Although season 4, episode 22, “Please Touch Museum.”

This sweet outing focused on a school field trip to the titular Philadelphia tourist attraction, with Abbott Elementary’s cast and crew shooting on location for maximum authenticity. After the premiere, series creator and star Quinta Brunson, who plays its heroine Janine Teagues, spoke at length to Abbott Elementary season 4's finale was sadder than I expected thanks to one comeback, it was surprisingly light on unnecessary dramatics. Brunson’s interview offered a refreshing explanation for this.

Quinta Bronson Explains Why Abbott Elementary Season 4 Didn’t Break Up Janine and Gregory

Brunson Said It Was Refreshing To See A Healthy Happy Couple On Television

Even though, or perhaps because, both Janine and Gregory are conflict-averse, cautionary people, it took the two lovelorn teachers a long time to finally become a couple. Janine didn’t dump her freeloading boyfriend Tariq until season 1’s finale, Gregory and Janine didn’t say they had feelings for each other until midway through season 2, and it somehow took until season 3’s finale for the pair to finally get together as a couple.

If this sounds familiar, that might be because their arc mirrors the story of many earlier sitcom couples. The central couples at the heart of New Girl, Brooklyn 99, and The Mindy Project all got together in their respective season 2 finales, but Jim and Pam didn’t begin officially dating until season 4. Janine and Gregory followed in Jim and Pam’s footsteps, since the pair also star in a workplace comedy where their colleagues require plenty of screen time.

The graduation plot of Abbott Elementary season 4’s finale proved that there is another added complication for the series, since the show must give its student characters sufficient screen time, too. Within this context, it is easy to see why Brunson opted to give Janine and Gregory an easier, more straightforwardly happy relationship in season 4 instead of the typical constant conflict seen in traditional sitcom couples.

“It was really comforting for the whole writers’ room to just write them as a couple who is over the hump of, “I don’t know! Who are we? What do we do?” They’re just together. I wanted to show a healthy relationship between these two Black characters. It doesn’t mean there are no problems at all, but we really didn’t want to mine for problems in their relationship. We wanted it to feel good. I know people in incredible, easy relationships, and I feel like it would be nice to see more of it on TV in general. And we really had the opportunity to do that with Janine and Gregory.”

Janine and Gregory’s Happiness Made Room For New Abbott Elementary Storylines

Their Lack of Conflict Wasn’t An Issue For The Sitcom

As noted in the above quote, Brunson wanted to make some counter-programming that would fly in the face of the toxic relationship dynamics typically seen on TV. Since bad romances can be both very dramatic and funny, depending on the context, it is easy for sitcoms to mine romantic relationships for drama and comedy alike. The problem is that this makes previously sweet relationships seem unhappy in retrospect, sapping them of their appeal. Luckily, Ava and O’Shon’s Abbott Elementary season 4 romance gave the series a new romance to focus on instead of unecessarily destabilizing its happy couple.

Janine & Gregory's Relatively Drama-Free Relationship Defied A TV Trend

Many Earlier Sitcoms Lost Their Spark Once Their Central Couple Got Together

The Mindy Project’s Danny and Mindy and The Office’s Jim and Pam are great examples of once-loved TV couples whose shows mined their relationships for drama until, eventually, their unions seemed outright cursed. By the time Mindy realized Danny had gaslit her for years, or Pam and Brian the Camera Guy had an unlikely flirtation in The Office season 9, the writing was on the wall for these shows. Sitcoms tend to trouble their happy couples when struggling to generate organic conflict, which is why Abbott Elementary’s season 4 plot was such a welcome surprise.

Abbott Elementary season 4’s Ava plot provided plenty of high-stakes intrigue on its own, but it was still a savvy, subversive choice to leave the show’s central couple alone.

Season 4 of the mockumentary avoided a major sitcom mistake with this couple, ensuring that Gregory and Janine remained their usual selves even if this meant that their relationship wasn’t a constant source of drama. Abbott Elementary season 4’s Ava plot provided plenty of high-stakes intrigue on its own, but it was still a savvy, subversive choice to leave the show’s central couple alone and make a former ing character the new nexus of the show’s conflict.

A lot of shows that were just as acclaimed as Abbott Elementary stumbled as they continued by breaking up and making up the same couple over and over, instead of telling fresh new stories. New Girl had plenty of opportunities to explore its ing cast in more depth, but Jess and Nick’s repetitive dynamics often ended up overshadowing them. As such, it is a welcome surprise to see Abbott Elementary sidestep this mistake.

How Abbott Elementary Can Continue Making Janine & Gregory's Relationship Exciting

Abbott Elementary Season 5 Could See The Couple Move In Together

After Abbott Elementary season 4 gave Ava a big win in the penultimate episode, the mockumentary showed how it would keep Gregory and Janine’s relationship fresh with the finale. Janine meeting Gregory’s father was a believable source of natural conflict, and her attempts to impress the stoic, humorless Martin provided some of the episode’s funniest moments. The revelation that Martin wasn’t as stiff as he seemed was hilarious, while Martin’s heart-to-heart with Gregory about Janine was unexpectedly poignant.

Meeting Janine’s infamously flighty mother is the next logical step for the couple, and that is one that will come with a whirlwind of conflict thanks to Taraji P. Henson’s unpredictable character. The couple is also likely to move in together soon, both because Gregory is struggling to make ends meet and because Janine’s poky apartment has been a source of mockery and concern from other characters for years now. Between introducing new family and moving in together, the couple has a lot of battles ahead of them.

Although the pair are unlikely to handle everything perfectly, they seem equally unlikely to break up or become enemies in season 5. Abbott Elementary season 4’s ending managed to redeem even its worst villains, so the show doesn’t seem like it will start to make villains of Gregory or Janine anytime soon. This is a good thing as it highlights just how much Abbott Elementary can succeed without manufacturing cheap drama, as evidenced by the events of season 4’s stellar finale.

Enjoy ScreenRant's primetime coverage? Click below to sign up for our weekly Network TV newsletter (make sure to check "Network TV" in your preferences) and get the inside scoop from actors and showrunners on your favorite series.

SIGN UP NOW!

Source: Variety