To be honest with you, the only reason English Teacher caught my eye is because I recognized the lead actor from a smaller recurring role in the Will & Grace reboot. But then it started getting Emmy buzz, so I knew it had to be worth checking out. And it was!
The show follows a group of teachers at a high school in Austin and all of their weirdness. It’s hard to believe that a majority of the teachers at this school are supposed to be around my age. The amount that things have changed since I was actually in high school is kind of unreal. So, I give these teachers a lot of credit for keeping up. It does help that almost the entire faculty is pretty woke. And given it takes place in Austin instead of, say, anywhere else in Texas, that means that a lot of the school is woke, too.
Sure, there’s the parent or two that brings up some expected concerns, but it’s usually the students who rally around the teachers. Of course, there is drama since it’s high school, and a large portion of it is ridiculous. I personally enjoyed the no symptom Tourette Syndrome bit that spanned a couple of episodes. What I found to be most endearing is that even though you expect teachers like Evan Marquez and his best friend and fellow teacher Gwen Sanders to be the big problem solvers of the series, it actually usually falls to PE teacher, Markie Hillridge. I think he’s a prime example of not reading a book by its cover.
Enrico Colantoni makes for an excellent principal of the school. He wants to support his teachers, but he’s also trying to just get through with the least amount of blow back from the parents and the community. He’s tough and unbending, though the teachers usually just go around him and do what they initially set out to do anyway. He’s the perfect dry comedian in this show full of quips and sarcasm. Almost as strong as the faculty staff are the students that get a fair amount of screen time. They all come across as naturals and they managed to make scenes complete in their hilarity.
Aside from school issues, we also get a deep dive into Evan’s personal life. He grew up in the 90s where being gay and out were not really a thing you did. Especially in Texas. His personal life does tend to bleed into his professional life, sometimes to his detriment. And as likeable as Evan is, there is a large part of him that is selfish, and it takes some divine intervention from Gwen and Markie to realize that he needs to start looking outwards, too. The rest of the faculty’s personal lives aren’t put on display too much, but I’d like to think future seasons could bless us with that.
It’s hard to know if this critically acclaimed series will get a second season though, as creator, writer, and star, Brian Jordan Alvarez, has gotten into some hot water in real life regarding abuse allegations. I haven’t heard much else about it, so it’s hard to know how it will impact the series. In any case, checking out the first season will be enjoyable enough for you now. Check this out!