FX has proved itself to be a home for comedy shows over the years, and this year's Fall TV schedule is no exception. With The Bear sweeping the 2023 Emmys, despite arguable genre-classification issues, the cable network is investing in the half-hour straight comedy English Teacher. Let me tell you, everyone should be watching because it will not disappoint! (Here's how to stream it.) It might be too early to say officially if it'll last, but as of right now, it's my new favorite comedy in primetime.
Created by and starring Brian Jordan Alvarez, English Teacher centers on Evan Marquez, a public high school teacher in Texas who is struggling to do his job as the world professionally, politically, and personally changes around him. While the series has garnered positive reviews from critics and currently has a 97% certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it hasn’t stopped some audiences from comparing the series to the Quinta-sential school comedy, Abbott Elementary.
I get the easy comparison point, but some are going as far as to say that the Alvarez-led series is a carbon copy of ABC's mockumentary hit. While I get where they’re coming from, I really wish every could stop all that, and make the effort to watch both of these hilarious shows without putting them against each other.
FX’s English Teacher Is Hilarious, And Everyone Needs To Be Watching It
I tuned into English Teacher the day after its premiere with my Hulu subscription, and I’m so glad I did. Hilarious from start to finish, the first episode follows Evan as he is placed under school investigation for kissing his former boyfriend and fellow teacher during the previous school year. Of course, by the end of the episode, things conclude without Evan being locked away or exiled, but the stakes for the rest of the season remain at the forefront.
The second episode follows a similar tone, with the football team’s annual powderpuff performance suspended after the school’s LGBTQIA2S+ students raised concerns. With the help of Evan and his friend Shazam (played by RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Trixie Mattel), lessons are dished out in ways that are absolutely hilarious.
What makes English Teacher so great, beyond its laugh-out-loud dialogue and scenarios, is the fact that it excels where many other comedies stumble in tackling serious issues without losing the humor. It almost feels like English Teacher is a modern, raunchier version of the sitcoms pioneered by the late Norman Lear. It’s the kind of comedy show that we need to see more of, which is why I hope more people tune into the series.
Abbott Elementary And English Teacher Both Take Place In Schools, But The Similarities End There
This is an understandable and possibly even inevitable comparison for viewers make, given that both shows are set in public school systems and were created by talented individuals who also star in the lead roles, but that’s where the comparisons end.
For starters, Abbott Elementary is a mockumentary that drew up its own comparisons to the likes of The Office when it first premiered, while English Teacher is a standard single-camera comedy. They also take place in vastly different school settings, one being an underfunded elementary school in Philadelphia (that coincidentally draws amazing celebrities), and the other being a public high school in suburban Austin, Texas.
And while both shows aim to showcase the lives of teachers, they have different approaches. For the last three seasons, Abbott Elementary has focused on the bureaucratic struggles affecting teachers, going as far as to give Janine a position at the school district to further showcase the issues at hand.
Alvarez’s comedy, on the other hand, is more concerned with the political climate of the fictional Texas school as his character grapples with conservative, helicopter parents. Not to mention a student body that is “less woke” than previous generations.
The fact that so many want to put these shows created by historically unrepresented voices against each other is a shame. After all, there are multiple medical shows airing alongside a variety of cop procedurals, and no one ever points fingers at those for being “copycats.” Why can’t the same grace be given to two hilarious shows set in schools?
As a fan of both shows, I hope the compulsion to compare the comedies, and sometimes put both down in the process, will end soon, so that we can learn to champion them both for what they are: hilarious windows into what it’s like being a teacher in public schools right now.
You can stream the first two episodes of English Teacher on Hulu or with a Disney+ subscription. And don’t forget to tune in to FX on Monday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET for new episodes.
