Abbott Elementary Season 3 Has a Great Excuse to Be Mediocre Even If It Isn't

Summary

• Many fans of Abbott Elementary are disappointed with Season 3.
• Like many other popular shows, the third season of AE was affected by the strikes.
• The writing of this season has a very good reason to be rushed.

Since its debut in 2021, Abbott Elementary has been one of the most popular comedies on television, which is perhaps why it was renewed almost immediately for a second season and later, midway through Season 2, for a third. Now that Season 3 is airing, however, many viewers are less than impressed, claiming that the third installment has nothing on the first two.

First of all, this is simply not true, as Season 3 has proven to be immensely entertaining during its seven-episode run on ABC so far. For example, the episode 'Smoking' featured one of the best Abbott Elementary puns/jokes ever. Yes, I mean the hallway exchange between Janine and a student:

'Hi!'

'I bet you are!'

The last, seventh episode, 'Librarian,' gave us two very satisfying character arcs, with Melissa and Jacob becoming roommates and later BFFs, and Barbara and Janine's heartbreaking confrontation. But if that's not enough to convince you that Season 3 of Abbott Elementary is brilliant, here's a very good reason to cut it some slack.

Written in Haste

Although Abbott Elementary had been renewed for a third season in January 2023, months before the final episode of Season 2 aired, writing was scheduled to begin in May. However, the WGA and later SAG-AFTRA strikes occurred, and the writing process was put on indefinite hold, with the release of Season 3 pushed back to early 2024.

The writers' strike ended in late September 2023. As a result, the writing of Season 3 did not begin until October, under pressure to have the script ready for the first episodes to begin filming in time for the premiere in February 2024. Naturally, the rush affected the quality of the writing.

Countering Criticism

While most people seem to have enjoyed Season 3 of Abbott Elementary so far, there's a good portion of viewers who aren't buying the third installment. Their main points of criticism are that there's no plot development and that everything happens too fast this season. In other words, the writing seems rushed. Sure, that may be true, but it's important to keep in mind the strikes and their effect on the show.

The writers have done a really good job of explaining the show's time jump while maintaining the integrity of its fly-on-the-wall mockumentary format. There's less behind-the-scenes plot development like Janine and Gregory's romance in previous seasons, but there's still a lot of story to follow.

Ms. Teague's journey in the District and Jacob and Melissa's personal lives are very well developed when you think about it. As for the 'too fast' criticism, it's important to remember that Season 3 only has twelve episodes, so of course they're packed with events and action.

So if you don't like Season 3 despite its brilliance, stop complaining about it. After all, the writers did as much as they could with as little as they had, which is the motto of Abbott Elementary. Episode 8 will be released on March 20.