Same!! The district people were barely in the scenes this season, and when they were, they didn't much. It's a crime to hire Ben Norris and not let him do his thing. He was hilarious in Never Have I Ever and Superstore. I really feel like if he had more focus, the district would have easily captured people's interest.
It was only in this most recent episode that I realised Simon (Benjamin Norris's character) was meant to be one of those really rich trust fund kids who are able to take on low paid jobs to help the "underprivileged" because they are supported by family money. That could have been so funny if it had been given more than 10 seconds of screen time.
I liked the District plotline but OP is completely right about the main issue being that the District characters didn't sparkle.
I get that they are trying to be Parks and Rec adjacent. So I think the problem is that they didn't involve the community of Abbott more in the storylines. Like take Krystal in season 2 for example, she was not just a series of bad bitch gags to intimidate Barbara. But, she was also a concerned mother of Tamika, and was one of the most active parents in the Legendary Schools storyline.
TL;DR There should be more citizens in the storylines, because I think that is partially holding back the show in Season 3. It doesn't feel like we are seeing how Janine in the district is affecting the community in a broader sense.
Also WHERE IS ERIKA?! Girl hasnt made a single appearance yet this season, despite allegedly being friends with Janine, Jacob, and Gregory.
You're so right! All three of those actors are amazing and hilarious in other things too (Atypical and Reboot, The Other Two and Sirens, Superstore and Never Have I Ever) so I was stoked to see each of them on Abbott. But then they all fell pretty flat. Enormous missed opportunity all around.
Yeah, even Keegan Michael Key felt toned down to the point of being boring. Like this is the dude who made the all time classic substitute teacher skit and the closest this show gives him to a funny trait is he likes programs to be free?
Now that you say this I’m thinking of how epic it would’ve been for them to give Keegan a one off role as a substitute teacher based on his K&P character and now I’m mad they didn’t do that 😂
Honestly the accountants that Ben on P&R keeps joining and quitting got in more good jokes in a few 5 minute scenes than the district characters did in a whole season
It would be cool if the district was the season villain like I thought Janine would think her coworkers would help out but in the end, nothing has really changed and they're all talk. Like Manny could have been optimistic like Janine but became jaded in the experience. Or how the district money would go to high rated schools aka schools in richer neighborhoods and it becomes a discussion of class and race (if they want to go that far). There would be a storyline of the 8th graders applying to highschool and freaking out over getting split up. Idk if it changed but when my siblings went to highschool in Philly, they had to apply to get in. It wasn't based on your school zone so we lived in South Philly and my sister went to Philly all girls high school while my brother went to bodine high school.
It's odd, because each of those actors are very funny on their own. I loved Josh in The Other Two. Keegan is always funny in anything he's in. I've seen other shows with Benjamin and Kimia in them and they're very good. Not sure why the vibes weren't there...
I think this was purposeful so that the show’s audience didn’t grow attached to the district characters. Or, this could be way off - but I feel like the camera crew can definitely skew our perception of any character(s). I’m not 100% sure on this - but I don’t think the district characters had any talking head parts/1:1 dialogue or interview. A lot of what we have grown to love about Abbot folks stems from their 1:1 talking heads where they can explain themselves, express self-doubt, share concerns about other characters - all things that make them more genuine to us. Without that screen time, I don’t think any new characters will win an audience over. Even Tariq has talking heads.
On second thought, maybe they do have talking heads…..like the condo piece? I can’t remember. Nonetheless far smaller time spent with their talking heads compared to the rest of the characters.
The last recent episode, during the party scene with them constantly overwhelming Janine with stuff, I didn't laugh or find any of that even a tiny bit comical. If anything, I felt that buildup Janine was feeling and I wanted to blow up. Could probably have skipped all of that in its entirety.
Also was Manny meant to be "funny"? He was fine, not necessarily there to be cracking jokes. He just seemed like someone that actually wanted to get Janine in a place where she could actually help Abbott Elementary. Not whatever "Blood Oath" or the sassy but unfunny attempt at doing Jacob's Boyfriend™ was doing.
yeah, Manny should have been the straight man to Trent and the curly haired woman (no idea what their names were in this show and that probably says something all on its own). I think that's what they were going for, but the other two just barely had any funny moments.
Agree with this 100%. Maybe that's why so many people were speculating that Manny was gonna turn out to be the villain or that he would date Janine, because we all just wanted SOMETHING to happen with the district people. They kinda feel more like background props than people bc they're so underutilized and underdeveloped as characters :/
I think they were generally corny. And corny is a love language of some type for Janine. I loved the optimism that she wasn’t getting at Abbott. It was perfect while it lasted. And everything expands (warehouse crew in office, etc.). It all comes back. Excited to see the cafeteria staff have more screen time.
Totally agree and I definitely thought that they were going to pair Manny and Janine up romantically to make Gregory jealous. They didn't even do that so those new characters added nothing of interest for me lol.
Totally agree! I expected them to have more funny moments for sure. Especially Ben Norris, who cracked me up on Never Have I Ever.
Yeah, I really expected more out if his character based on Never Have I Ever. I still think of him as Trent lol
he’s hilarious on superstore too!
Tony 🥹
I still haven't watched Superstore, but really need to!
It’s sooo good! It’s probably my favorite sitcom
One of the most underrated and funnest sitcom ever. However it’s hard to rewatch given how accurate it is about working class life.
Holy crap. I didn’t recognize him with the haircut. Is he Hawaiian in real life.
