“We just thought that maybe the more surprising move is the more interesting move,” Alvarez said of Evan’s choice. “Also, it’s like, sometimes you want your characters making the wrong decision. Sometimes. Not to say that’s the wrong decision.”
Evan choosing Malcolm does leave a lot of questions unanswered, including whether they are going to be officially together. (Malcolm does go off to an orgy after the smooch.) In a way, he’s the “safer” pick for Evan, Alvarez says—but he also suggests, “these guys are in love on some level.”
“I think when I first proposed it,” he says, people were like, ‘That’s good, because it sort of catches us off guard.’ It just makes you want to keep watching, which I think is the important thing,” he says.
The finale also leaves another romance question open ended: Gym teacher Markie (Sean Patton) is still pining after coworker Gwen (Stephanie Koenig), who ends up going back to her unemployed, pool-digging boyfriend Nick (Chris Riggi). Alvarez credits Patton’s ability to bring depth to what could be a one-note character as the reason the storyline works.
“It’s something to root for,” he says. “By that point, at least I as a viewer love those two characters so much that you’re like, ‘Well, God, it would be so sweet—but also Gwen has this amazing relationship that I also think is so sweet, with this guy that she’s like, ‘I love you no matter what.'”
Beyond the relationship drama, English Teacher has also earned praise for its handling of sensitive subjects. In one episode, Evan rallies his students to protest a gun club on campus run by Markie. In another, he has to deal with a girl in his class (played by Coppola scion Romy Mars) who requests Evan treat her made-up ailment with political correctness. As Alvarez and the writers started breaking stories, they realized they had an opportunity.
“It just started making sense like this show can look at these things going on in America and the world and somehow it can speak to them in a real way, comment on them in a real way, but also keep it quite light and be somewhat objective and maybe funny in its objectivity,” he says. “You’re just interested in seeing everyone’s perspective because all the characters feel like real people.”
As far as a potential next season goes, Alvarez is keeping his options for storylines open, but he knows he wants to see more of the side characters that have infiltrated the show’s world, including Linda and Sharon.
Those two are not the only breakout stars. A lot of the younger actors playing students—like Aliyah’s Interlude as Tiffany and Ben Bondurant as Jeff—were cast based on their funny online personas. Even Mars got her role not because of her nepo status but, in part, because Alvarez was already a fan of viral TikTok about making vodka sauce while she was grounded for trying to charter a helicopter.
“We’re not like looking through TikTok and trying to find the most popular TikTok or show, but the show does have a lot of people I organically came across online,” Alvarez says.
The moment continues to come full circle.
