Abbott Elementaryis one of the great television successes of recent years. Since its premiere back in December 2021, the sitcom has been the recipient of critical acclaim andawards such as Golden Globes and Emmys. Created by and starringQuinta Brunson,Abbott Elementaryis one of the few sitcoms on network television with a predominately Black cast. Centered on the goings-on at a predominately Black elementary school,Abbott Elementaryboasts stellar performances from the likes ofSheryl Lee RalphandJanelle James, as well as serving as a love letter to hard-working Black educators working at schools like Abbott. The sitcoms resemble a specific era where audiences watched Black life front and center on network television.
Sitcoms haven’t always been the friendliest of places for Black characters. Often rife with racial caricature, sitcoms (and to a larger extent, American comedy) views Black characters as one-note and void of depth.Beulahwas one of the first sitcoms to have a Black lead but was emblematic of the “Mammy figure” trope, whose entire purpose was to take care of the white family she was hired by. Of course, that would change with sitcoms such asThe Jeffersonsin the ’70s andThe Cosby Showin the ’80s, where Black life was uplifted and presented with care and humanity. The true zenith of Black sitcoms wouldn’t be reached until the mid-90s, with the introduction of Fox, UPN, and The WB.
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The Recent Forebears of ‘Abbott Elementary’
While sitcoms with Black characters and Black-led sitcoms were not completely absent from the Big Three networks of ABC, NBC, and CBS in this decade, it was with the arrival of Fox, UPN, and The WB that an explosion of Black sitcoms happened. Between the three networks during this era, programming included shows such asMoesha,The Parkers,Living Single,Martin,The Wayans Bros.,Girlfriends,The Steve Harvey Show,The Jamie Foxx Show, along with so many more.
In addition to premiering Black-led sitcoms, these networks would come to the rescue when one of the big three would cancel a show, such as in the case ofSister, SisterandIn The House, which spent their first couple of seasons on ABC and NBC, respectively, and gained new life on UPN. Between the mid-90s and the mid-2000s, that decade gifted the television audience with a glut of sitcoms that weren’t catering solely to white audiences, but had a Black audience in its consideration and put their lives at the forefront within a genre that had historically centered the lives of white characters first.
Where these sitcoms differed from series such asThe Cosby Showwas that they were not solely worried about presenting only positive depictions of Black life. The era allowed for truth and realness that had always been afforded to white-led sitcoms. While the Huxtables couldn’t be shown always strapped for cash, Khadijah’s magazine, Flavor, was often at risk of going under inLiving Single. WhileGood Timeshad the Evans family always being hardworking while living in the projects, Marlon was always mooching off his brother, Shawn inThe Wayans Bros. However, there were success stories too. Khadijah was still the editor of a magazine, with many of her friends in that same young professionals group. Meanwhile, Shawn runs a newsstand and his father owns a restaurant. This showcased Black humanity in a way that had never been done before — displaying various aspects of being human while having Black skin allowed for these stories to not have “Black characters” but simply characters who were Black.
Unfortunately, the era came to an end in the mid-2000s as Fox was considered to join the Big Three networks (now the Big Four), and the WB and UPN combined to create The CW. It was then that these networks left behind the Black stories and Black characters they used to make a name for themselves. However, the legacy of that time in television history still lives on withAbbott Elementarytoday.
‘Abbott Elementary’ Owes a Lot to the ’90s
Abbott Elementary, like the sitcoms that came before it, allows for the fullness of Black characters who aren’t either chiefly bad or chiefly good. Consider the character of Ava (James) who could’ve just been the one-note lazy principal whois ill-equipped for her jobbut is also portrayed as someone who cares about the students she supervises deep down. In one episode, she spends money meant for the school to buy a sign of herself, and in another, she gifts a student with new pants for his uniform after learning he couldn’t afford a new pair.
In a character like Gregory (Tyler James Williams), who initially appears stiff and standoffish, the audience can see that his personality results from his strained relationship with his father (Orlando Jones), and he learns to loosen up as the series moves forward. Last but certainly not least, there’s Janine (Brunson), an upbeat and optimistic teacher who wants nothing more than the best for her students and for the school, but her positivity can get the best of her. In the Season 2 episode, “Egg Drop,” Janine engages her class in an experiment that they are not ready for because of her belief that a positive attitude can triumph over anything. When the experiment fails horribly for her younger students, the episode takes the time to examine that her strength as the eternal optimist can also run over into “toxic positivity,” and she learns that failure is a part of life. As with the ’90s era, we don’t just have funny Black characters, but Black characters who are also full characters — with both strengths and flaws.
Abbott Elementaryalso acknowledges the past era of Black television in its casting.Sheryl Lee Ralph, who plays Mrs. Howard,spent six years as the matriarch of the Mitchell household inMoesha, and Tyler James Williams’s breakout role was as the young Chris Rock in the autobiographical seriesEverybody Hates Chris, one of the last sitcoms from that era. In addition to the main cast, there are guest stars such asReggie Hayes, ofGirlfriendsfame, who plays the superintendent Ava blackmailed for her job. Having these actors fill out the show’s world creates a bridge between the past and the present, using the shared history the audience has with these recognizable names to lend even more weight to their appearances.
Abbott Elementaryis one of the best things on television right now, but it wouldn’t be where it is without this era of Black sitcoms. As with most things,Abbott Elementaryowes a lot to what came before it. It has the era ofBeulahfor being first, despite its problematic depictions, andThe JeffersonsandThe Cosby Showfor having Black characters at the center and devoid of negative stereotypes. Now, we can look back at shows such asMoeshaandLiving Single, which allowed for the full humanity in Black life in the sitcom format, that ultimately made room forAbbott Elementaryto thrive today.
