Abbott Elementary is the natural successor to Parks and Recreation

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"Like Parks and Rec, Abbott Elementary mines comedy in the labors of life in the public sector, with the ensemble cast of Abbott being teachers in an underfunded Philadelphia public school," says Usama Masood. "While Parks and Recreation focused on the employees of the Parks Department in a small Indiana town, the two shows are connected by a shared hopefulness that is a rarity in workplace comedies. Most sitcoms rightfully depict the hellish capitalist nightmare that offices can be, with demanding bosses, annoying coworkers, and a work life that borders on unbearable. Shows like The Office or The IT Guy have given credence to the claim that many workplace comedies work when skewering the very nature of the office itself. That doesn’t stop the series from using its school setting to hold back on the chaos that can be commonplace at schools. Whether it’s confronting the viral popularity of TikTok in 'Wishlist' or trying to find a way to curb the spread of a dangerous online trend in 'Desking,' the show manages to invoke nostalgia in the messy nature of primary school whilst using plots that feel relevant to the generation and school life of now." ALSO: Quinta Brunson regrets letting David Blaine do magic to her "Christian Black self."