The English Teacher is one of the funniest new shows

While Abbott is content being a light-hearted crowd-pleaser and AP Bio revels in loopiness, English Teacher interrogates the reality of high schools today. It engages with the complex lives of its students—their slang, their TikTok-fuelled activism, their razor-sharp ability to spot hypocrisy. This is closer to the brilliance and incisiveness of American Vandal (Netflix) than to most school-based sitcoms. In Alvarez’s world, young people are not props for punchlines but fully realised characters, messy, rebellious and opinionated.

In the opening episode, teachers discuss how students have shed some of their “woke" sheen. Now teenagers—armed with sardonic smirks and chaotic non-cooperative energy—demand lessons in “both sides" of the Spanish Inquisition, a request so absurdly postmodern that Todd can’t tell if it’s satire or sociopathy. The chasm between idealistic millennials and the cynical, irony-drenched zoomers, already well-documented in memes, finds a most articulate rendering.

Alvarez frequently combines laugh-out-loud humour with moments that hit you in the gut. Evan is alarmed by the sound of gunfire in school during a safety drill, while a student casually deadpans that “We’re used to it." That line lands, rightfully, like a punch—only to be followed by a perfectly absurd sight gag involving a teacher stuck in a ghost costume.

The smartness of English Teacher extends to its ensemble, a collection of richly drawn characters who are anything but stereotypes. Stephanie Koenig is delightful as Gwen, Todd’s closest friend, who is appalled that the students are making a list ranking the faculty’s hotness—yet also wants to be number one on that. Enrico Colantoni (forever remembered for Just Shoot Me) plays the hapless and exhausted school principal unable to keep up with the students and their ever-changing demands, language and priorities

Evan Todd is a quietly revolutionary character. Alvarez plays him with a restraint that challenges TV’s usual portrayal of gay protagonists. Todd is straight-presenting and hopelessly uncool, an anti-icon in a cardigan who’d rather debate the Oxford comma than plan a pride parade. Yet, his queerness is never erased or tokenised. It’s just part of the character, not his defining feature. At one point, he’s abruptly asked to explain the concept of “nonbinary" to a class he doesn’t even teach. It’s a moment that plays out with surgical precision, hilariously underscoring the generational divide while poking at the fraught politics of allyship in modern education.

The gym teacher, Coach Markie (Sean Patton), initially seems like a boorish, pro-gun conservative caricature, barking orders and bragging about violence. But when faculty arguments spin out of control, Markie is often the one bringing everyone back to civility. More often than not, he seems to be the unlikely voice of reason. That’s a smart creative choice.

The setting—Austin, Texas—is a similar masterstroke. A progressive oasis within a conservative state, it provides the perfect backdrop for the show’s exploration of cultural and ideological clashes. A debate about climate change crackles with wit and insight. A student jabs, “We don’t need to ban gas cars; we need better electric ones," to which another quips, “Like the one your dad drives to yoga?" The specificity of the dialogue grounds the comedy in a reality that feels lived-in and immediate.

Comedy thrives on contrasts. The students’ youthful irreverence collides with Todd’s stodgy idealism, creating moments as funny as they are profound. When Todd launches into an impromptu lecture about the sanctity of punctuation, a student interrupts with, “Is this about grammar or your control issues?" Todd, flustered, replies, “Good grammar is control!" It’s sharp, self-aware writing.

What truly sets English Teacher apart is its commitment to empathy. Even when addressing hot-button issues like homophobia or book bans, the show resists the urge to vilify. In the opening episode, a parent reports Todd for kissing his boyfriend in public—a moment that could have devolved into a preachy takedown of bigotry. Instead, the narrative hints at the parent’s own struggles with her son’s coming out.

This warmth doesn’t dilute the comedy, thankfully. The impressive gag-per-minute ratio remains consistent and the humour always serves the story. These characters may sound unsentimental, but that doesn’t mean they don’t care.

At its heart, English Teacher is about dialogue—between generations, ideologies and individuals who couldn’t be more different. It’s a comedy that thrives on tension without ever losing its warmth. Like the best teachers, this show challenges you to think while making you laugh, leaving you smarter—and perhaps a little kinder—than you were before. Pay attention.

Raja Sen is a screenwriter and critic. He has co-written Chup, a film about killing critics, and is now creating an absurd comedy series. He posts @rajasen