‘Abbott Elementary’ Season 3: Release Date, News, Cast, and More

Abbott Elementary is coming back for another school year! After Season 2 left many fans in the feels with Janine and Gregory, it’s down to wondering what’s next for the pair. Unfortunately, this year’s strikes delayed the series’ return, but the good news is that Season 3 is in production and will premiere on February 7, 2024!

Here’s what we know about Abbott Elementary Season 3. Spoilers ahead for Season 2.

Is Abbott Elementary Season 3 Happening?

Yes, fans can rest easy as ABC announced its renewal of Abbott Elementary back in January 2023. Production and writing for Abbott Elementary Season 3 was supposed to start four months later. However, the WGA went on strike, followed by SAG-AFTRA, putting production on hold. Both strikes were resolved in September and November 2023, respectively. And the series went back into production on November 27.

“Abbott Elementary is the gift that keeps on giving, and I look forward to many more magnificent episodes of this brilliant, authentic, and just plain funny series,” said Warner Bros. Television Group Chairman and CEO Channing Dungey.

Abbott Elementary was created by Quinta Brunson and premiered in 2021. The show has since received Emmy and Golden Globe wins and nominations as well as critical success. Abbott Elementary follows Janine Teagues, a second-grade teacher at the fictional Willard R. Abbott Elementary School. Since premiering, it has been praised not just for its mockumentary-style approach, but also for its addressing of social issues.

The renewal of Abbott Elementary also came at the heels of the show’s wins at the 80th Golden Globes. Unfortunately, with the coming season, there will be fewer episodes. The final episode count has yet to be revealed, but Season 3 would likely have less than 22 episodes. Brunson remained optimistic about the count.

“We did 22 last season, and that’s a lot of TV in particular for me because I’m writing and producing and starring in it. So for me, I welcomed a shorter season because it was tiring, exhausting, work. Love it, but exhausting for me,” said Brunson.

Abbott Elementary Cast

For Abbott Elementary Season 3, we can expect the teachers to return for another school year. This includes Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues, Tyler James Williams as Gregory Eddie, and Janelle James as Principal Ava Coleman. Also expected to return are Lisa Ann Walter as Melissa Schemmenti, Chris Perfetti as Jacob Hill, and William Stanford Davis as Mr. Johnson. The same can be said for Sheryl Lee Ralph as Barbara Howard.

The supporting characters in Season 2 include Zack Fox as Tariq Temple and Orlando Jones as Martin Eddie. It can be assumed that many of these characters will return for Abbott Elementary Season 3.

The guest stars for Season 3 have yet to be announced.

What Happened in Season 2?

During the Season 2 finale of Abbott Elementary, Janine and Gregory finally admitted their feelings for each other after they kissed at the teachers’ conference. But it was also there that Janine realized that she didn’t need to be in a relationship. After that realization, the two of them decided to remain friends, at least for now.

Meanwhile, Jacob came through for Gregory after he panicked over Janine’s behavior before they confessed their feelings for each other. Ava, on the other hand, got honest with her students about aliens, many of them getting scared by the revelations she made. But then chaos ensued when they thought there really was one in the museum. However, they realized it was only Barbara wearing a CPAP machine to sleep.

The second season also ended with Janine preparing for her summer break.

“She’s maturing, he’s maturing,” Brunson told TVLine shortly after the finale. “We wanted that mature path to continue for them as individuals. I kind of want the characters to be able to grow a little bit more as individuals so we can see where they land.”

What to Expect in Season 3?

In April 2023, Abbott Elementary co-showrunner Justin Halpern hinted at what the writers’ room suggested for Season 3.

“The second season ended up talking about charter schools and the push and pull of those, and the first season was sort of about the challenges of being woefully underfunded,” Halpern told Decider. “And so I think we have an idea, we’ve talked with Quinta, and I think there’s a larger overarching idea that we’ve sort of landed on for Season 3 that I think is really interesting and I’ve never seen it on TV before.”

In October 2023, Brunson shared an update regarding the show, following the end of the WGA strike. Brunson revealed that they have their work cut out for them after a long break.

“My room was ready to go back, I was ready to go back. Talking about that arc helps us start to put together episodes. So we talk about our arc, talk about the stories we want to tell, the special, the unique, funny stories that can fall within that arc. We talked about our premiere, which I’m trying not to spoil. That became the focus of the past two weeks,” said Brunson, adding how the unexpected delay also meant a change in approach to the story for Season 3.

Brunson added that there is “a lot of heavy lifting to do,” especially when they are to explain their unexpected hiatus. “In a way that we think engages the audience, protects the world we built,” said the actress. “So that felt inspiring, to build something that was both grounded and for this premiere, splashy enough to bring people back at the same time.”

What Else to Expect

In the Deadline interview, Brunson revealed that because of the unexpected delay, there will be major changes for Season 3. One of the challenges Brunson and the show’s writers face is the show’s timeline and the unknown premiere dates.

“Our season will still be on the school calendar. Last year, we started airing an episode when school started. We’re not doing that this year,” said Brunson. “It’s not like coming back to a family show where you can pop in on that family on any sitcom-y thing. It’s really like, what’s going on in the school?”

Abbott Elementary Season 3 Release Date News & Speculation

We can rest assured that new episodes are in the works. Deadline reported that Abbott Elementary reopened its writers’ room the week of October 2, 2023. Production also began on November 27, 2023, and ABC has announced that Season 3 will premiere on February 7, 2024.

For now, fans can rewatch the first two seasons of Abbott Elementary on Hulu.