Abbott Elementary Season 3's Janine Change Saved The Show's Most Underrated Characters

Summary Janine's absence in Season 3 of Abbott Elementary allowed the supporting cast to shine and get more focus in the series.

The shift from focusing on Janine to exploring other characters like Melissa and Barbara added depth to the show's storytelling.

Janine's eventual return to Abbott Elementary continued the trend of giving supporting characters like Ava more spotlight and funny storylines.

Losing Janine seemed like it would derail Abbott Elementary season 3 badly, but this instead afforded the show a chance to focus on its superb supporting cast. Abbott Elementary has gone from strength to strength since the show debuted. A workplace sitcom, Abbott Elementary is a mockumentary that follows overworked, underpaid teachers in a Philadelphia public school. That premise may sound surprisingly self-serious, but the show’s quick wit and clever character comedy mean that Abbott Elementary’s season 4 renewal came as no surprise. Central to the show’s success is its heroine, Quinta Brunson’s idealistic teacher, Janine Teagues.

Played by the show’s creator, Janine is an irrepressibly optimistic, endearingly nerdy young educator. Her relationships with teaching, with her potential love interest Gregory, and with her mentor Barbara Howard all shaped seasons 1 and 2 of the hit sitcom. As such, it was a little worrying when Abbott Elementary season 3's Janine storyline sent her to work at the school district on a fellowship. Janine’s absence seemed like it could hurt the show’s formula. However, the rest of Abbott Elementary’s supporting cast instead got a chance to shine as the show’s third outing continued to impress.

Janine’s New Job In Abbott Elementary Season 3 Gave Supporting Stars More Focus

Earlier Seasons Prioritized Janine Over Melissa and Barbara

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Sending Janine to the district jeopardized the show’s routine, but Janine’s Abbott Elementary season 3 absence opened up more screen time to focus on Barbara, Melissa, Gregory, and Jacob. All of these characters got subplots of their own throughout the first two seasons, but the show centered on Janine’s perspective. This changed when she left Abbott, with the series juggling her work in the district and the rest of the teachers coping in her absence. Even though Gregory already got a lot of screen time thanks to his relationship with Janine, his Garden Goofballs program illustrated a new side of him.

Many of Abbott Elementary’s most underrated supporting characters got a chance to shine as Janine moved on from the eponymous school. Melissa’s heartbreak in the season premiere resulted in her hooking up with a Fire Marshall, scandalizing Barbara in the process. Jacob’s time without Janine’s support saw him realize that his relationship with Zack was struggling, and the duo eventually broke up during her fellowship. Even Barbara learned something new, as she struggled to adjust to Janine’s library program and threatened to get it shut down until she realized that her unfair feedback could have ruined Janine’s hard work.

Abbott Elementary Season 3’s Janine Return Kept This Trend Alive

Janine’s Comeback Gave Ava Her First Great Season 3 Subplot

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While many of Abbott Elementary’s best supporting stars got stellar subplots in season 3, one of the show’s breakout characters was surprisingly subdued in this outing. Principal Ava barely got to be her zany self throughout the season’s first few episodes, outside a hilarious and sweet scene where she accosted Janine at the district. However, Janine’s comeback fixed this. Season 3, episode 10, “2 Ava 2 Fest,” gave Ava her funniest story so far. In the process, Abbott Elementary proved that Janine's return to the titular school wasn’t going to stop the series from giving its supporting characters the spotlight they deserve.

Episode # Episode Title Release Date 1 "Career Day, Part 1" February 7 2 "Career Day, Part 2" February 7 3 "Gregory's Garden Goofballs" February 14 4 "Smoking" February 21 5 "Breakup" February 28 6 "Willard R. Abbott" March 10 7 "Librarian" March 13 8 "Panel" March 20 9 "Alex" April 10 10 "2 Ava 2 Fest" April 17 11 "Double Date" April 24 12 "Mother's Day" May 8 13 Unknown Unknown 14 Unknown Unknown