English Teacher: Season 2 (TV Series)

Having rated season one quite high because that sharp, satirical humor resonated so well with me, I approached this season with high hopes. Unfortunately, it let me down hard. I found myself bored and checking out during nearly every episode, as the jokes simply failed to land this time around. Given this experience, I am not shocked the show got cancelled after this season. As with the previous run, it consists of ten episodes, each about twenty minutes long.

Even with the same cast returning, something about this felt fundamentally off. Alvarez’s character, Mr Evans, undergoes a shift from a lovable mess who navigates life with neurotic charm to a grown man desperately attempting to join some sort of Bro Code Brotherhood of America. While Malcolm remains the boyfriend, Gwen is back as his high-energy best friend, and we still have Markie the gym teacher, the principal, and Rick. Although Evan and Malcolm are officially a couple now, their relationship is rocky. Markie continues to crush hard on Gwen—who is back with her jobless boyfriend—while still making offensive comments despite his good intentions. Meanwhile, Rick stays lost in his own weird world, pursuing his next terrible business idea. This season forces Evan to confront various biases regarding himself and those around him. The dinner at the principal’s place was the one episode that actually worked for me; meeting the principal’s daughter’s husband, a very flamboyant guy from the South, highlights how Evan can’t wrap his head around the idea that someone so openly gay presenting could be genuinely in love with a woman, though it turns out sexuality is far more complicated than he assumes. Another decent episode features Evan’s mom visiting town to celebrate him winning Teacher of the Month. Everything else is pretty rough, though; elements like the military guy and the robot trash cans just don’t work. We also never get any real depth into the relationship between Malcolm and Evan. They clearly don’t fit together and there is no real chemistry there, yet the show just has them stay together anyway, leaving me wondering why they are even a couple.

The jokes simply failed to land this season. Most of the storylines revolve around Evan and his anxiety regarding how to present himself as a gay teacher, but the plots often go nowhere, doing nothing meaningful for either the students or the teachers. I found myself bored through nearly every single episode. It was difficult to believe I was watching the same show I had enjoyed so much previously; instead, it felt like a slog to get through. Brian Jordan Alvarez, who usually brings an effortless charm as creator and lead, was almost completely missing this round. The jokes involving the rest of the teaching staff also fell flat. While this season provides more screen time to the students and their side of things, none of that matters when the entire show feels this flat. I lost interest after just the first two episodes. Because I really wanted to enjoy it, I kept hoping the quality would pick up, but I am really disappointed. It is a shame to say, but this show probably deserved to get cancelled. It ends on a cliffhanger where Malcolm gives Evan an ultimatum—choose the school or choose him—but I just don’t care how it plays out at this point.

Ultimately, this is a disappointing follow up that lacks the chemistry and charm that allowed season one to succeed. (2.5/10)