![\"YouTube](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758181330_316_hqdefault.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWhen it debuted last year, Brian John Alvarez\u2019s English Teacher felt like we\u2019d been watching it for years. Its characters, comedy, and rhythm seemed to come into the world fully formed. And, in its sophomore year, it continues to thrive in a comfortable groove. <\/p>\n
Season two returns to Austen\u2019s Morrison-Henley High School, where Evan (Alvarez) is still teaching English alongside his best friend, Gwen (Alvarez\u2019s real-life bestie Stephanie Koenig), and conservative-but-not-really football coach Markie (Sean Patton). Evan\u2019s on-again-off-again romance with Malcolm (Jordan Firstman) has been nudged forward into a stable(ish) relationship and Markie\u2019s undeclared love for Gwen continues to simmer, but, by and large, English Teacher is content to remain faithful to its previously established syllabus.<\/p>\n
Almost all of the new season\u2019s 10 episodes adhere to the same basic setup, with one character (usually Evan) spotting a problem that no one else really cares about and imposing a solution that inevitably proves inadequate, and always in the most hilariously unexpected way. Take, for example, the episode \u201cTrash,\u201d where Evan fills the school with environmentally friendly, talking smart-trashcans that demand that white males go to the back of the line so that minority students can deposit their trash first. <\/p>\n
The season maintains English Teacher\u2019s knack for using hot-button issues as a jumping off point to, rather than self-righteously satirize one side or another, engage in silly bits of business. So a debate about affirmative action devolves into Evan obsessing over whether he might be a \u201cDEI hire,\u201d while a reflection on Covid turns into a lesson about the humiliation of putting on a bad school play. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Classic sitcoms are clearly an influence on English Teacher\u2014episode three, \u201cGrant\u2019s Dinner Party,\u201d even features a clever spin on the well-worn \u201csurely this character is gay\u201d plotline\u2014but the show\u2019s comic sensibilities are also extremely modern. Especially of note is the speed at which the series can set a scene, nail a few punchlines, and then move on to the next one, with the skills Alvarez honed on TikTok serving him extremely well. There\u2019s something a little reminiscent of classic Simpsons in this show\u2019s ability to start a story in one place and spin it off somewhere completely different, all in the space of 20-some-odd, tightly written minutes\u2014and all while rattling off jokes with an astonishingly high success rate. <\/p>\n
English Teacher also has a knack for closing out a scene with a comedic non sequitur that leaves the viewer wanting more. In episode five, \u201cEvan\u2019s Mom,\u201d Evan\u2019s mother pays him a visit, which leads to him having a long, heartfelt conversation with his class about how complicated these relationships can be. It\u2019s a sweet, thoughtful discussion capped by a student (Ben Bondurant) admitting in perfect deadpan: \u201cMy relationship to my folks is simple. They\u2019re suing me.\u201d <\/p>\n
Evan\u2019s students remain a kind of phone-addicted Greek chorus to his antics. Critically, the Gen Z lot aren\u2019t presented as entitled, too-online weirdos or perfectly progressive little angels here to save us all. They\u2019re no more or less messed up than Evan and his generation, just differently so, which makes the clashes between the two feel both fairer and way funnier. <\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s the man caught in the middle of these intra-school conflicts, Principal Grant Moretti (Enrico Colantoni, who brings a kindly exasperation to the character). Grant continues to operate, in his unassuming way, as the heart of the series: a deeply normal, very tired man who\u2019s just trying to get through another school day without getting canceled. <\/p>\n
The season finale suggests that English Teacher will be looking to evolve in the future, with the current crop of students moving on and the teachers going through some major relationship changes. For now, though, it\u2019s found the sort of cozy stasis that truly great sitcoms flourish in. <\/p>\n
Score:\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u00a0Cast: Brian Jordan Alvarez, Stephanie Koenig, Enrico Colantoni, Sean Patton, Carmen Christopher, Jordan Firstman \u00a0Network: FX
\nIf you can, please consider supporting Slant Magazine.<\/p>\n
Since 2001, we’ve brought you uncompromising, candid takes on the world of film, music, television, video games, theater, and more. Independently owned and operated publications like Slant have been hit hard in recent years, but we\u2019re committed to keeping our content free and accessible\u2014meaning no paywalls or fees.<\/p>\n
If you like what we do, please consider subscribing to our Patreon<\/a> or making a donation<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When it debuted last year, Brian John Alvarez\u2019s English Teacher felt like we\u2019d been watching it for years.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144968,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[96,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-144967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144967\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}