Following the conclusion of the writers' strike, ABC's Abbott Elementary Season 3 just received an exciting update for the first time in a while.
After being shut down for months, Hollywood writers' rooms are gearing up to reload now that the Writer Guilds of America strike is over.
One sitcom that suffered majorly due to the strike was Abbott Elementary, which was supposed to begin work on its third season at the beginning of May.
Abbott Elementary Season 3 Receives New Update
Deadline shared that Abbott Elementary's Season 3 writer's room is set to open again following delays in its development due to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike.
Unfortunately, writer Brittani Nichols said (via Democracy Now!) back in May that the strike could affect "the amount of episodes" that Season 3 will have:
"'Abbott Elementary' was supposed to go back to the room this week. We are a show that writes while we air, and so if this strikes goes for a significant period of time, our show will not come out on time and that could change the amount of episodes, which people I'm sure will be very upset about."
Among "a lot of different things," Nichols mentioned how the strike would likely change the air date, which could have been in September if not for the strike:
"It could change the air date. It could change a lot of different things because there just will not be things going into that pipeline. There will not be us participating in anything that will bring profit to this industry and that is going to cause a disruption. That's what we're counting on."
When Will Abbott Elementary Season 3 Release?
The 2023 WGA Hollywood strike essentially pushed back Abbott Elementary's production for five months.
Now back in the writer's room, it will still take time to get back to filming and ultimately releasing new episodes. Beyond just the writing process, there's still an ongoing actors' strike (which is expected to end soon) that could delay production further.
Season 2 of Abbott Elementary had 22 episodes which aired from September 2022 to April 2023. Season 3 will likely have fewer episodes and not begin airing until 2024.
February 2024 is the most likely starting date for Abbott Elementary Season 3 unless ABC demands a sped-up process so that the network can stop relying on unscripted programming.
As Brittani Nichols explained, the series continues to be written as it airs, so speeding up the process for the first few episodes is certainly possible.
Abbott Elementary Seasons 1-2 are streaming on Hulu and Max.
