DVD Review: ABBOTT ELEMENTARY: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON

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Apr 13 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.”

The mockumentary-format comedy Abbott Elementary finds a documentary crew following the lives of the teachers at the underfunded, predominantly Black Philadelphia public school Willard R. Abbott Elementary. The series is currently finishing up its fifth season on ABC, but the fourth season makes its way onto DVD next week thanks to Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment. The series comes from creator Quinta Brunson, who also stars in the show as second grade teacher Janine Teagues.

As the fourth season opens, teachers Gregory and Janine are “secretly” dating—they believe that only their colleague Jacob (Chris Perfetti) knows about their relationship, but it is the worst kept secret at the school. Now they must decide if they should disclose their relationship to HR. Meanwhile, a big-time PGA golf course is being built ten blocks away from the school, in the Girard Creek area. While this brings some new, white, students to the school, it also brings a lot of hassle for the folks at Abbott Elementary. The golf course construction has been causing traffic issues, knocking out the water and gas, and more. Principal Ava (Janelle James) sees a way to use the situation to their advantage, blackmailing PGA lawyer Miles Nathaniel (Matt Oberg) into constantly donating equipment and supplies to the school, in exchange for not getting the project shut down. These bribes are incredibly helpful for the school, but if the district discovers this, Ava and the school could be in a lot of trouble.

With the writers’ strike over, the fourth season of Abbott Elementary is back to a full 22 episodes. The season originally aired from October 2024-April 2025 on ABC/Hulu. In its fourth season, the series continues to be a smart, funny show, and these 22 episodes make for an easy, enjoyable watch. I originally watched the season as it aired on ABC, but it was great to be able to binge through the episodes again on this DVD release—I had forgotten a lot of the hilarious things that happened. While episodes can easily be enjoyed on their own, there are several continuing flowing storylines that play out over he course of the season, and a large part of that this season is the golf course construction.

As I binged my way through the fourth season, I found myself thoroughly entertained and wanting to just keep watching more of these teachers and their wacky antics. The writing is great, mixing laughs with surprisingly emotional moments for a sitcom. Each of the characters is given a chance to find some personal growth over the course of the season. We see Ava get into a relationship with district IT representative O’Shon (Matthew Law), and her father Frank (Keith David) also makes an appearance. Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) bonds with her new class pet, guinea pig Sweet Cheeks, and also furthers her relationship with Fire department Captain Robinson (Mike O’Malley). Barbara’s husband Gerald (Richard Brooks), Jacob’s younger brother Caleb (Tyler Perez), and Gregory’s father Martin (Orlando Jones) all make appearances. And Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis) not only mentors a student, but also has to deal with a potential replacement, new custodian Cedric (Eric André).

Some of the other crazy storylines this season include a ringworm outbreak at the school, Janine’s Halloween couples costume going wrong, a parent challenging Gregory to a fight, a protest when the deli across the street is going to be turned into a smoothie shop, Janine not letting anything ruin her Christmas Eve family dinner…including a dead body, a bus strike that leads to hybrid learning, Jacob and Barbara judging the school Science Fair, the library shutting down over a banned book, an audit by the school district, Barbara becoming the school music teacher, Ava fighting to keep her job, Gregory taking on the role of interim-principal, an Ava Fest school fundraiser, and more. There’s even a special It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia crossover episode this season, in which the gang from Paddy’s Pub— Charlie (Charlie Day), Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Mac (Rob McElhenney), Dee (Kaitlin Olson) and Frank (Danny DeVito)—come to the school to “volunteer” for a week (aka they have 100 hours of community service they need to complete) to help out in the classrooms. Some of the other guest stars this season include Jill Scott as herself, Talia Shire as Melissa’s mother, Lauren Weedman as Melissa’s sister, Larry Owens, Matteo Lane, Jaboukie Young-White, Wayne Wilderson, Jim Rash, and June Diane Raphael.

It’s unfortunate that Warner Bros. has only been releasing this series only on DVD, despite the fact the the series airs in HD on ABC. (Though it is available for purchase digitally in HD.) The DVD picture quality is generally clean and more than sufficient, but it definitely lacks that extra level of clarity and detail that you got in the original HD presentation. The audio track provides clear dialogue, and a generally immersive ambiance throughout.

The fourth season’s 22 episodes are evenly split across 2 discs, which reside on a swinging tray inside a standard-sized DVD case. Our review copy did not include a slipcover, and there is no bonus material or digital copy included with this release. Unfortunately the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode featuring the Abbott characters that concludes the crossover (that show’s season 17 premiere) is not even included on this set.

What’s Included:

Episodes:

All 22 episodes of the fourth season:
Disc 1 (3:58:26): “Back to School”, “Ringworm”, “Class Pet”, “Costume Contest”, “Dad Fight”, “The Deli”, “Winter Show”, “Winter Break”, “Volunteers”, “Testing”, “Strike”
Disc 2: (3:58:11): “Girard Creek”, “The Science Fair”, “District Budget Meeting”, “100th Day of School”, “Books”, “Karaoke”, “Audit”, “Music Class”, “Ava Fest: Tokyo Drift”, “Rally”, “Please Touch Museum”
480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

There is no bonus material included on this release.

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Episodes:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Recommended

In its fourth season, Abbott Elementary continues to mix humor and heart to provide a thoroughly entertaining experience that will have viewers laughing out loud. The characters are well-developed and given a chance to grow, the writing is witty, and the situations are often hilarious. It’s a little disappointing that there is no Blu-ray release being offered as the series originally airs in HD, but the DVD picture still looks quite good. The fourth season is back to a full 22 episodes and tells a complete arc, making for an entertaining binge. Unfortunately the DVD does not include any bonus material, not even the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia episodes that concludes the two-series crossover. However, the release still comes recommended based on the quality of the series itself.