American mockumentaries somehow got both nicer and more realistic this year

In Abbott Elementary‘s delightful series premiere, a humble rug acts as a symbol of Janine Teagues’ perseverance. She teams up with her colleagues to ensure that the students at her underfunded Philadelphia school receive the resources and support they need, so she stands up to her boss to try and acquire new rugs for the class. With that, Abbott makes it clear that this mockumentary isn’t about the shenanigans of a Michael Scott-esque leader—although Principal Ava (Janelle James) is initially incompetent, and the episode is directed by Office vet Randall Einhorn. Instead, it’s about the community formed by its teachers. The pilot, which won series creator and star Quinta Brunson an Emmy for Outstanding Writing In A Comedy, immediately catapulted viewers into a wholesome sitcom. Now in its fifth season, ABC’s award-winning show helped revitalize workplace mockumentaries on TV, with NBC returning to the format it helped make popular in the United States in the mid-aughts. 

Before Abbott‘s 2021 debut, TV’s faux documentaries had been largely associated with the dry humor of 2005’s The Office. Greg Daniels’ American adaptation of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s British hit tried to mimic its biting voice to mixed results at the start. Upon its 2009 debut, Parks And Recreation (from Daniels and Michael Schur) had a similar approach. While dissecting the daily cubicle grind, these series relied on social discomfort and secondhand embarrassment for laughs. Eventually, both sitcoms became warmer through grounded interpersonal dynamics, romantic slow burns, and meaningful character development. Their trademark awkwardness turned into something cozier that could last much longer. 

Abbott tapped into the feel-good factor right away, which resonated with its audience quickly, particularly since it launched during a fraught time of a global pandemic. It emphasizes the challenges teachers face from the American education system’s messiness. In an interview with The A.V. Club during season one, Brunson reiterated that “characters like Janine represent the best of teachers” and that she hoped to connect with educators who are new or have been doing the work for 20 years. Abbott helped mark a shift in American mockumentaries, which seem to be getting nicer and more grounded to reflect a collective need for sunnier 20-minute escapism that is also rooted in reality. It’s a formula that’s used in NBC’s recent St. Denis Medical (about overstretched doctors and nurses at an Oregon hospital), Stumble (in which a cheerleading coach trains budding athletes with no financial support from a junior college), and Peacock’s The Paper (wherein a fledgling publication’s employees and volunteers strive to make an impact). These three comedies contrast the acerbic dispositions of What We Do In The Shadows and American Vandal and feel more in line with the decidedly nice aspects of, say, Jury Duty. 

St. Denis Medical, co-created by Superstore‘s Justin Spitzer and Eric Ledgin, finds odd comfort in an ER’s chaos. Sweet, funny, and boosted by a terrific ensemble, the lighthearted sitcom still touches on real problems like the hospital’s lack of resources, dealing with tough patients, and figuring out a work-life balance. The sitcom isn’t prickly even if some of its protagonists are. Take a recent season-two outing, “I Left A Woman On The Table,” in which a sometimes irksome Joyce (Wendi McLendon-Covey) takes on an ER shift. As the hospital’s current executive director/former oncologist, she wants to prove that they don’t need to hire more nurses, only to witness firsthand the strain that Alex (Allison Tolman) and Val (Kaliko Kauahi) experience every day.