Summary
While not a lot is known aboutAbbot Elementaryseason 4’s crossover episode, the outing is likely to fix one of the few problems with season 3.Abbott Elementaryseason 4is one of the most anticipated TV show returns of 2024 and for good reason. The workplace sitcom won over critics and a massive audience in its first two seasons andAbbott Elementaryseason 3 saw the mockumentary come back stronger than ever in its third outing. Janine and Gregory’s potential romance remained engaging, the school’s staff were as hilarious as ever, and now there were cameos.
However, the last of these wasn’t the unadulterated good that it might have been.Abbott Elementaryseason 3 was one of 2024’s best comedies, and arguably the strongest network sitcom season of the year. That said, the show displayed a reliance on celebrity cameos that hadn’t been an issue in its earlier outings. Fortunately,Abbott Elementaryseason 4’s upcoming crossover episodecan now undo this issue. WhileAbbott Elementaryseason 3’s celebrity cameos eventually proved more tiresome than thrilling, season 4 can see the show prioritize its heroes again while still shaking up the cast list.
Abbott Elementary Revives A Sitcom Trope I Thought Was Gone For Good
Against the odds, Abbott Elementary’s success managed to revive a classic sitcom trope that I thought had been dead for almost a full decade.
Abbott Elementary Season 4’s Crossover Episode Justifies Cameos
Season 4 Has An Explanation For Its Guest Stars
Abbott Elementaryseason 4’s crossover allows the show to accommodate high-profile cameos without sacrificing verisimilitude.Abbott Elementary’s critical acclaim and popularity with audiences meant that stars like Bradley Cooper, Lana Condor, and Kevin Hart were lined up to appear in season 3. However, the show’s grounded setting and believable stories are a big part of its appeal. By bringing so many famous faces to the humble titular institution,Abbott Elementary risked ruining the show’s immersive atmosphere. A crossover episode is much less problematic in this regard. When celebrities play themselves in a cameo, this can be a jarring choice.
Some appearances by A-list celebrities can simply feel discordant.
Sometimes this works when the celebrity’s presence is a joke in itself.Questlove’s appearance inAbbott Elementaryseason 3was a perfect cameo since the entire preceding subplot centered on characters confidently asserting that Principal Ava didn’t really know the legendary musician. However, some appearances by A-list celebrities can simply feel discordant. The stars of whatever showAbbott Elementarycrosses over with won’t have this issue. They are guaranteed to have a preordained role in the episode, something season 3’s guest stars lacked. When two shows cross over, the characters have built-in shared dynamics.
Abbott Elementary Season 3 Struggled To Integrate Its Guest Stars
Some Celebrity Cameos Seemed Superfluous
If Zooey Deschanel played herself in a random episode ofBrooklyn Nine-Nine, this could be weird and oddly meta. Similarly, if Andy Samberg had a cameo as himself inNew Girl, this might not have worked tonally. In contrast,New GirlandBrooklyn Nine-Nine’s characters meeting each other in crossover episodes worked because viewers already knew their personalities.Abbott Elementaryseason 4’s crossover won’t have to establish new charactersfor its guest stars, which is where season 3 struggled. Specifically, Kevin Hart and Bradley Cooper’s cameos themselves felt superfluous as both actors didn’t have major roles to play.
Abbott Elementaryseason 4 will be working with an established set of characters in its crossover episode.
SinceAbbott Elementary’s heroine Janinewas the real focus of both episodes, neither outing had enough screen time to give Cooper or Hart anything interesting to do. Both stars had funny moments, but there is a reason their appearances were limited to a cold open and a credit scene respectively. In contrast,Abbott Elementaryseason 4 will be working with an established set of characters in its crossover episode. As such, the show can rely on its existing personalities and built-in appeal to viewers, soAbbott Elementarydoesn’t need to find something for these guest stars to do.
Abbott Elementary Season 3’s Best Guests Prove Season 4’s Crossover Can Work
Lana Condor and Mike O’Malley Improved The Mockumentary
BothLana Condor and Mike O’Malley’s roles inAbbott Elementarywere more successful cameos, but this was largely because the actors didn’t play themselves. Instead, they played original characters and, crucially, these characters played a pivotal part in the show’s story and weren’t just a big-name distraction.Melissa’sAbbott Elementaryseason 3 relationshiptook place mostly off screen, but O’Malley still made an impression as the safety officer who wooed her. Similarly, Condor was appealing enough for her flirtations with Gregory to seriously jeopardize his potential relationship with Janine.
These subplots had dramatic weight, something that Hart and Cooper’s guest roles lacked. Fortunately,Abbott Elementaryseason 4’s crossover episode is guaranteed to boast the same level of character focus. Since the mystery show’s heroes will already be established characters that viewers know, Abbott Elementarycan devote most of its screen time and attention to its own protagonists. In the process,Abbott Elementaryseason 4 can solve a season 3 problem and offer viewers a truly great crossover episode at the same time.
