‘English Teacher’ Review: The Schoolhouse Rocks in Brian Jordan Alvarez’s Hilarious Scholastic Comedy
FX enters the arena of educator comedies with English Teacher, a Brian Jordan Alvarez original that follows Evan Marquez as he teaches English and literature to high school students at a public school in Austin, Texas. More importantly, the incisive comedy uncovers the awkwardness of existing around people at work without knowing the full context of their lives. Alvarez doesn’t need any Instagram filters to make this heartfelt ode to being oneself work, though one of his favorite distorted filters would add new flavor to more sentimental scenes.
The personal lives of our coworkers can sometimes be obfuscated by professionalism and a desire to remain private, but being the people we’re likely around more than anyone else, it can create dissonance not to fully reveal oneself to the people around them. The series follows Evan and his group of teacher friends, including his best friend, Gwen (Stephanie Koenig, Lessons in Chemistry), Rick the guidance counselor (Carmen Christopher, The Bear), and new physics teacher, Harry (The Other Black Girl), all navigating the social structures imposed on us inside a job. Evan’s also dealing with his on-again-off-again-but-still-having-sex-ex-boyfriend, Malcolm (Jordan Firstman, Ms. Marvel), a man comfortable with himself and free enough to give Evan’s neuroticism a workout anytime they’re around each other. Knee-jerk reactions will be to compare the series to Abbott Elementary, another series about educators, but the difference in both the grade levels being taught and the networks the shows air on is proof enough that the comparison can mostly end there.
English Teacher thrives in the awkwardness of both having to remain professional against total insanity and how to exist amongst one’s coworkers. The series manages to find insight in its humor, a microscope placed on the strange behaviors teenagers put their teachers through. The first six episodes of the series available to critics provide a well-rounded preview of what the series is and has the potential to become while laying the foundation of a show that should run for several more seasons. The show’s specificity becomes its greatest comedic weapon as jokes come faster each episode, leaving less time in between as they’re fired off by Alvarez and the supporting cast. Alvarez, known for his involvement in Jane the Virgin as well as the most insane videos you’ve ever seen on Instagram, steps into the role with a natural fortitude, Evan’s principles guiding him into situations that need a sense of realism in the performance. It’s a role suited for Alvarez’s natural strengths as a performer, his expressive reactions providing much enjoyment as he irritably handles things around him.
Alvarez has surrounded himself with an irresistible cast that all provide spectacular supporting performances. Stephanie Koenig, in particular, is a standout amongst the ensemble as Gwen, the only teacher-friend Evan has that will fully handle his neuroticism and self-involved tendencies. Think Emma Pilsbury from Glee but with a slutty energy. Evan clearly doesn’t mean to only see the world with a mirror in his hand, his focus on himself coming across as slightly narcissistic; Gwen sees through Evan’s veneer and isn’t afraid to crack a joke at his expense, cutting through his clear insecurities about relationships (including platonic ones). Alvarez and Koenig have a fantastic back-and-forth chemistry that allows the more emotionally charged moments to be more resonant, but also begs for the two to share the screen any time they aren’t.
Evan has a strange relationship with his ex, Malcolm, but it’s clear why they worked when they were together: Malcolm’s ability to exist as himself is something that Evan admires, while Malcolm sees his potential if he were able to do the same. They still sleep together (sometimes, not often, Evan would tell you), seemingly a way for Evan to keep a physical connection to someone as he’s scared his anxieties will keep people away. As Malcolm, Jordan Firstman is wickedly funny every time he arrives on-screen, a devilish grin on his face and a strut in his walk that embodies a fully self-confident queer man that has stopped trying to make himself smaller to fit into spaces.
While he keeps Evan’s stress levels up outside the school (where he used to work as well), new physics teacher Harry has started amplifying Evan’s anxieties at work. The two make eye contact with a queer understanding of each other, but it could be more than that, a comedy with a queer will-they-won’t-they specifically made for overbearing gay men. If Evan were able to break free from the insecurities that compel him to hide himself, he’d presumably be happier, so perhaps doing it with his coworkers can help him move towards that. Gym teacher Markie (Sean Patton) is Evan’s guiding compass in the school, a PE instructor that imbues wisdom upon Evan when he needs it most against a backdrop of arguments the two are constantly having. Markie drives Evan crazy but is the most capable of understanding the different situations Evan finds himself in through a superior capacity for empathy.
The way the teachers are tested by their students is uncomfortable and hilarious, one of the best jokes in the episodes provided for review revolving around a student self-diagnosing herself with an asymptomatic – and self-named – version of Tourette’s syndrome. Evan looks dumbfounded as the students around her nod in agreement, clearly attempting to initiate a reaction from their teacher while using internet language about growth and validity of feelings. Educational environments have multiple generations in a school setting: Millennials, Gen Z, Gen Alpha all together to craft an environment rife with intergenerational dissonance. Working with his class, Evan must compromise with a generation he isn’t part of to create a comfort with them. Evan also works with the LGBTQ+ Alliance at his school, only causing problems for him as the younger generation pushes themselves to the limits of online social justice in real life by accusing powderpuff football games as not being appropriate when football players are cheerleaders because it isn’t done respectfully. What works best for English Teacher is watching the titular teacher compromise with students as he attempts to help them learn and learn from them in return, which slowly begins pushing his own growth as he finds a firm voice that both amplifies his beliefs while remaining mindful of those around him. Alvarez, who lends his hand to directing two of these episodes, understands this character so thoroughly that each decision he makes as a performer fits perfectly.
English Teacher finds a way to exist in the space directly between nostalgia and novelty, a fun series that sees teachers as the selfless heroes they are for educating the youth and helping provide a better future while also shining a light on the more awkward experiences these educators face. Every episode opening with a song from the early-mid 1980s (Alvarez was born in 1987), with Michael Sembello’s “Maniac” and “Caught Up In You” by 38 Special, popping up throughout the series serves as Alvarez’s link to nostalgia and intergenerational connection, bridging age gaps between the characters with music before any of them were alive to prove we all have history. Witty, insightful and charming, it’s a series that will hopefully be given the chance to grow further past its premier season as it bristles with potential. English Teacher is a lesson in comedy and heart with Brian Jordan Alvarez at the podium to deliver it.
Grade: A-
FX’s eight-episode first season of English Teacher premieres with two episodes on Monday, September 2 on FX, and then available to stream the next day on Hulu.
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