Spoilers for recent episodes of Abbott Elementary Season 3 lie ahead.
It’s hard to believe that ABC’s Abbott Elementary is already in its third season. But what isn’t unfathomable is that it remains one of the best shows on TV. While it still has the wit and charm that audiences fell in love with early on, it’s evolving, and the character dynamics are becoming more complex. As a result, there have been several interesting cast pairings so far this year. CinemaBlend had the opportunity to speak with Chris Perfetti, who plays Jacob Hill, and he revealed his unexpected (but) perfect request for who Jacob should get more screen time with.
So far, viewers have been able to see Janine Teagues and Melissa Schemmenti team up, while Barbara Howard and Ava Coleman also had their shared moment to shine. Of course, Chris Perfectti’s Jacob has also mixed it up with his good buddy Gregory Eddie. The bromance is fun, but there’s another male character that Perfetti would love to see Jacob mix it up with. When speaking with CinemaBlend, he revealed that he’d love to see his quirky, but kind, eighth-grade history teacher share more scenes with none other than Tariq Temple:
One of the superpowers of this show is that Quinta created six very distinct people, and they’re like different instruments. So, any two together is a fun thing to watch. So I really enjoy playing with every single character in this world. I feel like there’s something hilarious about Jacob and Tariq that has not been explored yet. So, get on it.
The Looking alum makes several good points – one being that series creator, writer, producer and lead actor Quinta Brunson and her writing staff are whizzes at mixing up characters. And, of course, I couldn’t agree more with the notion of Tariq and Jacob spending more time together somehow. On paper, the two are polar opposites but, in all honesty, that’s what makes the prospect of them getting a joint story that much more exciting.
Tariq, played effortlessly by comedian Zack Fox, was introduced in Season 1 as Janine’s irresponsible (but not truly villainous) boyfriend. They ultimately broke up at the end of the season, but the humorous slacker has since popped up at the titular school on multiple occasions. While he’s funny on his own, it’s great to see him play off other Abbott denizens. Just recently, one episode saw him connecting with Ms. Howard over a student in her class. With past episodes in mind, I have no doubt the writers could find a way to organically put him more directly in Jacob’s orbit.
Of course, Hill is already caught up in other entanglements at the moment. He just broke up with his longtime boyfriend, Zach – a development that Chris Perfetti told us surprised him. And, as a result of the underhanded way Jacob tried to initiate the split, Zach is now out for revenge. On top of all that, the character is trying to kick a vape addiction, which prompted him to jump into a trash can after his pen.
If Jacob and Tariq (or “Jariq” as I’m calling them) don’t get their time to shine this season, I’m hopeful that it happens in Season 4, which was greenlit just recently. I truly believe there’s potential for comedic gold and, for Chris Perfetti’s sake and our own, let’s hope it happens at some point.
Abbott Elementary airs on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC as part of the 2024 TV schedule. Anyone with a Hulu subscription can stream the new episodes the next day.
