Friendships on Abbott Elementary School are a big part of what makes the ABC mockumentary one of the greatest. Their bond grew steadily over five seasons, ultimately feeling organic rather than imposed on viewers.
Despite THE Abbott Elementary School Due to the differences in the characters’ ages and lifestyles, the group learned from each other and grew together for the sake of their poorly funded school. As the show progresses, the friendships become stronger. Even strange bonds become stronger because each character learns from the other’s differences.
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Janine and Melissa
Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson) and Melissa Schemmenti (Lisa Ann Walter) are a fun pair on Abbott Elementary School due to their contrasting and opposite personalities teaching styles. Compared to Melissa, Janine is a novice teacher whose optimism never fades. She is positive, hopeful and confident in her ideas, even if they don’t come true as she envisioned. On the other hand, Melissa is thick-skinned, realistic and a little shady.
Janine reminds Melissa to see the good in things, while Melissa teaches Janine to play a little dirty when times get tough. Melissa’s courage rubs off on the new teachers and has become a mentor of sorts to Janine.
Season 2’s “Principal’s Office” was one of Janine and Melissa’s best episodes. Seeing Janine eating her sad lunches daily, Melissa invited her over for a home-cooked meal and to learn how to cook on a budget.
The two bonded over family issues after Janine realized that she and Melissa were both arguing with their sisters. Together, Janine and Melissa have a lot to learn from each other, but they don’t make the best friend duo in the group.
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Mr. Johnson and Ava
Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis) is technically friends with everyone at Abbott Elementary School as a nosy janitor, but he is closest to principal Ava Coleman (Janelle James).
Unlike the other main staff members, Ava is dramatic, sarcastic, and disjointed when it comes to fighting for what she deserves. Mr. Johnson is a man who has apparently lived nine lives and exhibits similar personality traits to Ava.
Both characters are chaotic and mysterious. They also have low-key side activities outside of Abbott Elementary and similar punchlines.
Ava and Mr. Johnson are independently strong, but silently support each other. Ava slowly became Abbott main character and never treated Mr. Johnson any differently because he is a janitor who enjoys his time with the teachers. Plus, she appreciates his views.
In Season 2’s “Wrong Delivery,” Ava trusted Mr. Johnson’s opinion when it came to allocating additional funds to a school department. She also includes it in teacher appreciation gifts. The chaos between Mr. Johnson and Ava is fun to watch, but their bond isn’t the strongest in the series.
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Gregory and Jacob
Gregory Eddie (Jesse Tyler Williams) and Jacob Hill’s (Chris Perfetti) friendship started out as one-sided. Jacob taught at Abbott for a year until Gregory was hired as a long-term substitute. Over time, Gregory accepted a formal teaching position and joined the adorable team at Abbott Elementary School.
Jacob showed immediate platonic interest in Gregory, but Gregory needed time to become acquainted with Abbott’s unique array of teachers and unhinged principal. Seeing how much Jacob tried to be friends with Gregory was sitcom gold. Eventually, Gregory grew accustomed to Jacob’s energetic ways and the friendship deepened.
Jacob’s golden retriever energy contrasts with Gregory’s black cat nature in season 3, when they spend more time together amid Jacob’s breakup with Zach. Gregory’s quiet support for Jacob was felt and the friendship deepened.
Now in Season 5, the two are considered close friends as they spend more time together outside of school and help each other in their relationships. They balance each other because they share contrasting interests and passions. Jacob is also a big supporter of Gregory’s relationship with Janine, who plays a role in Abbott Elementary School larger subplot.
What makes their friendship better than Mr. Johnson and Ava’s, or even Janine and Melissa’s, is that they spend a lot of time together outside of work. Their comfort level with each other shines brightly within the group.
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Janine and Jacob
In season 1 of Abbott Elementary SchoolJanine and Jacob’s friendship was at the forefront. The two survived their first year of teaching together and shared the same goals: wanting drastic changes for this poorly funded school.
Both characters are lively and enthusiastic in their teaching careers. They consider Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph) their mentor and both have a close bond with Gregory. Their passion for their students is felt through the screens, as their similarities make them a fun duo to Abbott Elementary School.
Season 1’s “Work Friends” marked the beginning of their budding friendship. While Janine considered Jacob a close friend of hers, Jacob only considered them work friends. Janine became angry at the thought of not having any real friends, but the conversation opened the door for them to become closer. By season 5, they are heavily involved in each other’s lives and have created a friendship outside the walls of Abbott.
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Barbara and Janine
Although Barbara and Janine are very good friends, their relationship is more of a mother-daughter type. Janine has considered Barbara a mentor since she joined the teaching staff at Abbott Elementary School.
Barbara has been teaching at Abbott for at least 30 years. Its nature of Abbott Elementary School The teacher is reliable, as she transmits her knowledge to both students and colleagues. Because of her vast knowledge of the inner workings of teaching, Janine admires Barbara in more ways than one.
Janine didn’t have a stable mother figure growing up, and in many ways, Barbara filled that space in her heart for her. In the episode “Mom”, Janine’s mother, Vanetta (Taraji P. Henson), visited Abbott to meet Janine’s class. However, his intentions were not honorable.
Barbara realized that Vanetta was only visiting Janine to borrow money, not to spend time with her. Barbara’s protective instincts kicked in and Janine appreciated (if not necessary) them. The two became closer after the season 2 episode, and Barbara has been guiding Janine ever since.
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Melissa and Barbara
Melissa and Barbara’s friendship solidified in season 1 of Abbott Elementary. They were two veteran teachers who had worked at the school for years and had witnessed the good and the bad in its students.
Their friendship is one of the best in the series due to their friendly banter coupled with their obvious differences. It shows that even though people are different, it is possible to learn and grow from each other.
Barbara is a religious woman devoted to her family and her church. Living Godly is something she talks about repeatedly and she often reminds Melissa to live virtuously.
Their strong friendship, coupled with their opposing viewpoints, brings comedic moments to the series. However, both fell on hard times. In “Attack Ad”, Barbara judges Melissa for her shady lifestyle in response to a negative campaign against Abbott.
In “Panel”, Barbara discovered that Melissa didn’t always share everything about her personal life with her and was jealous when Jacob knew more than her. Regardless of their personal differences, the two always rise above the noise and remain one of the strongest friendships on the show.
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Melissa and Jacob
The best friendship of Abbott Elementary School is between Melissa and Jacob. Their unlikely bond became both a source of constant comedy and comfort for the characters.
Jacob is a young, progressive educator who is passionate about teaching and making real change in the world. Her free-thinking views contrast greatly with Melissa’s, as Melissa is more cynical with a darker sense of humor. Together, Melissa makes Jacob tough while encouraging a more compassionate side in her.
In season 3’s “Librarian,” their friendship deepened when both characters were looking for roommates. Jacob moved in with Melissa, and the unlikely duo discovered they had more in common than they thought.
To watch The Real Housewives from New Jersey cooking together, the two bonded more than expected. They were so excited by each other’s presence at work that they felt like they had to hide their friendship from others to avoid the envy of Barbara, Janine, and Mr. Johnson.
Season 5’s “Ballgame” had some hilarious moments between the two when Melissa introduced the beer and hot dog culture of baseball to Jacob. THE Abbott Elementary School The episode was a great reminder that Melissa and Jacob are constantly bonding and learning from each other, even when the cameras aren’t rolling.
Abbott Elementary School
9/10
- Release date
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December 7, 2021
- Showrunner
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Quinta Brunson
- Writers
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Quinta Brunson
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Quinta Brunson
Janine Teagues
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Tyler James Williams
Gregory Eddie
