How Tone And Style Elevate a Show
Submitted as an assignment in FMS 300
Abbott Elementary showcases an underfunded public elementary school in Philadelphia that primarily supports minority groups. The series follows the school’s principal, five teachers, and a janitor as they navigate school and personal issues. Most of the school issues surround the lack of funds the teachers have to furnish their classrooms, put on programs, and keep the facilities in good standing. The show is set in the present time, so references are made to elements that the viewer would get, and the most common locations the episodes take place are in classrooms, the teacher’s lounge, the principal’s office, and other rooms within the school building. Abbott Elementary functions as a combined mockumentary sitcom. On the sitcom side, each episode runs about 22 minutes, and the comedy comes from the various situations the teachers, principal etc. find themselves. The set is realistic and recognizable (a public-school building) and there are a consistent number of characters that are followed throughout the episodes. Merriam-Webster (n.d.) describes a mockumentary as “a facetious or satirical work (such as a film) presented in the style of a documentary.” This is evident as a “film crew” follows around the school employees to document their daily schedules. This allows the viewer to see first-hand all of the antics that take place on a given day and get some insight into the faculty’s thoughts about various events, through a humorous lens. This also allows the viewer to get a better understanding of each faculty member’s personality and what matters to each person individually. The mockumentary sitcom genre that Abbott Elementary showcases impacts the narrative structure by tackling the serious subject of school funding issues while also interjecting the varying personalities and motifs of the school faculty in a serialized format.
A consistent theme that runs throughout the show is the concern for a lack of school funds to take care of daily needs. A genre convention that is displayed here is the juxtaposition of serious issues with over-the-top and absurd scenarios that lighten the mood. The first episode of Abbott Elementary, named“Pilot”, introduces Janine Teagues as an enthusiastic second year teacher that is not aware that there are quite a bit of obstacles in the way in order for her to be able to obtain a new rug (Brunson & Einhorn, 2021). When she asks the principal to put in the request, Ava Coleman instead uses the funds on a large new school sign that she is displayed on and reveals that the rest of the money was spent on her new hairstyle. The absurdity of that situation is contrasted with a heart-touching scene that shows that one of Janine’s students uses her classroom rug to sleep on during the day due to the fact that he most likely goes without much needed sleep due to a volatile home life. The episode ends with Melissa Schemmenti, a fellow teacher, calling in a favor from a man who donates Philadelphia Eagles branded carpeting to the school, taking care of the need. Hendershot (2013) notes in her commentary on several Parks and Recreation episodes ( in the same vein as Abbot Elementary) that “ television might still function as a site for negotiating controversial topics… even in an era of niche programming where there seems to be less and less shared culture.” While not everyone can relate to being at a predominately Black school in a city like Philadelphia, the principles are still relatable to a larger audience. Additionally, tough situations are able to be addressed in a way that isn’t harsh and is more palatable for the viewer.
The showfocuses heavily on the varying personalities of the faculty members and how that in turn affects their relationships with each other and with students, parents, and family members. Initially, Janine Teagues is shown to be enthusiastic, but a bit naïve; Gregory Eddie is shown to be introverted and intelligent; Ava Coleman is shown to be obnoxious and unreliable; Melissa Schemmenti is shown to be brash and blunt, Barbara Howard is shown to be poised and meticulous; Jacob Hill is shown to be inquisitive and spirited; and Mr. Johnson is shown to be eccentric and mysterious (Brunson & Einhorn, 2021). As the show goes on, their personalities become more fleshed out and are not regulated to one or two adjectives as listed above. Another genre convention that is clearly evident in this show is the use of the talking head interview ( a documentary motif) in order to get the candid thoughts of the faculty members, which elevates much of the humor as well. Modern shows have been able to capitalize on innovation in technology in the 21st century with Nussbaum (2009) noting that “ such technologies ran parallel to a rise in structural experimentation. Besides using mockumentary style, many series experimented with voice-overs and other self-conscious tricks…” The first episode of the second season, “ Development Day”, follows the teachers having their own set week prior to opening week of school to set up their classrooms, attend training sessions, and have a few morale events (Brunson et al., 2022). In an interview with Janine Teagues, the viewer learns that she went through a breakup over the summer that she claims will keep her from “bringing [her] problems into school [because she is] a full formed adult (Brunson et al., 2022).” The episode goes on to show that she in fact does bring problems into school in the form of rent non-payment and getting her car towed for parking tickets from her ex-boyfriend. The irony of her declaration at the beginning of the episode comes back to bite her throughout the rest of the episode’s runtime. Using this form of storytelling allows the viewer to get a more nuanced understanding of a character’s motivation instead of it strictly being one dimensional.
Through a look at the tonal structure of the show that swaps between serious and humorous themes, and the shot composition that varies between interviews and “live” content, this form of sitcom allows the viewer exposure to tougher situations that are softened by characters’ actions and the ability to get more invested in the characters by both hearing their personal thoughts and seeing their actions. Viewers are able to learn the underlying message at the heart of the episode all while laughing at the silly predicaments of the characters they have begun to understand. In my opinion, the mockumentary sitcom deserves its place in the social landscape, as it shows people not taking things so seriously and being allowed to grow from mistakes that are made. Much of the media that is produced today only shows the problems and shortcomings in the world in a harsh and bleak way that leaves the viewer feeling possibly disillusioned and without hope. Shows pursuing the mockumentary sitcom genre exist to show that people can rise above their situations and achieve their goals or at least have fun trying. In my opinion, the way this genre can expand is through introduction of more realistic environments that people find themselves in (i.e., military, medical field, community club). Shows like The Office and Parks and Recreation will stand the test of time because they allow people to show humor in environments like a regular work office and local government office and just be entertaining. Abbott Elementary decides to bring the genre to a school setting, but so many other environments are ripe for the taking.
References
Brunson, Q. (Writer) & Einhorn, R. (Director). (2021, December 7). Pilot (Season 1, Episode 1) [TV series episode]. In J. Halpern & P. Schumacker (Executive Producers), Abbott Elementary. Non Sequitur Productions; 20th Television; Warner Bros. Television.
Brunson, Q., Coleman, A., Peterman, K., & Tan, J. (Writer) & Einhorn, R. (Director). (2022, September 21). Development Day ( Season 2, Episode 1) [ TV series episode]. In J. Halpern & P. Schumacker (Executive Producers), Abbott Elementary. Delicious Non-Sequitur Productions; 20th Television; Warner Bros. Television.
Hendershot, H. (2013). CHAPTER 24 | Parks and Recreation: The Cultural Forum. In E. Thompson & J. Mittell (Eds.), How To Watch Television (1st ed., Vol. 3, pp. 204–212). NYU Press. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/lib/asulib-ebooks/reader.action?docID=6124664&ppg=241&c=UERG
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Mockumentary. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved April 15, 2026, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mockumentary
Nussbaum, E. (2009). When TV Became Art: Good-bye boob tube, hello brain food. New York. https://login.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/magazines/when-tv-became-art-good-bye-boob-tube-hello-brain/docview/205159386/se-2?accountid=4485
