‘English Teacher’ Premiere Review: A Hilarious Portrait of the Modern Classroom

What does high school look like in a post-Covid world? FX’s new show “English Teacher” attempts to answer this question through its darkly hilarious portrait of a high school English teacher. The brainchild of Brian Jordan Alvarez, who created the series and stars as its lead, Evan Marquez,“English Teacher” is deliciously cynical and scarily accurate.

Idealistic and yet comically jaded, the awkwardly relatable protagonist stumbles into amusing situations that throw the professional, social, and romantic elements of his life into a jumble. The show also centers the queer perspective as Evan encounters various scenarios related to his gay identity at a high school set in the suburbs of Austin, Texas — a “liberal outpost in a more conservative state” that “makes for a lot of interesting dynamics,” according to Alvarez.

The first episode finds Evan dealing with a parent’s complaint over a kiss shared with his former boyfriend in front of the class. From the start of the episode, the show immerses the viewer in Evan’s world, beginning with a zoomed-in shot of his face and sparkling green eyes as he wakes up and dances through his morning routine to the tune of “Maniac.” The show’s cinematography is unique and colorful, with an over-saturated palette of blues, greens, and yellows that evoke the peppy spirit of high school and contrast the show’s sardonic tone and cynical self-awareness.

Viewers watching the first episode of the show will inevitably be reminded of its predecessors. Like the classic workplace mockumentary “The Office,” humorously bureaucratic “Parks and Recreation,” and witty, education-focused “Abbott Elementary,” “English Teacher” may seem like yet another reimagining of the workplace sitcom with topical humor and a dynamic lead who defines the tone of the show.

While the show can certainly be viewed as building off of these foundations, it is unfair to reduce “English Teacher” to a new iteration of this tried-and-true style — it feels more daring, sharper and a little rough around the edges. “English Teacher” has its heartwarming moments, but the jokes are darker and the humor more biting, the satirical elements throwing into sharp relief the absurdities of Evan’s experiences in a Gen-Z high school setting.

The show is also not filmed like a mockumentary, but instead features close-up character shots that effectively immerse viewers in their thoughts and feelings. Viewers will enjoy Alvarez’s hilarious expressions of incredulity or embarrassment as his eyes widen in shock or roll in embarrassment on the screen. Stephanie Koenig gives a standout hilarious performance as Evan’s girl best friend and bubbly fellow teacher, Gwen Sanders, while the appearance of dreamy physics teacher and potential love interest Harry (Langston Kerman) is teased in a few tantalizingly quick scenes.

“English Teacher” is highly character-driven, and while some of the eclectic cast feel cartoonish at times, the first episode still manages to flesh out a few of its characters, like the gruff, conservative gym teacher Markie Hillridge (Sean Patton) who ultimately looks out for Evan at the end of the episode in an unexpectedly heartwarming twist.

As the episode’s conclusion resolves the conflict, Evan is saved from the investigation and yet comes out of the experience with a dose of the real world. The end of the episode juxtaposes Evan’s idealism with his exasperation at how things really work out, while still showing that the world can be a good place after all.

“English Teacher” is also just plain hilarious, with witty bits that poke fun at all the absurdities of the Gen-Z experience. In the first episode, high schoolers are watching “AI porn of Oscar Wilde having sex with women” — “He was gay!” Evan exclaims — parents are complaining about “The Great Gatsby” because of its “lewd content,” and Evan and Gwen lament how the kids this year are “not into being woke anymore” and “circled back around.”

With fast-paced dialogue that can feel breathless at times, the show is packed to the brim with punchy one-liners — like when the school principal Grant Moretti (Enrico Colantoni) tells Evan he can “you know, do a short film with your friends” if he resigns — that the viewer might miss on a first watch. The show is also not afraid to veer off into hilarious situational humor, such as when Evan is forced to explain the concept of gender fluidity to a gym class.

While “English Teacher” is Alvarez’s first big debut, he has been writing and producing comedy skits for a decade, earning recognition and accolades for works like his web series “The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo” where Koenig also plays the bubbly, effervescent sidekick to Alvarez’s character. Alvarez’s iconic brand of clever, rapid-fire dialogue and biting, shock-value humor that feels apt to the times is clearly present in “English Teacher,” though it is slightly more muted than some of his wilder online skits.

The premiere episode of “English Teacher” is hilarious, relatable, and not afraid to make edgier jokes that poke fun at the current state of the world. With five episodes already out and three more to come, viewers should be prepared to gasp, cringe, and laugh out loud at this refreshing classroom comedy.

—Staff writer Arielle C. Frommer can be reached at arielle.frommer@thecrimson.com.