English Teacher

Glee this ain't. And that's a good thing. Nails the highs and lows of trying to get by and teach in a public school in today's environment. The comedy is heightened, at times verging on full on satire. The lead character, the English teacher, is gay, so of course there's going to be some focus on lgbt+ issues with him and in the high school itself. But the show enjoys making light of both extremes in our polarized society, left and right. If lgbt+ is all it takes for you to not want to give this, or any show a shot, then I suppose it's not for you. And by that same token, good luck in life if that's all it takes. But for others, I hope you'll give it a try, especially the second episode. The episode seems to be playing out somewhat like a feel good cliché movie, and then there's a hilarious reveal.

Also, somebody commented that they thought this was going to be a wholesome workplace comedy. First off it's on FX. Do you not know what their brand is? And it's a TV MA show. Do your homework. Silly criticism. It's FX - which tends to mean it's daring and groundbreaking in some way. There's some mild swearing and adult content. Move on.

The pilot of this new series comes out of the gate fast and strong. The writing is tight, sharp and witty. It handles (and skewers) a lot of timely topics and political correctness without being preachy or heavy handed. It's one of the stronger starts to a comedy series I've seen in a decade. If somewhat R-rated comedy offends you, I'd recommend skipping this. If a gay man as a lead character makes you angry or uncomfortable, also skip it (and maybe do some self reflection on that).

The handful of negative reviews either seem upset that the gay lead character has a love life OR the that the comedy doesn't execute with a *ba-dum-tish!* laugh track style that tells you when it's time to laugh like so many, tired sitcom shows. This ain't The Big Bang Theory and that's a good thing.

It's clear the cast all understands the tone and pacing and the sarcasm comes through very effectively. If the show doesn't take off/ find its audience right away, I think it'll develop a following down the line.

It's a refreshing situation-comedy full of satire and sarcasm, it's not politically correct and it is very, very funny. I'm glad that the censors didn't butcher it by cutting pictures, topics and dialog. It plays against stereotypes, like Markie the PE teacher and coach who is smart and has figured out the students and is not a stereotypical brainless jock/coach.

The scripts for the first three episodes I've seen are very original, with great characters who are well written. The dialog is funny and original. Brian Jordan Alvarez, Stephanie Koenig, Sean Patton and Enrico Colantoni are exceptional. And kudos to the young actors/actresses who play the students, they're very good.

FX only ordered 8 episodes, this should have received 18 or 22 episodes it's so well written. This will be copied by other networks because it's so original. I normally hate sit-coms because they'd stupid and not funny, this one is very funny without a laugh track or an audience.

Am reviewing after only one episode, but based on that, would offer a cautious recommendation. The actors do a commendable job, and the writers nail the myriad issues in today's cultural/political environment that high school students, their parents, and the teachers have to navigate in today's overheated times. In doing so, there are a handful of laughs intermixed with some more poignant moments, and those make for entertaining viewing. But the overall tone tends to run a bit shrill and overplayed which diminishes the impact. Worth giving a look but at least so far not the succeess one might hope for.

This show is absolutely hilarious. I'm also a mother with 2 gen z's and one gen alpha. It's fairly accurate and my daughter can relate. I love how Jordan is showing all sides, including all the contradictions, when it comes to schools and lgbtq related issues. And to the reviewer that gave 1 star, based on your other only 1 star reviews, you could seriously benefit from a spelling and grammar lesson with Mr. Marquez. And side note, having lgbtq representation doesn't make it an agenda. It's reality. They exist. It may be exaggerated for comedy, but there's no evil agenda. Relax. Have fun. It's damn funny.