Review: F*ck People Who Don’t Like Little Gay Kisses
FX’s ‘English Teacher’ and the politics of high school
The Yearning Rating: ✰✰✰
Romance: ✰✰
Sex: ✰✰
Storytelling: ✰✰✰
Performance: ✰✰✰✰
Yearning: ✰✰✰✰✰
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Light spoilers of episodes 1 + 2 ahead.
Written by Ali Romig
There is something so pure and true about a gay English teacher. It just feels right. I myself was an English major in college (bombshell revelation, I know)—and I think the rule goes, your English teacher is either gay, or you have a gay crush on your English teacher. And every once in a while the world comes into perfect alignment: your English teacher is gay AND you have a gay crush on them, and then they become your idol and mentor. These are the options; get into it! So it makes sense that FX’s new series English Teacher is as much about navigating the halls of high school a gay adult as it is about the comic foibles of teaching.
The show follows high school English teacher Evan Marquez (Brian Jordan Alvarez) as he tries to make a positive impact at a suburban Texas school. He is joined by fellow teacher and best friend Gwen (Stephanie Koeing, who also writes for the show) and meathead gym teacher Markie (Sean Patton). It is clear that the comedy wants to tackle the fraught politics of today’s educational system head on. In the pilot, our titular teach is hit with an investigation when a parent (whose child has come out as gay) complains that Evan kissed his boyfriend in front of the class. When Evan can’t believe this is really happening, the principal reminds him, “politics are real.” While the investigation is eventually dropped, Evan is told that the board made a special rule for him: no dating faculty. This is perfectly fine, until he meets cute new teacher Harry (Langston Kerman). I smell a season arc!
School-set comedies are having a big moment right now, mostly thanks to Quinta Brunson’s Abbott Elementary, which took the network television airwaves by storm when it first premiered and continues to charm as it prepares for its fourth season. But while Brunson’s show takes place in an elementary school, and therefore tends towards more heartwarming and idealistic storytelling, English Teacher’s high school setting allows it to have a bit more bite–even if it ultimately lands in a similarly optimistic place. Though honestly, given Alvarez’s internet presence, I was almost expecting the show to be even less sincere than it ultimately is. I first learned of Alvarez on Instagram, where he creates videos as his alter ego TJ Mack and performs songs like “Sitting” and “I read it in the comments”. On social media, Alvarez touts an absurdist brand of observational comedy, but English Teacher is much more grounded (at least so far).
Straddling the line between genuine comedy and heartfelt appeal for acceptance, the show’s tone remains accessibly light despite addressing (unfortunately) hot-button topics. The soundtrack is chock-full of 80s hits that give the very contemporary setting a distinctly nostalgic feel. Despite being almost nothing like it, I couldn’t help but think of Glee while watching. Maybe because it has the same combination of earnestness and ridiculousness? I can sense that as the show develops, its comic tone will become clearer. The second episode already showed much more promise, featuring a powderpuff game where the girls played football using self-defense techniques and the boys learned how to cheer from a drag queen named Shazam (Trixie Mattel appearing both in and out of drag).
One thing that I especially appreciate about English Teacher is the way that it highlights who is really promoting toxic political discourse in schools: not the kids, but more likely their parents. Evan runs an after school book club for students and often seeks out their advice on the problems he’s having, which are some of my favorite scenes. The younger actors in this show are incredibly engaging and funny. I really hope we see them utilized more throughout the season, because they stood out as a major strength and an effective narrative foil for Evan’s character. Evan’s main struggle is a very internal one: processing the friction between his desire to “do the right thing” and his desire to maintain stability in his life (ie. not lose his job).
In general, I would love to see other characters brought forward throughout the season, and for the show to feature its ensemble more prominently (especially Koeing, who delights as Gwen). As it stands (and again, I’ve only seen two episodes!) Evan spends a lot of the show bopping around, or alone. If Abbott taught us anything, it’s that ensembles are where the magic happens.
English Teacher’s first two episodes may not have had me declaring it my new favorite comedy, but it’s still early in the school year, so to speak. There is a lot of potential here and I am excited to see what happens over the course of its (relatively short) eight-episode season. If the show allows itself to lean more into the absurdist tendencies of its lead, I think it’ll be a hit.
For now, it gets a B+.
You can watch English Teacher on FX and streaming on Hulu.
B+ is a good rating! It felt like The Bear meets Abbott imo