Abbott Elementary season 5
| Abbott Elementary | |
|---|---|
| Season 5 | |
 Promotional poster | |
| Showrunners |
|
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | October 1, 2025 – present |
| Season chronology | |
The fifth season of the American television comedy Abbott Elementary premiered on ABC on October 1, 2025. Like the previous seasons, the season stars Quinta Brunson, Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, William Stanford Davis and Sheryl Lee Ralph.
Abbott Elementary is presented in a mockumentary format similar to one of The Office and Modern Family, and follows a documentary crew recording the lives of teachers working in underfunded schools including the fictional Willard R. Abbott Elementary School, a predominantly Black Philadelphia public school.
Cast and characters
Main
- Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues, a second-grade teacher at Abbott and hopes to improve the lives of her students by making the best of the poor situation the school district makes teachers work in. She currently dates Gregory.
- Tyler James Williams as Gregory Eddie, a first-grade teacher who was initially hired as a substitute replacement, and who is dating Janine.
- Janelle James as Ava Coleman, the school's tone-deaf principal who consistently bullies Janine and gives the staff reasons to believe she is poor at her job; a job in which she received after blackmailing the superintendent.
- Lisa Ann Walter as Melissa Schemmenti, a sixth-grade teacher at Abbott who has questionable connections with the Philly locals, but uses them to help the school.
- Chris Perfetti as Jacob Hill, an eighth-grade history teacher who tries his best to help Janine with her plans to improve Abbott.
- William Stanford Davis as Mr. Johnson, the school's janitor who is seen as lazy, but consistent with his job.
- Sheryl Lee Ralph as Barbara Howard, a religious kindergarten teacher, adamant about keeping with tradition, and a mother-figure whom Janine looks up to.
Recurring
- Jerry Minor as Joseph Morton, a colleague of Jacob with whom he shares a complicated relationship.
- Luke Tennie as Dominic Clark, a new fourth-grade teacher at Abbott who is a former student of Barbara, now working alongside her.
- Taylor Garron as Tasha Hoffman, a fellow teacher who dislikes Janine.
- Zack Fox as Tariq Temple, Janine's ex-boyfriend who is now the president of the PTA.
- Marcella Arguello as Elena Alomar, a new school counselor responsible for many schools.
- Matthew Law as O'Shon, an IT worker who is dating Ava.
- Benjamin Norris as Simon, a school district employee who is dating Erika.
- Pam Trotter as Dia, an admissions office worker at Abbott.
Guest
- George Sharperson as Wendell, a custodian at Abbott.
- Mikey Day as Craig, a district worker sent to help Abbott with team building exercises.
- Lela Hoffmeister as Courtney Pierce, a student at Abbott who is favorited by Ava.
- Kyle Schwarber as himself, a slugger for the Philadelphia Phillies.[1]
- Phillie Phanatic as himself, the mascot for the Phillies who O'Shon suspects is Mr. Johnson.
- Courtney Taylor as Erika, a friend of Janine who attempts to improve her social circle.
- Jaboukie Young-White as Elijah, Jacob's love interest.
- Ed Begley Jr. as Mr. Ronson, a janitor at the DMV who trained under Mr. Johnson.
- Maria Russell as Tammy, a frustrated employee of the DMV.
- Mason Renfro as Alex Perkins, a student at Abbott who is part of Gregory's garden club.
- Blake Anderson as a park ranger.
- Kimia Behpoornia as Emily, a school district representative who previously worked with Janine.
- Taraji P. Henson as Vanetta Teagues, Janine's mother.
- Steve Agee as Edward, a school district repairman.
- Raven Goodwin as Krystal, the parent of a student who is on the PTA.
- Khandi Alexander as Miss Carroll, a custodian sent to help Mr. Johnson, who he develops a romance with.[2]
- Cree Summer as Rosalyn Inez, a librarian hired for Janine's library program who now works at the school.
