by Jeff Alan, Contributing Writer
FX and Hulu are on a roll with their original series after the success of The Bearand Shogun, and they’re keeping it going with their newest show, English Teacher, a half-hour, single-camera sitcom. The series is created by and stars Brian Jordan Alvarez, who has been a writer, director, and actor for quite some time, but hasn’t made it to the mainstream until recently, with this and a supporting role in the 2022 film M3gan. FX has a knack for giving creative and driven people the reins and creative license to take chances with new series, and English Teacher is a product of that way of thinking.
The show follows an openly gay 30-something named Evan (Alvarez), who has the best intentions of wanting to help his students learn and grow as young adults, but also tries to be an agent of change within his Austin, Texas school. Facing adversity from his coworkers, students, parents, and even friends, he works to help bring about new practices in this “post-woke” culture we live in to make a difference within his community, ultimately with hilarious and sometimes disastrous results.
English Teacher also brings in a supporting cast that consist of his fellow teachers and coworkers, including Gwen, his work best friend (Stephanie Koenig), Principal Grant Moretti, who Evan is often answering to when he gets into a bit of trouble (Enrico Colantoni), gym teacher and least politically correct acquaintance Markie (Sean Patton), and school counselor and numbskull friend Rick (Carmen Christopher). Throughout the eight-episode season, they tackle topics like dressing in drag, gun safety, workplace romances, and more hot button issues facing the world of public education.
The whole cast, from main to supporting roles, are very witty and funny, from the conservative mannerisms of Markie to the ditzy demeanor of Gwen, and even the exasperated attitude of Moretti. When you put all of those in a pot and throw in Evan’s stick-to-itiveness to do the right thing, it all boils over and leads to comedic moments. Evan is a force to be reckoned with in English Teacher. Not only does he have genuine moments of comedy between him and his students and faculty, but he brings a level of sincerity to the character that makes me believe in him and the resolution to the issues he wants to solve. There is a really funny moment toward the end of the season where a student asks Evan for support and advice about coming out to his family and friends that sort of “breaks the norm” for typical coming out scenes — it had me laughing pretty hard, making me sit there agree with the viewpoint Evan was presenting.
When looking at the surface of English Teacher, and the modern day issues it presents, it can be easy to lump it in the corner of “woke TV show pushing the left agenda.” But when you watch an episode and you see them diving in to the issue at hand, it presents the issue and the “solution” in not only a way that makes you feel like it’s looking at both view points on the matter, but also in a comedic manner that doesn’t feel like its trying to sway your opinion one way or another. Instead, it wants to you just see the humor in the situation and be entertained. In Episode Four, “School Safety,” we see Evan rallying teachers and faculty to do away with a gun club organized by Markie, but by the end of the episode, Evan has a slight change of heart with a truly funny moment. It’s not trying to push any agenda – and with Evan’s progressive mindset and actions it can look that way – but it wants to present an idea, and it takes us through the comedic path to get to the end. Each episode has a touch of that, making it unique in its own way. I admire the show’s ability to present these ideas. At times, it rides that line of being a bit too preachy about its progressive ideas, but it ultimately executes them in a way that doesn’t offend either side.
English Teacher is a well-thought-out and genuinely funny series that is sure to give you a laughs and things to think about with it. It’s not on par comedy-wise with a lot of other sitcoms out there, but being that it’s a new series, there’s a lot more a show like this can do.
Rating: High Side of Liked It
English Teacher is currently streaming on Hulu
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