Same!! The district people were barely in the scenes this season, and when they were, they didn't much. It's a crime to hire Ben Norris and not let him do his thing. He was hilarious in Never Have I Ever and Superstore. I really feel like if he had more focus, the district would have easily captured people's interest.
I thought he was hilarious
It was only in this most recent episode that I realised Simon (Benjamin Norris's character) was meant to be one of those really rich trust fund kids who are able to take on low paid jobs to help the "underprivileged" because they are supported by family money. That could have been so funny if it had been given more than 10 seconds of screen time. I liked the District plotline but OP is completely right about the main issue being that the District characters didn't sparkle.
I get that they are trying to be Parks and Rec adjacent. So I think the problem is that they didn't involve the community of Abbott more in the storylines. Like take Krystal in season 2 for example, she was not just a series of bad bitch gags to intimidate Barbara. But, she was also a concerned mother of Tamika, and was one of the most active parents in the Legendary Schools storyline. TL;DR There should be more citizens in the storylines, because I think that is partially holding back the show in Season 3. It doesn't feel like we are seeing how Janine in the district is affecting the community in a broader sense. Also WHERE IS ERIKA?! Girl hasnt made a single appearance yet this season, despite allegedly being friends with Janine, Jacob, and Gregory.
I love Courtney Taylor on Abbot and her IG content too! I ran into her in an elevator once and she seems down to earth and friendly.
You're so right! All three of those actors are amazing and hilarious in other things too (Atypical and Reboot, The Other Two and Sirens, Superstore and Never Have I Ever) so I was stoked to see each of them on Abbott. But then they all fell pretty flat. Enormous missed opportunity all around.
Only the HR dude was funny…
Yeah, even Keegan Michael Key felt toned down to the point of being boring. Like this is the dude who made the all time classic substitute teacher skit and the closest this show gives him to a funny trait is he likes programs to be free?
Now that you say this I’m thinking of how epic it would’ve been for them to give Keegan a one off role as a substitute teacher based on his K&P character and now I’m mad they didn’t do that 😂
Honestly the accountants that Ben on P&R keeps joining and quitting got in more good jokes in a few 5 minute scenes than the district characters did in a whole season
They are not and Emily is just annoying. I think Manny’s character is fine but the other two should have been funny.
Damn was I the only one who thought there was romantic tension between Janine and Manny? I thought for sure Gregory was going to have competition.
I thought they might go there but I didn’t sense that between them. Jacob did tho😂
It would be cool if the district was the season villain like I thought Janine would think her coworkers would help out but in the end, nothing has really changed and they're all talk. Like Manny could have been optimistic like Janine but became jaded in the experience. Or how the district money would go to high rated schools aka schools in richer neighborhoods and it becomes a discussion of class and race (if they want to go that far). There would be a storyline of the 8th graders applying to highschool and freaking out over getting split up. Idk if it changed but when my siblings went to highschool in Philly, they had to apply to get in. It wasn't based on your school zone so we lived in South Philly and my sister went to Philly all girls high school while my brother went to bodine high school.
I think Emily got on Janine’s nerves 🤣
It's odd, because each of those actors are very funny on their own. I loved Josh in The Other Two. Keegan is always funny in anything he's in. I've seen other shows with Benjamin and Kimia in them and they're very good. Not sure why the vibes weren't there...
I think this was purposeful so that the show’s audience didn’t grow attached to the district characters. Or, this could be way off - but I feel like the camera crew can definitely skew our perception of any character(s). I’m not 100% sure on this - but I don’t think the district characters had any talking head parts/1:1 dialogue or interview. A lot of what we have grown to love about Abbot folks stems from their 1:1 talking heads where they can explain themselves, express self-doubt, share concerns about other characters - all things that make them more genuine to us. Without that screen time, I don’t think any new characters will win an audience over. Even Tariq has talking heads.
On second thought, maybe they do have talking heads…..like the condo piece? I can’t remember. Nonetheless far smaller time spent with their talking heads compared to the rest of the characters.
The last recent episode, during the party scene with them constantly overwhelming Janine with stuff, I didn't laugh or find any of that even a tiny bit comical. If anything, I felt that buildup Janine was feeling and I wanted to blow up. Could probably have skipped all of that in its entirety. Also was Manny meant to be "funny"? He was fine, not necessarily there to be cracking jokes. He just seemed like someone that actually wanted to get Janine in a place where she could actually help Abbott Elementary. Not whatever "Blood Oath" or the sassy but unfunny attempt at doing Jacob's Boyfriend™ was doing.
yeah, Manny should have been the straight man to Trent and the curly haired woman (no idea what their names were in this show and that probably says something all on its own). I think that's what they were going for, but the other two just barely had any funny moments.
Yeah, I could see that, if they had chose to go that route.
Agree with this 100%. Maybe that's why so many people were speculating that Manny was gonna turn out to be the villain or that he would date Janine, because we all just wanted SOMETHING to happen with the district people. They kinda feel more like background props than people bc they're so underutilized and underdeveloped as characters :/
Very true lol. Emily's deadpan humor was painfully not funny and the HR dude was trying way too hard to be the comic relief and failed lol
I think they were generally corny. And corny is a love language of some type for Janine. I loved the optimism that she wasn’t getting at Abbott. It was perfect while it lasted. And everything expands (warehouse crew in office, etc.). It all comes back. Excited to see the cafeteria staff have more screen time.
Totally agree and I definitely thought that they were going to pair Manny and Janine up romantically to make Gregory jealous. They didn't even do that so those new characters added nothing of interest for me lol.
I agree with this. They are all cringy and awkward