English Teacher

A review of the Brian Jordan Alvarez‘s new show

English Teacher, streaming on Hulu

In English Teacher’s third episode, a student makes up a disease for clout—Asymptotic Tourettes—and the class lectures the teacher on the correct language. They’re insufferable and hilarious, but political correctness (or “woke,” as it’s called now) works on a pendulum; the students are also using the R-slur again. It’s like the ’90s, but not.

This time warp (elevated by the soundtrack) is a great setup for plots and jokes. English Teacher has the nostalgia of both Freaks and Geeks and Strangers with Candy—earnest and acerbic, that quintessential Gay comedy combo. Its best jokes are aimed at Queers of a certain age: the kids name the disease "KS," having no clue how Kaposi’s Sarcoma haunted our lives.

There are cum dump gags, a Trixie Mattel cameo as a tweaker-coded drag queen, and a controversy over a Gay kiss that feels new to the kids but, sadly, isn’t. There’s Jordan Firstman doing his “intolerable Gay man” character (which he is frighteningly good at) and Sean Patton as a coach who embodies toxic masculinity but also has sweet intentions (one of the hottest bears on TV, far as I’m concerned). The performance by Brian Jordan Alvarez (who stars in and created the show) is tender, egotistic, and neurotic, like many Gays I know. His relationship with his best friend (played by Stephanie Koenig) feels natural compared to many of the clichéd fag-hag dynamics of older media. Jen Lyon, playing a threatening conservative mother, is one of the funniest guest stars of the year (the way she whispers the “Gay” in “I don’t care if you’re Gay” made me cackle with PTSD). Alvarez’s interactions with his principal (the great Enrico Colantoni) feels fraught but kind, both constantly threading the needle between doing the best for the students and bowing to the political hellscape we’re in now. Alvarez’s jump from internet star to the small screen feels as natural as Issa Rae’s in Insecure, and there are echoes of that show here (it even includes a role by Insecure’s Langston Kerman). It’s a strong ensemble cast, which makes the show light, even as it deals with somber themes like guns, homophobia and Texas.

When English Teacher premiered with a poster very similar to Abbott Elementary’s, the criticisms piled on about it stealing that show’s formula. Twitter called it “Faggot Elementary” (lol), but it’s an unfair comparison. English Teacher has its own style; it resembles an indie film rather than a mockumentary. Like Abbott, though, it’s a love letter to teachers.

There was a time when there were no openly Queer faculty, but for many of us, the English or art teachers were the Queer-coded helpers of our adolescence—“Bachelors” who had to be careful with the pronouns of their family stories but who truly felt like they wanted to teach and help. The hardships haven’t diminished that much for Queer teachers, but as English Teacher aims to show, neither has their impact.

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