{shortcode-b768e877cdd095a67a796440848d2c5911531c58}

The season four opener to “Abbott Elementary” immediately reminds the audience exactly what it was we loved about the show in the first place. Principal Ava Coleman (Janelle James) rounds up our main teachers because she’d seen a ghost. Well, not really a ghost, as much as a new student — a white student enrolling after he moved to the neighborhood. As it turns out, a new PGA golf course is being opened nearby, and with it comes an influx of new, white families.

Ultimately, though, this cold open highlights what makes the now four seasons and running sitcom work so well: the careful balance of real-world issues with lovable characters who deal with them in (mostly) awkward ways. It’s a wholesome structure, and one which has managed to stay fresh.

The episode presents an exciting portrait of what’s to come for the show’s latest installment. Janine (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams) maintain their cute, nerdy chemistry in the wake of their much-awaited kiss in the season three finale. Their new relationship is the exact kind of loving, trusting model the couple need it to be, especially for Janine. Though, with any luck, Tariq (Zack Fox), Janine’s ex with a notably eccentric personality, will still rear his head for a guest appearance this season.

The rest of the cast each get their moment in the spotlight as well. Jacob (Chris Perfetti) shines in the cold open, excitedly greeting the new white family and quickly turning to the camera to prove it isn’t because he’s racist, he’s just happy to meet new students.

Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) maintains her poise in the face of all odds, namely Principal Coleman, only cracking at the sight of a bug crawling towards her. Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) off-handedly threatens the pets of the golf course owners, but, as she notes for the audience, she doesn’t really have “the same connections [she] used to have in this city, which… in a way, is a sign of progress.”

Much like Melissa is maturing, so too are the relationships between characters and the show itself. There is a genuine care apparent in every shot and every line, a connection to the world of the characters and, most importantly, to the students of Willard R. Abbott Public School. What is still a hilarious, heartwarming comedy now has emotionally entrapped its viewers, helping them care about the goings-on at the little public school that could.

“Abbott Elementary” stands as a testament to the power of education, a loving message to educators and schools everywhere, no matter their struggles. Each season, watching the students — refreshingly played by age-appropriate actors — go through their own struggles, be it a fight or chronic absenteeism, the audience is left with a distinct sense of the work that goes into each school day. Each episode feels sincere and thoughtful, even if at times somewhat absurd, like in season two’s noteworthy “Candy Zombies.”

Miles Nathaniel (Matt Oberg), the lawyer representing the golf course developers, is a wonderful foil to the scrappy Abbott crew. Where they have grit and resilience, he has 15 new computers lying around that, honestly, should probably be donated somewhere. It will be an exciting watch to see how his character develops over the course of this season, and what accidental mayhem he may cause.

If the season four pilot is any indicator, gentrification and a changing student body is shaping up to be the theme of this season, creating an overarching narrative potentially akin to season two’s charter school competition or season three’s school district shenanigans. Though, just as the lives of the characters within “Abbott Elementary” are growing fuller, so too might the scope of the show, growing beyond the walls of the school to the streets of Philadelphia. Though the city has always been a critical backdrop for the show, now it may become a central player and a character in its own right.

Season four’s lively return to the halls of Abbott is off to a joyous start. It’s got all the potential to be the best installment yet.