Abbott Elementary season 3 opens with a one-hour episode called, "Career Day," which sees all our favorite characters back to school and dealing with a "new" Ava who has learned a lot while going to Harvard. We're in for a hilarious episode and for an update on where Janine and Gregory stand after the season 2 finale which saw them acknowledging their feelings with the twist of Janine deciding to choose herself rather than entering a new relationship.
It was a decision that made absolute sense for her character as she'd just gotten out of a partnership that she'd been in since she was a teenager. Janine wanted to be "selfish" with her time and prioritize her needs. Diving into a romance with Gregory, one of her closest friends, when she knew it would be serious between them wasn't the move so she didn't make it. For his part, Gregory understood but that didn't mean he wasn't hurt by her decision.
During Abbott Elementary's hiatus, fans of the pair have been speculating how they'd be once we meet back up with them. We finally got our answer with the season 3 premiere trailer!
Not only are the two sitting next to each other at the assembly, but they're directly asked later in the trailer about their relationship. Janine says that they're good, Gregory says they're fine, there's a shot of the two clinking their drinks together, bu Mr. Johnson's comment of "Interesting" is such a mood!
While it's totally this show's style for the not-couple to be mature about how things went down, it's also curious that there's no awkwardness between them. Now, this could be because we're picking back up with the teachers months into the new school year. We know this because creator and Emmy-award winning actress, Quinta Brunson, told Deadline the following:
"Our season will still be on the school calendar. [But] last year, we started airing in September, when school started. We’re not doing that this year. It’s not like coming back to a family show where you can pop in on that family on any sitcom-y thing. It’s really like, what’s going on in the school?"
So we're being returned to Abbott in the back half of the school year. The episode title is also a dead giveaway as Career Day typically takes place between February and May depending on the school district and the institution. That means Gregory and Janine have had time to fall back into a pattern of friendship without the specter of "romance" hanging over it. But is it me or are the two still giving the same energy they've always given?
Of course, there are three possibilities. They actually are fine and they've moved passed their feelings, they're pretending they're fine because they don't want to ruin the friendship, or they're in a holding pattern because they're waiting out Janine's self-imposed "selfish" period. Either way I'm intrigued, and I know we all can't wait to learn how they're really doing.
Abbott Elementary season 3 premieres Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC. Next day streaming will be available on Hulu. If you need to catch up, seasons 1-2 stream on Hulu and Max.