Abbott Elementary Showrunner Shoots Down Season 3 Fan Theory

After a months-long delay due to the writers and actors strikes, the network TV season is in full swing, and that means hit shows like Abbott Elementary are back on our screens every week. While the series is just as funny as ever in its third season, there is one big difference caused by the timing of the strikes. Season 3 was planned to be a 22-episode season, as is the norm for popular network TV shows, but the strikes pushing the season premiere from September to February required some major changes in the writer's room, as the episode count went from 22 to 14.

With fewer episodes in Season 3, Abbott Elementary won't be exploring some of the individual stories that the show was able to focus on in Season 2. For example, many fans believed that Season 3 would give us some insight into Ava's life outside of school, like it did for Janine and Melissa. That won't be the case.

Speaking to TVLine, Abbott Elementary co-showrunner Justin Halpern was asked about the exploration of Ava's home life. He explained that the trimming down of the season's episode count resulted in a story that remains more focused on what actually happens at the school.

"When we were first planning out the big building blocks of 22 episodes, there was a lot of room to do [that]," Halpern said. "But now we have 14, and you don't have the ability to have that one episode that's like, 'Let's drill down on this one thing in this character's life!' But we do get into some stuff with [Ava] that I find really interesting."

Fortunately, there will be more time to explore Ava and other characters in Season 4. ABC has already renewed the Emmy-winning Abbott Elementary for a fourth installment.

What is Abbott Elementary About?

The synopsis for Abbott Elementary reads, "A workplace comedy following a group of dedicated, passionate teachers — and a slightly tone-deaf principal —as they navigate the Philadelphia public school system. Despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life, and though these incredible public servants may be outnumbered and underfunded, they love what they do — even if they don't love the school district's less-than-stellar attitude toward educating children."