‘Abbott Elementary’ Guest Stars Are Ruining the Show

Each new guest star on Abbott Elementary feels like a special treat. There have been a plethora of surprise visitors during the ABC sitcom’s third season, from big Hollywood names like Bradley Cooper and Keegan-Michael Key to internet sensations like Sabrina Brier and Casey Frey. Even Taylor Swift’s boyfriend’s brother Jason Kelce stopped by for a quick scene! Every guest has been as delightful as the last—but Abbott needs to wrap this shtick up, stat.

Why, you may ask, should Abbott Elementary put an end to the guest stars if they are so fantastic? While there are no problems with the guest stars themselves, the real issue derives from the fact that they take away time from the main roster of characters in the show. Cooper visits the show after losing an Oscar—a great get. Hilariously humbling. Miraculous and noteworthy. But as that’s happening, Gregory (Tyler James Williams) hasn’t had a real arc this entire season.

This is less of a concern for the main cast, though, who still have an array of episodic storylines and—like Janine (Quinta Brunson) at the district—overarching growth over the course of the season. It’s the secondary characters, like Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis) and Tariq (Zack Fox), who are now haphazardly tossed into the plot instead of given thoughtful storylines.

Take Tariq, a fan favorite who has been around since the first season and continues to pop up out of nowhere, even after breaking up with Janine in Season 1. Tariq returned to Season 3 under a great premise: His new girlfriend’s son is a student in Barbara’s class, meaning Tariq would be bothering Ms. Howard during drop-offs and pick-ups every week. But since this happened, we’ve only seen Tariq one other time—during a school board meeting, as he’s now the president of the district’s PTA. What shenanigans had to happen for him to become president of the PTA? I would’ve loved to see him campaigning for that title.

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Alas, no. We were too busy spending time with the people who took his job at F.A.D.E., played by Frey and Aparna Nancherla—both uproarious in their roles as a rapper against drugs (who smokes weed while at the school) and the monotone speaker who says cigarettes aren’t too bad, respectively—instead of watching his character grow. There’s nothing wrong with Frey and Nancherla, two wonderful visitors to the Abbott set, but the series should’ve dedicated a few minutes of runtime to pre-existing characters as well—like Tariq, who surely would have something to say about what’s happened to his old job.

There has yet to be a bad guest star, but at the same time, they’re starting to feel like a gimmick that replaces the show’s smart sense of humor and usually impeccable main/recurring character introductions with obvious ratings and social media plays. This habit actually began quite a bit ago in Season 2, starting with Leslie Odom, Jr.—who appeared as an evil ex-student of Abbott looking to fund a nearby charter school—and moving on to Ayo Edebiri and Taraji P. Henson, who both played Janine’s family members. These three were all great beginnings for characters. But where have they all gone?

Since it began, Abbott Elementary has earned comparisons to legendary workplace sitcoms like The Office and Parks and Recreation, but to live up to its predecessors, Abbott needs to introduce new characters who actually, y’know, stick around. Parks and Rec introduced two huge characters, Ben (Adam Scott) and Chris (Rob Lowe), as guest stars in its second season, but they became part of the main cast in Season 3. More fun recurring stars came out of folks like Jean-Ralphio (Ben Schwartz) and Ron’s (Nick Offerman) ex-wives, played by Megan Mullally and Patricia Clarkson; each character appeared in more than one episode and almost always had quite a bit of lore attached. The Office frequently introduced new characters to the cast, like Andy (Ed Helms), Erin (Ellie Kemper), and Gabe (Zach Woods), adding new relationships to keep the show’s plot fresh.

Abbott has tried to introduce new characters in Season 3 but, because of the revolving door of guest stars, hasn’t been able to develop them as well as other workplace comedies. With Janine now working as a fellow at the district office, we’ve gotten to meet her new manager, Manny (Josh Segarra). But Manny has cracked no jokes and has no defining character traits other than being vaguely interested in Janine—be it in a friendly way or a romantic way; I still can’t figure that out. Segarra has impeccable comedic timing, becoming the master of playing a lovable himbo (as seen in The Other Two, The Big Door Prize, and Scream 6), and it’s been somewhat excruciating to watch Abbott Elementary waste his talents wasted as an underbaked recurring character.

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Then again, perhaps guest stars are becoming a core part of Abbott’s DNA. Each new face brings a flurry of social media hype, like an SNL for people whose primary news outlets are the FilmUpdates and PopCrave feeds. That rebrand would be fine, sure. But what Abbott has always done best involves its main cast of characters. The finest plotline this season has been Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) and Jacob (Chris Perfetti) moving in together; it’s a shame the other characters haven’t gotten to interact with each other as much in Season 3. We especially miss Janine and Gregory’s slow burn—throw some kindling back on that fire!

It’s equally important to keep in mind that Abbott Elementary’s third season was cut short due to the WGA and SAG strikes that ended in September and December, respectively, jutting right into what should’ve been the Season 3 premiere. Abbott has worked hard to salvage its third season, establishing an entire plotline—the district situation—to explain why the show picks up in the middle of the school year. It feels like these guest stars, who all seem to be big fans of the show, are somewhat of a lifeline.

With Lana Condor set to appear in an upcoming episode, it seems that this gimmick is going to continue into the last four episodes of Season 3. Again, there’s no problem with the guest stars themselves—it’s just that I’m starting to look forward to these five-minute-long appearances more than I get excited about the actual main characters of the show. After all, earlier, I called these guests “special treats”: They’re exciting, but small and never totally fulfilling, never the main course.

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