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title [3][4][5] | Directed by | Written by [6] | Original airdate [3][4][7] | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | 1 | "Team Building" | Randall Einhorn | Quinta Brunson | October 1, 2025 | T12.19501 | 2.83[8] |
|
During Development Day, the district implements mandatory team building exercises for the staff at Abbott. A gas leak forces everyone outside. A new teacher, Dominic, was once one of Barbara's students and she is delighted. Janine struggles with her place now that she isn't a new teacher. Jacob and Mr. Morton prepare Melissa for teaching sixth graders. Gregory teaches Mr. Johnson how to ride a bike. After fixing the gas leak, the repairman tells Ava the school building has several other problems. | |||||||
| 73 | 2 | "Cheating" | Randall Einhorn | Brian Rubenstein | October 8, 2025 | T12.19502 | 2.34[9] |
|
Melissa is confident in teaching the sixth graders. However, her confidence is tested when Gregory informs her that the students are cheating. Tariq's girlfriend's son is now in Janine's class. Meanwhile, a new counselor arrives to the school and Barbara and Jacob take unnecessary advantage of her presence. | |||||||
| 74 | 3 | "Ballgame" | Randall Einhorn | Ava Coleman | October 15, 2025 | T12.19504 | 2.83[10] |
|
The Abbott staff and O'Shon attend a Philadelphia Phillies game after Ava gets tickets for Teacher Appreciation Week. Janine gets excited at her first baseball game. Melissa challenges Jacob to the beer and hot dog 9-9-9 challenge. Barbara is excited to meet Kyle Schwarber. As Ava focuses on the kiss-cam, O'Shon wonders something about Mr. Johnson. | |||||||
| 75 | 4 | "Game Night" | Randall Einhorn | Brittani Nichols | October 22, 2025 | T12.19503 | 2.86[11] |
|
Gregory volunteers to host game night with Janine, Jacob and their friends. However, his bland apartment creates an uncomfortable evening. Elsewhere, Mr. Johnson needs to visit the DMV in order to go on vacation and Ava, Barbara, and Melissa go with him for their own individual needs. | |||||||
| 76 | 5 | "Camping" | Matthew Pexa | Kate Peterman | October 29, 2025 | T12.19505 | 2.41[12] |
|
Barbara organizes a Halloween-themed camping trip for the staff and students. The teachers are less than thrilled to be attending, and Janine proposes the idea to start her own club at the school. | |||||||
| 77 | 6 | "No Phones" | Randall Einhorn | Joya McCrory | November 5, 2025 | T12.19506 | 2.36[13] |
|
The teachers attempt to find ways around the phone-less school day when the faculty and students participate in "No Phones Day" encouraged by the district. Barbara's daughter goes into labor. | |||||||
| 78 | 7 | "Goofgirl" | Justin Tan | Justin Tan | December 3, 2025 | T12.19507 | 2.29[14] |
|
Gregory struggles to get the boys to engage when a girl joins the Garden Goofballs. Janine seeks Ava's approval to start a Fashion Club. Ms. Alomar attempts to teach Barbara and Melissa new ways of communicating with their men. | |||||||
| 79 | 8 | "Birthday" | Matt Sohn | Garrett Werner | December 10, 2025 | T12.19508 | 2.52[15] |
|
Janine plans to celebrate her 30th birthday with Gregory and her visiting mom, Vanetta. Jacob and a reluctant Gregory put on "The Color Purple" winter show. Mr. Johnson, Melissa and Ava deal with the school's furnace breaking. | |||||||
| 80 | 9 | "Mall" | Randall Einhorn | Riley Dufurrena | January 7, 2026 | T12.19509 | 2.74[16] |
|
The district puts the staff and students in an abandoned mall until repairs are done on the school. The teachers spend winter break trying to get it ready. Janine tries to make it just like Abbott. The first day is chaos, but Barbara is able to rally the staff together. Gregory helps Dominic adjust. | |||||||
| 81 | 10 | "Mall Part 2: Questions & Concerns" | Tyler James Williams | Chad Morton | January 14, 2026 | T12.19510 | 2.81[17] |
|
As the parents' questions mount of the mall school and when Abbott will re-open, Janine and Gregory can offer no answers. Ava faces the parents directly to protect the teachers. Meanwhile, Barbara and Jacob spy on Melissa when it looks like Mr. Morton is trying to steal her from their friend group. | |||||||
| 82 | 11 | "Mall Part 3: Heroes" | Jennifer Celotta | Rebekka Pesqueira | January 21, 2026 | T12.19511 | 2.83[18] |
|
The school district sends Simon and a local reporter to cover how the students are thriving, despite the challenges of the mall. The teachers are initially flattered, but Ms. Alomar points out they could be using this as a distraction on how slow Abbott's repairs are going. Going to the building, they find one lone construction worker, who explains the crews were sent to other schools. Confronting Simon, the teachers are able to get back to Abbott a few weeks later. Mr. Johnson falls for Miss Carroll, a second custodian temporarily sent to help clean the mall. | |||||||
