The True Story That Inspired Abbott Elementary’s Choice To Move The School Into A Mall

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Be aware that the following contains minor spoilers for Season 5, Episode 9 of Abbott Elementary. If you haven’t watched it yet, proceed with caution! You can stream the show with a Hulu subscription.

The recent holiday episode of Abbott Elementary featured a surprising twist: the teachers and students will be relocating from their school to a mall! While it sounds unbelievable, the show’s creators have explained the real-life inspiration behind this unexpected move, which they planned halfway through the fifth season.

When Abbott Elementary returned for its new season, the setting was completely different. Instead of the familiar school building, the teachers and students were now located in and operating out of an abandoned mall. Interestingly, this isn’t just a plot point for the show – it’s something that’s actually been happening in real life. According to showrunner Justin Halpern, who spoke with Deadline, some schools have been forced to relocate to large, unconventional spaces like malls because…

After learning about the situation at Pali High following the fires, we began researching similar problems in schools across the country, including Philadelphia. We discovered that temporary school relocations due to structural issues were surprisingly common. Adding this challenge to everything else educators already handle seemed overwhelming and unrealistic.

During the interview, Patrick Schumacker, the showrunner, shared that Pali High School relocated to a former Sears in Santa Monica after losing their original building. The New York Times reported that following a fire in January, classes were held online for several months while a new location was secured. Eventually, the school found a home in the empty department store.

Schumacker explained how a real-life experience sparked the storyline currently unfolding on Abbott Elementary:

We spoke with a member of the LAUSD board who directly managed the relocation of students from Pali High after the fire to the former Sears building at the Santa Monica Promenade. Their insights into the process – how it impacted the students, and the challenges faced by the school district, teachers, and administrators – were very helpful. The students are still learning at that temporary location.

The main purpose of this story is to show the challenges teachers face daily. Quinta Brunson, the creator and star of the show, has always wanted to portray this reality, and this particular storyline about the mall focuses on issues educators often deal with. As the showrunner explained further:

Quinta initially wanted to highlight this issue and show what educators experience by mirroring those challenges in the characters we create. That’s always our goal – to be authentic. We spoke with several educators, administrators, and teachers who had firsthand experience to ensure we portrayed it accurately.

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While Abbott Elementary is often hilariously over-the-top, it’s fundamentally a tribute to teachers and school staff. The show also sheds light on the incredibly difficult challenges they confront, such as having to relocate to a mall.

Honestly, this development surprised me even more than the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia crossover or Ava getting fired, because it seemed so unbelievable. But it turns out it’s actually based on things that really happened in schools, and it’s been amazing to see unfold.

You can find out what happens next on Abbott Elementary, which airs Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC. Or, you can watch it on Hulu starting the next day.

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2026-01-09 03:09