Why is Abbott Elementary not new tonight, April 24?

Abbott Elementary continues to keep fans laughing in its third season. Although TV watchers have gotten used to seeing Janine (Quinta Brunson), Ava (Janelle James) and the rest of the Abbott crew on Wednesday nights, there won't be a new episode of Abbott Elementary season 3 tonight, April 24. As a matter of fact, there won't even be a rerun of the comedy airing on ABC.

It looks like ABC is bumping the teacher-based comedy to air the Not Dead Yet season 2 finale, which will be an hour long as opposed to its usual 30 minutes. With the extended episode, it's taking over Abbott Elementary's 9 pm timeslot. Additionally, it's worth mentioning that Wednesday-night staple The Conners season 6 is also airing a new episode tonight.

Although Abbott Elementary is breaking from airing new episodes for a special reason, we'll point out that season 3 also contains fewer episodes to air due to the writers' and actors' strikes last year. Because of the strikes, many shows like the ones in ABC's Tuesday night lineup have been taking more routine breaks in releasing new episodes to stretch the seasons and help ensure they wrap in the usual end-of-season TV timeframe between late April and May.

With all of that being said, when can fans expect to see the next new episode of Abbott Elementary? The next new episode, "Double Date," airs on Wednesday, May 1. Here is a synopsis of what you can expect to see when it airs:

"Two teachers head out on a double date, but when they run into familiar bar patrons, it proves to be an unfortunate distraction. At Ava's first book club meeting, the group ends up in a debate over who would be the best post-apocalyptic leader."

We'll admit, now that Janine has officially quit her job at the district and is back in her classroom full-time as a teacher, we look forward to seeing more shady banter between her and Ava. Also, it would be nice to see Janine and Gregory (Tyler James Williams) hopefully make some headway in their relationship.

In the show's absence from the airwaves, now would be a great time to catch up with anything you've missed this season of Abbott Elementary on Hulu.