There have been shows about teachers in every era of television, from “Our Miss Brooks” to the many teen dramas in which teachers have played small or large roles. In the third decade of the 21st century, the Emmy-winning “Abbott Elementary,” which has practically single-handedly reminded media critics that broadcast television still exists, carries that torch, restoring dignity to a profession often portrayed as synonymous with “losers,” without harming the comedy.
Now there’s “English Teacher,” created by and starring Brian Jordan Alvarez and premiering Monday on FX and streaming on Hulu Tuesday. The plot takes place not at a financially struggling inner-city elementary school but at a high school in Austin, Texas. Jonathan Krisel, the third creative partner on “Portlandia” alongside Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, directs several episodes; but unlike that series, Austin has nothing to do with the show beyond a comment about tech jobs being available.
Alvarez plays Evan Marquez, the film's titular English teacher, who is dedicated to his job but has a tendency to overthink and become frenetic; this can wreak havoc on his personal life but also fuels his self-righteous idealism. He's joined in this film by a few iconic colleagues: history teacher and best friend Gwen (Stephanie Koenig), whose out-of-work husband is digging a swimming pool by hand; Markie (Sean Patton), a human buffalo with a sociological understanding of teen culture; guidance counselor Rick (Carmen Christopher), who doesn't seem to do much guidance; and principal Grant Moretti (Enrico Colantoni), who doesn't want any trouble in or out of school.
Enrico Colantoni plays Grant Moretti, the high school principal, in “English Teacher.”
(Richard Ducree / Special Effects)
Evan’s ex-boyfriend Malcolm (Jordan Firstman), who he still ends up in bed with, was once a colleague of his, while new professor Harry (Langston Kerman) is a new romantic possibility, at least in Evan’s mind — albeit one that fills him with ridiculous dread, since he’s been banned from dating coworkers after kissing Malcolm in front of a student. Or, rather, after the student’s mother complains about it, years after the fact.
While in some series Evan's being gay would be an afterthought, here it's integral to the storylines and comedy. As they prepare for the traditional pick-up game, in which cheerleaders play football and football players dress like cheerleaders, the players turn to Evan for advice; he enlists the help of a college friend who works as a drag queen, whom he introduces as the star of a “long-running show in Austin called 'Woman of La Mancha.'” (“They actually canceled it,” the friend says. “The show is now called 'Drinking Ticket Tuesdays.'”)
And when some of Markie’s students start asking about the term “nonbinary,” he asks Evan to explain it to them, as a “very special gay guest.”
Markie: “Hello, Froot Loops!”
Evan: “You can’t call me ‘Froot Loops’, Markie.”
“It’s just the name of a cereal, buddy.”
—So why didn't you say Cheerios?
“Because there's nothing gay about Cheerios.”
Evan (Brian Jordan Alvarez), left, and Markie (Sean Patton) have an adversarial relationship in the series.
(Tina Rowden/Special Effects)
As for the students, they're a collection of personalities (I almost wrote “types,” but they're written as individuals and each actor brings an original spin to their role) who treat their elders with an attitude that falls somewhere between respect and compassion. When Evan announces that they'll be studying “Love in the Time of Cholera,” a student named Kayla steps in.
Kayla: “It’s actually really empowering for me to read a book about an illness right now, with everything I’m going through.”
Evan: “What’s happening to you, Kayla?”
Kayla: “I was recently successfully diagnosed with something called asymptomatic Tourette syndrome.”
Evan: “Did anyone actually diagnose you?”
Kayla's friend Chelsea: “It's disrespectful to ask that.”
Kayla to Chelsea: “You can’t blame people for making really bad mistakes when they haven’t learned the rules of etiquette.” To Evan: “You can only diagnose yourself.”
I don’t have much to offer in the way of critical analysis or detail. I loved the characters, major and minor, and how their eccentricities fit into a bed of naturalism. I liked the unexpected forays into physical comedy. (I’ll never stop laughing at a ball flying out of nowhere and hitting a person in the head.) An exhausted Colantoni dropping a couple of Alka-Seltzers into a glass, pressing it to his cheek and softly saying “purr” struck me as the year’s greatest inspiration. A waiter sitting down at a table and saying out of nowhere, “I literally have COVID” — that’s my kind of non sequitur.
What makes something funny? We know it when we see it, although of course not everyone will see what we see. We might even say that we know it. after We see it when we realize we have laughed, chuckled, nodded in appreciation. I did that many times during the “English Teacher” course.
But what elevates the series is a sweetness that connects the characters and a sense, amid the comedic situations, of people, young and old, reaching out for something meaningful and sometimes coming together in what feels like a solution, a step forward. (I got teary-eyed at the movie episode, written by Koenig and directed by Alvarez.) This is a comedy in which whatever ends, ends well.
