching down the hall from Janine, Gregory, and Melissa.
For one, she’s the only kindergarten teacher on the show, which means they would need to bring in someone new to handle her class or move one of the existing teachers. While that would be interesting to see, this Abbott Elementary wouldn't be Abbott Elementary without Sheryl Lee Ralph playing a massive role in it.
Character aside, Abbott Elementary has brought Sheryl Lee Ralph an enormous amount of praise over the years, landing her her first Primetime Emmy Award, so I don’t think she’ll be eager to leave the show completely.
If the writers do choose to take Barbara down a retirement path, I think it’ll be something hinted at more this season and fully explored in Season 5. While that kind of change would be hard, I also don’t think fans will have to worry about never seeing Barbara again. While the series does focus much of its story on the workings of the school, there have been plenty of episodes that take place outside of its walls, so Barbara could star in those sorts of storylines. I could also see her retiring but becoming a permanent volunteer at the school.
Whatever the case, I’ll definitely be watching Barbara carefully over the next couple of episodes to see if she really is considering retiring.
Abbott Elementary airs new episodes on Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC and can be streamed with a Hulu subscription the following day.
