Although Quinta Brunson has spoken about endingAbbott Elementarysometime in the future, season 5 of the ABC comedy series can’t be its last outing.Abbot Elementary’s cast of charactersare all hilarious, but the show’s clear MVP is creator and star Quinta Brunson. As Janine Teagues, Brunson is the heart of the workplace mockumentary series.
Brunson also created the series and, asAbbot Elementaryseason 5arrives, she will continue to pull double duty by starring in and working on the show at the same time. Brunson’s hard work has paid off, with every season of the sitcom earning rave reviews. This praise is well-earned.
However, whileAbbott Elementary’s bittersweet season 4 finalewas one of its best episodes yet, this doesn’t mean that the series can last forever. Already, Brunson has addressed the question of when the sitcom will end in an interview withBustle. Asked about the show’s ending, Brunson told the magazine:
“I have cast members who would love to pursue other projects, and our show is very time-consuming. We shoot about seven months out of the year. That can stop people from being able to do a lot of other things.”
Quinta Brunson Is Thinking About Ending Abbott Elementary
The Star Spoke To Bustle Magazine About The Sitcom’s Future
Clearly, the thought of the show’s eventual ending has crossed Brunson’s mind on more than one occasion. Considering how booked and busyAbbott Elementary’s cast has been outside the show, this makes sense. As such,Brunson’s comments inevitably led to a slew of headlines speculating aboutAbbott Elementaryending with season 5, although I believe these forecasts are premature.
If season 4’s unlikely crossover withIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiaor season 3’s A-list cameos from Kevin Hart and Bradley Cooper prove anything, it is that anything is possible in the world ofAbbott Elementary. Brunson’s show could also continue for another four seasons before wrapping up, or the sitcom could end on a high note by bowing at the close of season 6.
Abbott Elementarysimply has too many open-ended storylines that still need to be wrapped up, and I can’t picture the showrunners sacrificing satisfying endings for the sake of brevity.
However, I don’t think it’s possible forAbbott Elementaryseason 5 to be the show’s last outing.Abbott Elementarysimply has too many open-ended storylines that still need to be wrapped up, and I can’t picture the showrunners sacrificing satisfying endings for the sake of brevity. While the cast may want to move on, it doesn’t necessarily need to be in the next year.
Brunson’s Reasons For Ending Abbott Elementary Are Understandable
Many Cast Members Want To Work On Other Projects
Even judging byAbbott Elementaryseason 4’s Ava storyline alone, the sitcom has plenty of characters still left to explore. Ava only came into her own in season 4, gaining new maturity when her role as principal was challenged by the district. Similarly, Janine and Gregory spent three years dancing around each other before finally hooking up in the season 3 finale.
LikeThe Mindy Project’s Mindy Kaling, Brunson teased the possibility of switching to movies after the run of her cult sitcom ends.
It makes sense that the show’s stars would want to work on other projects, andBrunson herself has a promising career beyondAbbott Elementary. LikeThe Mindy Project’s Mindy Kaling, Brunson teased the possibility of switching to movies after the run of her cult sitcom ends, and this could open a world of new opportunities for the writer/ actor.
Abbott Elementaryis available to stream on Hulu.
That said, season 5 still seems too early to end the hit series. Although Barbara’s home life has always been relatively stable, both Melissa and Jacob have just started new romantic relationships that viewers know little about. As the pair were sidelined in season 4, it would make sense for season 5 to prioritize them, and it seems unlikely their stories will be wrapped up soon.
Abbott Elementary Season 5 Should Not Be The Show’s Last
The ABC Sitcom Has At Least Two More Seasons In Its Setup
Meanwhile, the next steps in Janine and Gregory’s romantic relationship include moving in and potentially even marriage, neither of which viewers will want to miss out on. WhileAbbott Elementary’s karaoke episodeproved that the show doesn’t need high drama to be fun, these big life events are still worth commemorating in the world of the show.
From Jacob and Melissa’s unfinished stories to Ava’s ongoing arc to the many mysteries surrounding the enigmatic janitor Mr. Johnson,Abbott Elementaryhas a slew of stories that the show hasn’t told yet. This means it would be a shame if the series wrapped up in season 5, but it doesn’t mean the series has to go on forever, either.
Far too many sitcoms have overstayed their welcome thanks to their large audiences, and this fate is almost as common as shows wrapping up too early due to cancellation. While30 Rock’s six-season run was critically acclaimed, the truncated final seasons ofNew Girl,The Conners, andBrooklyn 99were all seen as disappointing endings to otherwise fine sitcoms.
Abbott Elementary Should End Around Season 6 or 7
Many Workplace Sitcoms Outstay Their Welcome
Even some of the mostinfluential network sitcoms of all time, likeModern FamilyandThe Office, outstayed their welcome by a few seasons.Parks and Recreationwas arguably as infamous in this regard asThe Office, but it was hardly alone in making this mistake.
Chris Perfetti
Jacob Hill
Scrubs,Two and a Half Men,How I Met Your Mother,That ‘70s Show, and arguably evenCommunityall receive stronger critical ratings if their final seasons are disregarded. AlthoughCommunitywas more complicated due to its changing behind-the-scenes talent, the point still stands when it comes to sitcoms and their life spans.
As such, whileAbbott Elementaryshouldn’t end with season 5, the show may want to wrap up with season 6 or 7.Abbott Elementary ending with season 6 or 7 would allow the show to explore its characters more without overstaying its welcome, and this is a delicate balance that has historically been tough to achieve in comedy shows.
One of Abbott Elementary’s saddest story details is the fact that the students graduate every year and leave the teachers with a new set of kids to teach.
One thingAbbott Elementaryhas going for it is its constantly changing supporting cast. As the characters themselves noted, one ofAbbott Elementary’s saddest storydetails is the fact that the students graduate every year and leave the teachers with a new set of kids to teach.
Thus,Abbott Elementaryhas already drawn attention to the fleeting, ever-changing nature of life as an educator. With this in mind, it makes perfect sense for the show to end not with everyone moving on from the titular workplace, asThe Officedid, but with a new class being introduced to the same old teachers.
Despite constant budget cuts, underfunding, and other challenges, the teachers of Abbott stay strong and keep fighting the good fight every year. Thus,Abbott Elementaryshould end with its heroes still doing their best to teach the next generation after the series has wrapped up the lingering loose ends of their interpersonal stories.
