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In Abbott Elementary<\/a>\u2018s delightful series premiere, a humble rug acts as a symbol of Janine Teagues\u2019 perseverance. She teams up with her colleagues to ensure that the students at her underfunded Philadelphia school receive the resources and support they need, so she stands up to her boss to try and acquire new rugs for the class. With that, Abbott makes it clear that this mockumentary isn\u2019t about the shenanigans of a Michael Scott-esque leader\u2014although Principal Ava (Janelle James<\/a>) is initially incompetent, and the episode is directed by Office vet Randall Einhorn. Instead, it\u2019s about the community formed by its teachers. The pilot, which won series creator and star Quinta Brunson an Emmy<\/a> for Outstanding Writing In A Comedy, immediately catapulted viewers into a wholesome sitcom. Now in its fifth season, ABC\u2019s award-winning show helped revitalize workplace mockumentaries on TV, with NBC returning to the format it helped make popular in the United States in the mid-aughts.\u00a0<\/p>\n Before Abbott\u2018s 2021 debut, TV\u2019s faux documentaries had been largely associated with the dry humor of 2005\u2019s The Office. Greg Daniels\u2019 American adaptation of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant\u2019s British hit tried to mimic its biting voice to mixed results at the start. Upon its 2009 debut, Parks And Recreation (from Daniels and Michael Schur) had a similar approach. While dissecting the daily cubicle grind, these series relied on social discomfort and secondhand embarrassment for laughs. Eventually, both sitcoms became warmer through grounded interpersonal dynamics, romantic slow burns<\/a>, and meaningful character development. Their trademark awkwardness turned into something cozier that could last much longer.\u00a0<\/p>\n Abbott tapped into the feel-good factor right away, which resonated with its audience quickly<\/a>, particularly since it launched during a fraught time of a global pandemic. It emphasizes the challenges teachers face from the American education system\u2019s messiness. In an interview with The A.V. Club <\/a>during season one, Brunson reiterated that \u201ccharacters like Janine represent the best of teachers\u201d and that she hoped to connect with educators who are new or have been doing the work for 20 years. Abbott helped mark a shift in American mockumentaries, which seem to be getting nicer and more grounded to reflect a collective need for sunnier 20-minute escapism that is also rooted in reality. It\u2019s a formula that\u2019s used in NBC\u2019s recent St. Denis Medical<\/a> (about overstretched doctors and nurses at an Oregon hospital), Stumble (in which a cheerleading coach trains budding athletes with no financial support from a junior college), and Peacock\u2019s The Paper<\/a> (wherein a fledgling publication\u2019s employees and volunteers strive to make an impact). These three comedies contrast the acerbic dispositions of What We Do In The Shadows and American Vandal and feel more in line with the decidedly nice aspects of, say, Jury Duty.\u00a0<\/p>\n St. Denis Medical, co-created by Superstore\u2018s Justin Spitzer and Eric Ledgin, finds odd comfort in an ER\u2019s chaos. Sweet, funny, and boosted by a terrific ensemble, the lighthearted sitcom still touches on real problems like the hospital\u2019s lack of resources, dealing with tough patients, and figuring out a work-life balance. The sitcom isn\u2019t prickly even if some of its protagonists are. Take a recent season-two outing, \u201cI Left A Woman On The Table,\u201d in which a sometimes irksome Joyce (Wendi McLendon-Covey) takes on an ER shift. As the hospital\u2019s current executive director\/former oncologist, she wants to prove that they don\u2019t need to hire more nurses, only to witness firsthand the strain that Alex (Allison Tolman) and Val (Kaliko Kauahi) experience every day.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Paper, an Office spin-off, also takes a gentle approach. Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson), the new editor-in-chief of the Toledo Truth-Teller, is determined to revamp the once-prestigious newspaper\u2019s brand. His conviction about the goals of journalism are infectious and necessary both on and off the screen, considering the current media landscape<\/a> driven by AI, fake news, and a lack of trust in reporters. Co-created by The Office\u2018s Daniels and Nathan For You\u2018s Michael Koman, The Paper\u2018s thankfully comforting humor doesn\u2019t mock its setting, nor entirely sanitize it, borrowing mostly from how Parks And Recreation portrayed its elected officials. (Among other similarities, the show also began airing on NBC proper this month.)\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the latest entrant in this format, Stumble, from brother-sister duo Jeff and Liz Astroff. With broader comedy than the other two aforementioned recent shows, this NBC sitcom is still plenty charming, resonant, and, per an A.V. Club essay<\/a>, something of a Friday Night Lights successor. In the series, a plucky cheerleading coach gets fired from her Texas institute and finds a new home in Oklahoma\u2019s underfunded Headltston State Junior College. But not even the ill-equipped court, with water dripping from the roof, or a severe lack of money for costumes will stop Courteney Potter (Jenn Lyon) from trying to win the upcoming championship. Inspired by Netflix\u2019s docuseries Cheer (that show\u2019s retired star Monica Aldama is an executive producer), Stumble is buoyed by an impressive cast (including guest turns from Jeff Hiller<\/a> and Busy Phillips<\/a>) and down-to-earth scenarios. Courteney goes out of her way to help her young athletes, opening up her home to one of them who lives out of her car and bonding with a promising student who is a rebellious klepto. Predictable patterns notwithstanding, Stumble\u2018s welcoming vibes are akin to Abbott\u2019s.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Although these new shows follow in Abbott\u2018s footsteps, only the ABC show is on the honor roll of viewership numbers<\/a>. The Paper, despite a season-two renewal, earned modest ratings<\/a> upon its linear debut this month, while St. Denis and Stumble struggled <\/a>to find their footing (no doubt in part due to its Monday and Friday night airings, respectively). However, that\u2019s more of a statement about network TV than the shows\u2019 quality. Hopefully, they get the time to grow and connect with an audience that has demonstrated an affinity for this flavor of mockumentaries.\u00a0<\/p>\n Saloni Gajjar is The A.V. Club\u2019s TV critic.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article
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