In this workplace comedy, a group of dedicated, passionate teachers — and a slightly tone-deaf principal — are brought together in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life. Though these incredible public servants may be outnumbered and underfunded, they love what they do — even if they don’t love the school district’s less-than-stellar attitude toward educating children.
The best episode of "Abbott Elementary" season 1 is "Pilot", rated 7.6/10 from 1788 user votes. It was directed by Randall Einhorn and written by Quinta Brunson. "Pilot" aired on 12/7/2021 and is rated 0.1 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "Light Bulb".
When the staff relates their needs, Principal Ava presents alternative options.
Director: Randall Einhorn
Writer: Quinta Brunson
Janine takes it upon herself to fix every problem when she notices a flicking light bulb in the hallway. Gregory asks Barbara for help talking to a parent, which leads him to spend his lunch period in an unexpected way.
Director: Randall Einhorn
Writer: Quinta Brunson
The teachers to ask the local community for new school supplies. Janine takes to TikTok and with Ava’s assistance, her video is a success and goes viral. Janine encourages Gregory to decorate his classroom.
Director: Randall Einhorn
Writer: Morgan Murphy
When a new computer program is introduced at Abbott, Janine is excited to finally help Barbara with something. Barbara is reluctant to accept change and finds herself in a tricky situation. Melissa surprises Jacob.
Director: Randall Einhorn
Writer: Brian Rubenstein
After a negative teacher review, Janine gets a confidence boost when a student gets transferred from Melissa's class into hers. Jacob tries to forge a friendship with an uninterested Gregory.
Director: Randall Einhorn
Writer: Britanni Nichols
Janine convinces Ava to start a gifted program at Abbott led by Jacob. However, when some students begin to feel left out, Gregory and Janine put their heads together and come up with a solution. Elsewhere, Barbara pushes a hesitant Melissa to start dating again.
Director: Matt Sohn
Writer: Jordan Temple
When the school’s art teacher retires, Janine is thrilled when the replacement ends up being her best friend from college, but things quickly turn sour when Sahar gets in the way of Melissa’s class traditions. Meanwhile, Jacob and Barbara bond over their love for gardening and decide to start a school garden; but when it turns out they don’t know how to successfully grow anything, Gregory secretly gets involved to fix all of their mistakes
Director: Jennifer Celotta
Writer: Kate Peterman
After Jacob reveals a detail about his personal life, Janine realizes she doesn't know the other teachers as well as she thought; Gregory's stern teaching approach is causing his whole class to underperform.
Director: Jaime Eliezer Karas
Writer: Justin Tan
Janine is thrilled when Ava asks to help her teach the after-school step class, but the two don’t see eye to eye on how to run the program. Later, when Barbara, Melissa and Jacob plan an “eat-off” to decide who makes the best pizza in Philadelphia, Gregory is forced to reveal a secret
Director: Shahrzad Davani
Writer: Joya McCrory
It’s Open House night at Abbott Elementary, and while Janine prepares to meet her struggling student’s mother, the rest of the faculty uses the time to relax. Gregory is taken aback when he learns how Ava got the principal job, and later, Barbara’s daughter’s visit creates a commotion in more ways than one when
Director: Jennifer Celotta
Writer: Brian Rubenstein
When the students start participating in a new online trend that causes disruption to the school, the teachers band together to put an end to it. Meanwhile, Mr. Johnson provides comforting life advice to Gregory; and later, the teachers finally meet Jacob’s boyfriend, Zach, who joins in to help stop the students “desking.”
Director: Melissa Kosar
Writer: Morgan Murphy
With the school board threatening to pull their funds, Janine and Gregory decide to help Ava out with her presentation in front of the Superintendent. However, their plan is derailed when a curveball is thrown at Ava. Meanwhile, Barbara offends Melissa when she doesn’t agree with her blackmail idea.
Director: Matthew A. Cherry
Writer: Britanni Nichols
While on Abbott's annual zoo field trip, Tariq reveals that he has been offered a job in New York; Janine struggles with a big choice; Barbara starts questioning her future after finding out her favorite tuatara has been retired because of old age.
Director: Randall Einhorn
Writer: Jordan Temple