‘English Teacher’ is as good as the internet wants you to believe
Whenever a new comedy appears, we have to wonder if it is as good as those online say it is. When it comes to English Teacher, it lives up to the hype. The new FX series is genuinely hilarious.
The series follows Evan Marquez (Brian Jordan Alvarez) as a teacher in a Texas high school. He’s an out gay man fighting against the LGBTQ alliance at his school for calling him homophobic and always being late to work. Created by Alvarez, what makes this show so genuinely funny is the cast of teachers that Evan has to go to for advice.
Coach Markie Hillridge (Sean Patton) may say less than liberal things, but he will make sure the female students have self-defense lessons. Gwen (Stephanie Koenig) has the best of intentions but she isn’t the greatest at making them a reality, like coaching the girls in Powderpuff football but not knowing how to play.
All three of these teachers are a rag-tag friend group who probably wouldn’t have been close if it wasn’t for work, but it is so funny watching them navigate the lives of their high school students, especially when Evan uses the book club as his sounding board.
The teachers are driven mad by their students and the teachers then, in turn, force Principal Moretti (Enrico Colantoni) to have acid reflux. While shows like Abbott Elementary are hopeful and at times sweet, English Teacher thrives in the darker aspects of the American school system.
Do you remember when Powderpuff was a thing at your high school? Boys would dress up and make fun of the cheerleaders and the girls would play flag football. It is a time-honored tradition and English Teacher’s take on it is incredible.
The Powderpuff episode is peak television
When it is Powderpuff season at the school, some of the senior boys come to Evan to talk about how their portion of the game got canceled because the LGBTQIA+ students complained. Evan goes to Moretti to ask why and learns that the lesbians of the club think Evan is homophobic. He also learns the reason behind their anger is that there are trans and non-binary students at the school who feel mocked by it. So Evan suggests the boys do an authentic drag performance and … chaos ensues.
I loved this episode for a lot of reasons. One of them is the inclusion of real-life drag queen Trixie Mattel as drag queen Shazam who Evan knew from college. But I do think watching a group of teenage boys from the football team appreciating drag as an art form is important!
It wasn’t just about a school tradition. It was about keeping that tradition alive but making it inclusive and a teaching lesson and I found it as moving as I did hilarious.
With only two episodes out, English Teacher has a lot of promise. I love what Evan, Gwen, and Markie are dealing with and I cannot wait to see what happens next.
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