English Teacher Assumes We're All on the Same Page

"The magic sauce of FX's English Teacher is nostalgia. The show evokes high-school movies from another time: Its credits are scrawled in a neon-pink cursive that would be right at home against the backdrop of a John Hughes-movie establishing shot of a nondescript municipal building. Evan Marquez (played by Brian Jordan Alvarez) scrambles out of bed and zips off to his job while "Manic Monday" plays in the background."

"And like an '80s high-school comedy, no one - teachers, students, administration, and parents - is bringing their best to this school. It's not a tale of high achievement or saccharine self-discovery. No one's a complete clown; no one's a total villain; no one is the perfectly charming hero with an easy romantic arc. The cafeteria is full of trash, and the equipment is old. Everything's just a little grubby."

"The series, which released its second season in its entirety last month, was created by Alvarez with executive producers including Portlandia co-creator Jonathan Krisel and comedy producing legend Paul Simms. Its humor is largely about school Right Now. In season one, the good-natured, boneheaded gym teacher, Mr. Hillridge (Sean Patton), ropes Evan into giving a class presentation on nonbinary identity, something Evan is loath to do because he's sure the kids already understand nonbinary identification perfectly well"

English Teacher channels '80s and '90s high-school comedies through neon-pink cursive credits, synth-era needle drops, and visual callbacks to Ferris Bueller. The series pairs nostalgic music with a grubby, imperfect school environment where teachers, students, administrators, and parents underperform without becoming caricatures. Characters are flawed but humane, and high school is depicted as a necessary, sometimes mortifying, occasionally meaningful life stage rather than a sweeping triumph. Season two maintains this tone. Season one included a storyline in which Mr. Hillridge persuades Evan Marquez to present on nonbinary identity, a proposal Evan resists out of assumed student familiarity.

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