AlthoughAbbott Elementaryseason 3 foreshadowed Janine’s eventual exit, season 4’s storyline then went on to shut down this potential plot entirely.Abbott Elementary’s entire cast of charactersis hilarious, but Quinta Brunson’s Janine Teagues is the heart and soul of the series. This is why her slow-burn romance with Gregory was the primary focus of seasons 1-3.
As likable as the rest of the cast are, Brunson’s sweet but fierce heroine was the perfect audience insertion persona thanks to her unique blend of naivety and toughness. Neither as guileless as Jacob nor as resigned and cynical as Barbara Howard, Janine was the ideal introduction to the imperfect but wholesome world of the titular school.
As such, it came as a surprise whenAbbott Elementaryseason 4 shifted gears to make Janelle James’s Principal Ava the show’s main character. What was even more surprising was the fact that, as Gregory and Janine went from strength to strength and Ava’s personality radically transformed, season 4 proved that it might be the show’s best outing yet.
IfBrunson’s Janine leavesAbbott Elementary, season 4 proved that the show could succeed without her. UnlikeThe Office, a workplace mockumentary sitcom that fell apart when its original star moved on,Abbott Elementaryhas expanded its focus successfully before the exit of its original star. There’s just one problem.
Janine Can’t Return To The District After Abbott Elementary Season 4
The District Almost Fired Ava For Her Role In The Golf Course Developer Scandal
Brunson toldBustlein 2025 that she didn’t want to be typecast as the sweet, innocent schoolteacher Janine, so she was looking forward to moving on to new roles in the future. However,Abbott Elementaryhinted at the possibility of her character’s exit over a year earlier, when Janine took a fellowship at the school district in season 3’s premiere.
The result was a season-long storyline that was reminiscent of Jim’s move inThe Officeseason 3, as the show followed the exploits of the rest of the staff, then featured B-stories focused on Janine’s fellowship in every episode. Despite what viewers might have assumed,Janine’s stint at the school district didn’t limit her screen time in season 3.
That said, it was a pretty perfect test run for the character’s potential eventual exit. Viewers got to see howthe rest ofAbbott Elementary’s characterswould interact in Janine’s absence throughout season 3, and their interplay proved that Janine’s presence isn’t the glue that holds the show’s ensemble cast together.
Chris Perfetti
Jacob Hill
Unlike the Dunder-Miflin workplace without Steve Carell’s Michael Scott,Abbott Elementarydidn’t feel off or wrong when Janine was absent. As such, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Janine would eventually move on to working in the district off-screen whenever Brunson wanted to leaveAbbott Elementary.
Janine’s Abbott Elementary Season 3 District Plot Seemingly Sets Up Her Exit
The Show’s Heroine Could Have Moved On Like The Office’s Michael Scott
At least, this seemed like a reasonable plot progression untilAbbott Elementaryseason 4’s Ava arc. Ava’s storyline saw the teachers take bribes from shady golf course developers with deep pockets in exchange for the faculty’s silence about numerous major building code violations. This uneasy alliance worked until the district became suspicious about Abbott’s sudden glow-up.
Certain that the school’s newfound success couldn’t be down to anything innocent,the district went out of their way to penalize Abbott and Ava in season 4’s ending. Even though the school desperately needed funding and was in a state of disrepair before the bribes, the district fired Ava and cut Abbott’s funding when the principal took the blame for the bribery scheme.
WhileAbbott Elementaryseason 4’s occasional celebrity cameoswere fun, this explosive plot twist was the outing’s most exciting moment. Ava seemed unbothered by her career shift into a lucrative public speaking role, but she eventually admitted she wanted to return to the eponymous school.
The school district then went on to do all it could to ruin Ava’s career. It took a massive public rally to get her job back with support from local business owners, the PTA, the faculty, the entire student body, Ava’s former nemesis, Crystal, and eventually even the developers who provided the bribes in the first place.
Abbott Elementary Season 5 Needs To Give Janine Another Exit Route
The ABC Sitcom Could Continue Without Its Original Heroine
Overwhelming public pressure forced the district to reverse its decision, but the damage to its reputation was still irreversible. Throughout seasons 1-2, the district was mostly viewed as a benign but entirely incompetent institution of bureaucracy. In season 3, Manny humanized the district, and it becomes a seemingly viable career path for Janine if she ever leaves teaching.
In season 4,Abbott Elementary’s school district became the show’s worst villains yet, meaning any chance of Janine ever working for them effectively evaporated in an instant. Brunson has talked about wanting to finish up her role on the show. The district loved Janine, and she was great at working there, so her transition to working there seemed like a reasonable expectation.
Janine’s leaving to work at the district no longer makes sense, since the institution seems entirely unsuited to her personality and her career plans.
However, much likeAbbott Elementary’sIt’s Always Sunny In Philadelphiacrossovershowed an entirely new side of the show’s heroine, season 4 proved the district had a major mean streak. This effectively ensures that Janine’s leaving to work at the district no longer makes sense, since the institution seems entirely unsuited to her personality and her career plans.
Janine might choose to work in the district in an attempt to revamp the institution from the inside, but this could be a long, tough job, judging by their outright hostility toward not only Ava, but all the Abbott staff in season 4. As such, it is tough to see where Janine will go if Brunson leavesAbbott Elementarybefore the show’s series finale.
