Abbott Elementary Season 3 Just Hilariously Mocked The Show’s Entire Premise (& Other Popular Sitcoms)

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Abbott Elementary season 3, episode 8

While Abbott Elementary season 3 has leaned into many sitcom tropes, the mockumentary also subverted one of the biggest with episode 8’s Principal Ava subplot. Abbott Elementary isn’t a self-aware meta-sitcom like 30 Rock or Community, where every episode mocks the tropes of ordinary sitcoms. Instead, Abbott Elementary is a mockumentary workplace sitcom that follows the lives of a group of mismatched co-workers. Like Superstore or Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Abbott Elementary mines most of its humor from its characters and their interplay. The show’s humor is rarely self-referential or focused on parodying TV conventions.

That said, Abbott Elementary’s cast of characters have been known to engage in some winking jokes that lean on the fourth wall. Abbott Elementary season 3’s anti-drug episode was a ruthless satirical takedown of after-school specials that saw the series mock the unhelpful, hypocritical messages of these infamous public education programs. Similarly, season 3, episode 8, “Panel,” saw the series mock the show’s unusual format with a quick self-aware gag that was seamlessly integrated into the plot of the outing. This occurred when Principal Ava faced off against her longtime nemesis, a fellow principal and former sorority sister named Crystal.

Abbott Elementary Season 3 Admitted How Weird Mockumentaries Are

Ava noted that she couldn’t get rid of the camera crew if she tried

Throughout “Panel,” Ava grew increasingly frustrated as Crystal effortlessly outdid her during the eponymous panel. The crowd loved Crystal’s comments but gave Ava the cold shoulder, resulting in Crystal “winning” the panel. However, Ava got her back when Crystal tried to comment on the expense of her camera team. Ava pointed out that Abbott Elementary’s camera crew followed her everywhere for free, saying she couldn’t get rid of them if she tried. This is technically true but, in an Abbott Elementary season mostly focused on Janine, the comment also allowed Ava to point out the show’s silliest element.

Ava’s comments about the camera crew underlined just how weird it is for a documentary crew to be following an entire school’s faculty around for years. Abbott Elementary is just the latest in a long string of successful mockumentary sitcoms, but the format is so commonplace that it can be easy to forget how absurd the premise is. The questions of when the documentary crew will finish filming, how they intend to cut together all this footage, and why the characters agreed to such an invasive process are all usually ignored. Even Abbott Elementary season 3 following Janine’s district storyline doesn’t add up.

Why Abbott Elementary’s Mockumentary Format Is Ingenious

The style makes Abbott Elementary feel like a classic sitcom

Since the in-universe documentary is ostensibly about the titular school, it makes no sense for Abbott Elementary’s crew to document Janine’s work in the school district. However, this throwaway meta-joke hid the reason the series went with the mockumentary format in the first place. Since the style peaked in the late 2000s, it now reminds viewers of The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Modern Family. This makes Abbott Elementary feel like a classic sitcom even though its themes and characters are distinctly contemporary, allowing the show to borrow from the past while keeping its feet firmly planted in the present.