WhileAbbott Elementaryseason 4’s karaoke episode was an unexpected surprise, star Chris Perfetti recently toldScreenRantthat he would love to see this become a tradition in the series.Abbott Elementary’s entire cast of charactersis funny, but special mention must go to Chris Perfetti’s Jacob. Jacob might be earnest and well-meaning, but he is also often cringe-inducingly awkward in his misguided attempts to relate to his students and co-workers alike.
Perfetti’s character never wants to put a foot wrong, so, naturally, he is at his funniest when he finally cuts loose. AlthoughAbbott Elementaryseason 4’s finalegave the teachers a bittersweet sendoff, episode 17, “Karaoke,” offered Jacob a hilarious low point as he covered Papa Roach’s nu-metal hit “Last Resort” at a staff karaoke night. Asked about a longer cut byScreenRant’s Rachel Foertsch, Perfetti said it was unlikely, but he liked the idea of another karaoke outing. Per the actor:
“No, I have requested that all of the footage be burned—anything that didn’t make it into the final cut. That was so much fun. I feel like any opportunity that we get to leave the school a bit, similarly to introducing a potential love interest, it just kind of twists and pushes these characters in a new way, seeing them outside of the school. It’s kind of like all bets are off.
I remember running into my teachers outside of school, and it’s a destabilizing event. It’s like, “I know you from one context, and here you are in another.” And yeah, karaoke, alcohol, we’re not in school. It’s a recipe for, hopefully, chaos and fun, and we just had such a great time shooting that episode. It’s, in my opinion, a real feat of filmmaking.
The visual language of the show is completely different. We did it in three and a half days, and I got to hang out with my buds at the karaoke place. I am trying to float to Quinta that this should become a recurring thing, that this becomes their place, but it was a lot of fun to do that.
I feel like just that episode in particular, the stakes for Jacob were through the roof, which they often are, but running into Zach and feeling like his story over the season was climaxing and that he wasn’t feeling great about where he was at, as an actor, I feel like I had everything I needed to do there. It’s such a gift when you get writing like that because you can just kind of ride it. I’m always having fun on our show, but I felt like, particularly, that episode, it was a blast to get to do all of that.”
Future Abbott Elementary Karaoke Episodes Have A Lot Of Potential
The Mockumentary Occasionally Sets Episodes Outside The Titular School
Perfetti’s comments about future karaoke episodes are promising, sinceAbbott Elementaryseason 4 benefited from taking the teachers out of their usual environment. FromThe OfficetoParks and Recreation, plenty of workplace mockumentary sitcoms have staged great episodes set outside their usual workplaces. However, this is particularly notable for Abbott’s ensemble, since the teachers obviously have to do a considerable amount of self-censorship around the children they work with.
The show is often at its best when operating outside its comfort zone.
As such, episodes like “Karaoke” allow viewers to see Barbara and Melissa drunk, Jacob flirting with a new beau and other sights that would be hard to imagine within the school setting. WhileAbbott Elementaryseason 5 must give Melissamore screen time, it is worth noting that her standout season 4 episode was another one that wasn’t set in the eponymous school. Episode 8, “Winter Break,” followed Melissa’s chaotic attempts to host a massive family dinner on Christmas Eve. Like “Karaoke,” the episode proved that the show is often at its best when operating outside its comfort zone.
Our Take On Abbott Elementary’s Potential Future Karaoke Episodes
Abbott Elementary’s Karaoke Episodes Facilitate A Classic TV Tradition
Abbott Elementaryseason 5 should follow Perfetti’s advice to showrunner and star Quinta Brunson by making the karaoke episodes a new tradition. After all, it is always fun when the show finds a new excuse to show the characters cutting loose outside of school.
Not only that, but in a grounded mockumentary likeAbbott Elementary, this is also the only believable way to approach a musical episode. From Sheryl Lee Ralph to Tyler James Williams,Abbott Elementary’s cast is stacked with musical talent, but the show has no way to realistically showcase this in-universe without another karaoke episode in an upcoming season.