| 83 | 12 | "Picture Day" | Randall Einhorn | Lizzy Darrell | January 28, 2026 | T12.19512 | 2.70[19] |
|
Ava forgets to tell the teachers about the rescheduled Picture Day after a massive rainstorm. Unhappy with their pictures, the teachers being secretly editing and replacing the photos, arguing with each other for doing so. After seeing the effect this has on the younger students, the teachers display their own childhood photos instead. Ava negotiates with the kitchen staff feeling overlooked, and gives them their own photoshoot. | |||||||
| 84 | 13 | "Candygrams" | Randall Einhorn | Chad Morton & Rebekka Pesqueira | February 4, 2026 | T12.19514 | 2.83[20] |
|
Gregory's rent is raised so Janine suggests he move in with her. Gregory is excited, until he realizes several reminders of Tariq are still in her apartment. Gregory eventually admits this. With the two of them splitting rent, they are able to move together into the apartment above Janine's old one. O'Shon doesn't like Ava accepting Valentine's gifts from old and potential suitors, she gives them all to Mr. Johnson as a sign she is committed to O'Shon. Melissa and Barbara anonymously send a candygram so a student in Melissa's class isn't left out, despite Jacob's warning to stay out of it. The student actually has a girlfriend from another school. | |||||||
| 85 | 14 | "Aide" | TBA | Megan Carroll | March 4, 2026 | T12.19513 | TBD |
| 86 | 15 | "Safety Day" | TBA | Garrett Werner | March 11, 2026 | T12.19515 | TBD |
| 87 | 16 | "Campaign" | TBA | Riley Dufurrena | March 18, 2026 | T12.19516 | TBD |
| 88 | 17 | "No Homework" | TBD | Justin Tan | 2026 | T12.19517 | TBD |
Production
Abbott Elementary was renewed for a fifth season on January 21, 2025, while still airing the fourth season.[21] Alongside the announcement, the main cast, including executive producer and creator Quinta Brunson, was confirmed to return.[22]
Filming for the fifth season began on August 6, 2025.[23] An episode of the season was filmed at a live Philadelphia Phillies baseball game, with the entire cast and crew in attendance.[24] In an addition to a special episode with the Phillies, the season will also feature the return of holiday episodes, specifically those for Halloween and Christmas.[25] A major plot line throughout the season is set to follow Barbara Howard, a character who is portrayed by Sheryl Lee Ralph.[26]
Like the previous seasons, the fifth season of Abbott Elementary features many supporting actors including Jerry Minor, Matthew Law, Zack Fox and Jaboukie Young-White, who all return from appearing in previous seasons.[27][28] In September 2025, Luke Tennie was announced to recur during the season as Dominic, a new teacher who was in the classroom of Barbara Howard as a young student.[29] In January 2026, Khandi Alexander joined the cast in a recurring role.[2]
Reception
Ratings
The season premiered on October 1, 2025, shelved between Shifting Gears and The Golden Bachelor. The series moved to its new time slot of Wednesday nights at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT.[26]
| No. | Title | Air date | Timeslot (ET) | Rating/share (18–49) |
Viewers (millions) |
DVR (18–49) |
DVR viewers (millions) |
Total (18–49) |
Total viewers (millions) |
Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Team Building" | October 1, 2025 | Wednesday 8:30 p.m. | 0.29/4 | 2.83 | 0.25 | 1.20 | 0.54 | 4.03 | [8] |
| 2 | "Cheating" | October 8, 2025 | 0.27/4 | 2.34 | 0.23 | 1.09 | 0.49 | 3.41 | [9] | |
| 3 | "Ballgame" | October 15, 2025 | 0.38/6 | 2.83 | 0.29 | 1.26 | 0.67 | 4.09 | [10] | |
| 4 | "Game Night" | October 22, 2025 | 0.35/5 | 2.86 | 0.26 | 0.97 | 0.61 | 3.83 | [11] | |
| 5 | "Camping" | October 29, 2025 | 0.30/4 | 2.41 | 0.20 | 0.79 | 0.49 | 3.20 | [12] | |
| 6 | "No Phones" | November 5, 2025 | 0.33/5 | 2.36 | 0.16 | 0.72 | 0.48 | 3.08 | [13] |
References
- ^ Kalbrosky, Brian (August 29, 2025). "'Abbott Elementary' got a fortuitous Kyle Schwarber cameo during his historic night". USA Today. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
- ^ a b "'Abbott Elementary' Casts Khandi Alexander For Season 5". Deadline Hollywood. January 15, 2026. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
- ^ a b "Shows A-Z – abbott elementary on abc". The Futon Critic. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
- ^ a b "EIDR Record: Abbott Elementary: Season 5". Entertainment Identifier Registry. September 13, 2024. doi:10.5240/6B69-CB69-9C54-66E1-F066-F. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
- ^ "Welcome, October 👻". Instagram. October 1, 2025. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
- ^ "Abbott Elementary – WGA Directory". Writers Guild of America West. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
