The Jan. 8 episode, a crossover with FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia , drew 8.05 million viewers during a week of multiplatform viewing — a season high for Abbott Elementary and the second-most-watched episode ever in that time frame, behind a post-Oscars broadcast last year. About 39 percent of those viewers (3.15 million) watched the episode on Hulu or Disney+.
Since moving to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, the series has earned two of its top three ratings of the season so far, according to Nielsen (the third episode, incidentally, was for an episode that aired in December at 8 p.m.).
The early renewal is nothing new for Abbott Elementary, which has won awards in each of its first three seasons well before the May upfronts. The series is the first to earn a spot on ABC’s 2025-26 schedule.
In addition to Brunson, the cast includes Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Chris Perfetti, Lisa Ann Walter, William Stanford Davis and Sheryl Lee Ralph.
