Season 1 - 13 episodes (2018)
Season 2 - 13 episodes (2019)
Season 3 - 8 episodes (2020)
Season 4 - 8 episodes (2021)
Rent A.P. Bio on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Michael Patrick O'Brien
Starring: Glenn Howerton, Lyric Lewis, Mary Sohn, Jean Villepique, Tom Bennett, Patton Oswalt, Paula Pell
Rated: TV-14
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Plot
A former philosophy professor who takes a job teaching advanced placement biology uses his students to get back at the people in his life who have wronged him.
Verdict
This is a sociopath employed a a teacher. He's pompous, petty, and absurdly self centered. Jack is terrible, lacking boundaries and morals, but in the context of a school it's hilarious due to the contrast. He thinks he's superior to everyone, especially people in Toledo, yet his machinations usually fail. Jack revels in being antagonistic when he's not trying to goad people into serving his whims. It's absolutely hilarious and ridiculous. The first season is excellent but subsequent seasons try to humanize Jack and stray from what made this so unique. The first season is absolutely great, and I wish the series had held to that.
Watch It.
Review
This was an NBC show that was canceled after the second season due to low ratings. It was revived on Peacock for an additional two seasons.
I loved the first season, liking it less with each successive season. The first season is cynical and demented. Jack is a sociopath. Later seasons tried to make him more human by giving him a girlfriend and making him care about students, but it undermined the unique tone this initially possessed.
A bitter and cynical philosopher is somehow forced to teach A.P. Bio. Jack (Glenn Howerton) is the anti-teacher. He doesn't plan to tech nor learn from students. He's not going to secretly teach them anything, cutting down all the tropes in one fell swoop. He's incredibly blunt, apathetic, and extremely self centered. Jack is also quick to remind people he taught at Harvard. His first class assignment is for his students to catfish a former colleague.
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| Glenn Howerton plays Jack Griffin |
Howerton is great in the role, building on a similar image from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Jack manages to game the system and do whatever he wants. The principal, Durbin (Patton Oswalt), is a pushover, desperate for any validation. Jack is so flippant about everything. He's ridiculous and petty, and he doesn't dull his opinions even for the children in his class. Jack is pompous, arrogant, and terrible and that's what makes this so fun as we watch him unleashed on an unsuspecting high school. His selfishness and disdain for everyone and everything in Toledo has no bounds.
The concept is fun and then there's the shock value of just how far Jack will go. He has no qualms in creating schemes with the students. In episode nine his solution to the crying electronic babies is wild. Just when you think you've seen how depraved he is, the show surprises. It's a great ending to the season as Jack gets what he wants, but that's only temporary when one of his other schemes blows up. It's a great season and Howerton is excellent.
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| Jack's class in Season 1 |
Season two isn't quite as good as season one. The show adds to the cast and tries to do more while moving away from Jack's pettiness. My favorite aspect of this show is Jack's interactions with the students. This season moves past that with more locations and adjacent subplots. This season isn't as funny and the shock value is lessened. While we're used to what this show is, the season gives Jack a love interest and a reason to stay in Toledo, which seems antithetical to the Jack in season one.
I like season three less than two. I missed Jack being an absolute sociopath. He's still petty, but he's not as ridiculous and inane with the kids. The show has traded acerbic dialog for ridiculous situations. It also focuses more on side characters and makes Jack friendlier. It's not bad, but it's become dull.
The first episode of season four sets the tone. The first episode features various fan-fic romances among characters. It's ridiculous, and I'd rather see Jack at his self centered best. The show has humanized Jack by giving him a girlfriend and having him exact revenge on the behalf of his students. He's even friends with Durbin. It's more of an ensemble comedy at this point. Episode three is everything I don't like about the direction of Jack's character. He's concerned about being nice and friendly with people at work. The season one Jack would never do that. While I'm not against a character developing, it undermines what made this show funny and intriguing.
Season one is easily my favorite. A full on sociopath is unleashed on a high school. Successive seasons make Jack nicer and I liked the show less with each season. I enjoyed all of the seasons, but it's also coasting on what I liked about the first season. Based on just the fourth season, I wouldn't care for this show as much.
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