The latest episode of ABBOTT ELEMENTARY does what the show does best – allowing some of the funniest characters on TV, both major and minor, to play off each other. PANEL doesn’t have a particularly interesting or significant plot, but it makes up for it with guest stars and new characters galore, resulting in one of the funniest episodes of the season so far.
Karan Soni, who directed last week’s episode LIBRARIAN, returns as Avi, hopefully staying around for a bit as the romantic interest of Jacob Hill (Chris Perfetti). Keegan-Michael Key shows up for two excellent scenes as a goofy Superintendent Reynolds – I’d love to see more of that character on this show. But this episode’s MVP is Tariq (Zach Fox), the head of the PTA, who shines in the cold open and as the score-keeping moderator of the education panel. So good.
While ABBOTT has remained consistently good through its third season, my favorite episodes are the ones like these, that substitute melodrama for absurdity.
ABBOTT ELEMENTARY is available to stream on Hulu.