- ^ Pedersen, Erik (November 28, 2025). "2026 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming". Deadline. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (October 3, 2025). "Wednesday Ratings: NBC and CBS Share in Broadcast Leadership with Returns of Programming in Regular Time Slots". Programming Insider. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
- ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (October 10, 2025). "Wednesday Ratings: NBC Leads in Viewers, MLB Postseason on Cable Tops in Key Demos". Programming Insider. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
- ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (October 17, 2025). "NBC and FS1 Again Share Victory on the Night". Programming Insider. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
- ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (October 24, 2025). "Wednesday Ratings: ESPN Leads Prime Time Among Key Adult Demos with NBA, Inside the NBA Hits 2-Year High for Regular Season in ESPN Debut". Programming Insider. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
- ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (October 31, 2025). "Wednesday Ratings: MLB World Series a Domestic and International Success". Programming Insider. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
- ^ a b Pucci, Douglas (November 7, 2025). "Wednesday Ratings: NBC Leeds Primetime in Total Viewers and CBS Earns Demo Victory". Programming Insider. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
- ^ Bunch, Rebecca (December 8, 2025). "Wednesday TV Ratings 12/3/25: Christmas in Rockefeller Center Dips from 2024, Abbott Elementary Drops to Series Low, Survivor on Top". The TV Ratings Guide. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
- ^ Bunch, Rebecca (December 12, 2025). "Wednesday TV Ratings 12/10/25: The Amazing Race Ends on a Season High, Survivor Soars, Abbott Elementary Slips to Series Low". The TV Ratings Guide. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
- ^ Bunch, Rebecca (January 9, 2026). "Wednesday TV Ratings 1/7/26: Harlan Coben's Final Twist Premieres Abysmally, The Masked Singer Returns Lower, Shifting Gears Ties Season High". The TV Ratings Guide. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
- ^ Bunch, Rebecca (January 16, 2026). "Wednesday TV Ratings 1/14/26: Dirty Talk Decent on ABC, Abbott Elementary and Shifting Gears Jump to Season Highs, The Masked Singer Down [+ Analysis]". The TV Ratings Guide. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
- ^ Bunch, Rebecca (January 26, 2026). "Wednesday TV Ratings 1/21/26: Mediocre Debut for The Beauty on FX, Fear Factor: House of Fear Solid in Time Slot Debut, Shifting Gears and Chicago PD Down, The Masked Singer and Shark Tank Rise [+ Analysis]". The TV Ratings Guide. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
- ^ Bunch, Rebecca (January 30, 2026). "Wednesday TV Ratings 1/28/26: Chicago PD and Chicago Fire Drop to Series Lows, Abbott Elementary Rises as Shifting Gears Slips, The Price is Right at Night and Hollywood Squares Rise After Time Slot Swap [+ Analysis]". The TV Ratings Guide. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
- ^ Bunch, Rebecca (February 6, 2026). "Wednesday TV Ratings 2/4/26: The Muppet Show Impressive, Shifting Gears Rises for Finale, The Masked Singer Tumbles to Series Low [+ Analysis]". The TV Ratings Guide. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 21, 2025). "'Abbott Elementary' Renewed For Season 5 By ABC". Deadline. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
- ^ Petski, Denise (July 17, 2025). "ABC Fall Premiere Dates: '9-1-1' Franchise, 'High Potential', 'Grey's Anatomy', 'Dancing' & More". Deadline. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
- ^ Brunson, Quinta (August 6, 2025). "And away we go :)". Instagram. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
- ^ "'Abbott Elementary' Films Season 5 Episode At Philadelphia Phillies Baseball Game". Deadline Hollywood. August 29, 2025. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
- ^ Karr, Mary Kate (September 2, 2025). "The Abbott Elementary teachers are under attack in this exclusive season 5 teaser". Retrieved September 2, 2025.
- ^ a b Darwish, Meaghan (August 28, 2025). "'Abbott Elementary' Season 5 Christmas Episode Will Be a 'Game Changer' & Everything Else We Know So Far". TV Insider. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
- ^ "Abbott Elementary (502) - "Cheating"". September 22, 2025.
- ^ Aslanian, Emily (September 23, 2025). "'Abbott Elementary' Bosses Tease Season 5's Phillies Episode, Season Premiere and New Teachers". NBC Right Now. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
- ^ "'Shrinking's Luke Tennie To Recur On ABC's 'Abbott Elementary' For Season 5". Deadline Hollywood. September 3, 2025. Retrieved September 3, 2025.