Updated with trailer
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Following the resolution of the dual WGA and SAG-Aftra strikes, ABC is set to bring back scripted series with a midseason premiere schedule. Among the highlights is the announcement of the premiere date for Season 3 of Abbott Elementary on February 7, 2024.
READ: ABC Unveils ‘Abbott Elementary’ Season 3 Premiere Date with an Exciting Twist
Created by Quinta Brunson, the show maintains its core cast, including Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, William Stanford Davis, and Sheryl Lee Ralph. Abbott Elementary adopts a mockumentary style, akin to The Office and Modern Family, capturing the daily lives of teachers in underfunded schools, specifically the fictional Willard R. Abbott Elementary School in predominantly Black Philadelphia.
Renewed for a third season in January 2023, well before the conclusion of the second, the news was enthusiastically shared by Craig Erwich during the Television Critics Association’s Winter 2023 press tour. Channing Dungey, Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group, praised the show, expressing anticipation for more episodes of the brilliant and authentic series.
The creative team, including Brunson, Halpern, Schumacker, and Einhorn, is expected to return as executive producers. However, the commencement of writing for the season faced delays due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike and the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, pushing the original start date of May 1, 2023, indefinitely.
Several cast members, including Brunson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Lisa Ann Walter, publicly supported the strikes. The strikes impacted the number of episodes and the start date for the third season, prompting ABC to announce in May 2023 that the premiere would be rescheduled to early 2024. ABC confirmed its commitment to the series on November 10, 2023, picking up a full third season comprising 14 episodes.