School is back in session as Abbott Elementary: The Complete Third Season is now available on DVD from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment. Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment sent Cherry the Geek TV a copy for review.
Quinta Brunson, Emmy® Award winner for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, created the series and stars as educator Janine Teagues. In addition to Brunson, the cast includes Tyler James Williams as Gregory Eddie, Janelle James as Ava Coleman, Lisa Ann Walter as Melissa Schemmenti, Chris Perfetti as Jacob Hill, William Stanford Davis as the custodian Mr. Johnson, and Emmy® Award winner Sheryl Lee Ralph as Barbara Howard.
Coming back to ABC with an abbreviated 14-episode season due to the writer’s and actor’s strike in 2023, it’s one of the network’s top performers. It’s the season for change for the teachers of Abbott Elementary in season three. Janine leads ambitious growth initiatives for the school while navigating personal and professional challenges. Gregory embraces his role as the “cool” teacher. Ava surprises with moments of unexpected leadership. From Career Day to a heartfelt end-of-year celebration, the Abbott staff prove that with teamwork- and Janine’s relentless drive – they can handle anything.
The series is still one of the best comedies on network television. The performances and characters are hilarious, the students are funny, and the show is well-directed, with it’s “mockumentary” style. If you were a fan of the first two seasons, there is much to enjoy here. There is also a cool crossover with the characters from FX‘s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which is also set in the city of Philadelphia.
The audio and video are fine– for DVD. If you’re looking for HD, the only current option is to buy on Digital or stream on Hulu and/or Max. The one criticism (and it’s a big one) is that the set contains ZERO bonus features. In a normal year, I would go off a little more on this issue. Since everything was shut down for most of the year for the strikes though, which also meant there were no appearances at San Diego Comic Con, PaleyFest, FYC events, etc., and there was such a short turnaround to produce the episodes, I’m going to give Warner Bros. Discovery a pass on that this year. I don’t like it, but I understand. There WAS a Comic-Con panel right before season 4 though. Hopefully, the lack of bonus features will be rectified for season four.
If you’re a super-fan of the series and want to own all of the episodes in a physical format, this is the only option at the moment. If you’re a casual fan, and since there is lack of bonus features and HD Video, I would probably skip or hold off until there’s a sale. The show itself is great though.
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