The End Of ‘English Teacher’ Couldn’t Come Soon Enough For Brian Jordan Alvarez Critics

Yesterday, FX abruptly cancelled the sitcom English Teacher after two seasons, prompting many former viewers to once again question why the network ever renewed the series in the first place.

When English Teacher first hit cable in September, 2024, TV critics and viewers alike heaped praise onto the show about an openly gay teacher in a conservative Texas school district, calling it the right comedy for the moment and a perfect TV-MA answer to the runaway success of ABC's Abbott Elementary. Now, barely a year later, FX Networks has unceremoniously axed what was shaping up to be their next great comedy hit, and many commentators are theorizing that the English Teacher cancellation might have something to do with the show’s controversial creator and star, Brian Jordan Alvarez.

Shortly after the premiere of English Teacher Season 1, one of Alvarez’ former collaborators, Jon Ebeling, publicly accused Alvarez of sexual assault and a pattern of manipulative, grooming-type behavior towards him during the making of the web series The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo. Ebeling filed a report with the Los Angeles Police Department and also contacted the Screen Actors Guild concerning Alvarez' alleged actions. 

Alvarez denied Ebeling’s claims and no criminal charges were ever filed following the allegations, but, now, as English Teacher leaves the FX schedule, Alvarez' detractors are explaining why they won't lose sleep over the show's demise:

At the time of writing, FX has not made any public comment on the reasoning behind the cancellation of English Teacher, leading many observers to believe that the allegations against Alvarez may have been a deciding factor in the move. In a Reddit thread about the end of English Teacher, the top commenter wrote of the show's star/creator, "Finally. This POS doesn't deserve any sort of platform. The way he grossly tiktok danced through the allegations made me so sick."

Some users defended the quality of English Teacher, despite how Alvarez' reputation has shaped the cultural discussion over the sitcom. “fuck. such a good show and great writing. feel awful for his victims and hope having him out of the spotlight helps them heal,” one fan wrote.

“The Vulture exposé should have buried his career,” another user opined of Alvarez, “Insane that he got a second season. What he did was absolutely horrible, and F his enablers too.”

Like FX, Alvarez has yet to publicly comment on the English Teacher cancellation.