A.P. Bio

***A.P. Bio*** is an American comedy television series created by Mike O'Brien for NBC. The series premiered on February 1, 2018 for a special preview and made its official debut on March 1, 2018. NBC released the first three episodes on NBCUniversal streaming platforms after the February 1 broadcast premiere for early viewing.

In May 2018, the series was renewed for a second season that premiered on March 7, 2019. In May 2019, the series was cancelled after two seasons. The following month, Peacock picked up the series for a third season which premiered on September 3, 2020.

In December 2021, the series was cancelled after 4 seasons.

## Plot

When disgraced Harvard philosophy professor Jack Carson Griffin (Glenn Howerton) loses out on his dream job to his rival Miles Leonard (Tom Bennett), he is forced to return to Toledo, Ohio and work as an A.P. Biology teacher at Whitlock High School. Jack makes it clear to his class that he will not be teaching any biology. Realizing he has a room full of honor-roll students at his disposal, Jack decides to use them for his own benefit: getting revenge on Miles. Eager to prove that he is still king of the castle, Principal Durbin (Patton Oswalt) struggles to keep Griffin under control. In its second season, Jack uses his students to find out how the people of Toledo find happiness in their daily routine, so as to mine information for what he believes will be a best-selling book.

## Cast

### Main cast

* Glenn Howerton as Dr. Jack Carson Griffin, a disgraced Harvard philosophy scholar and current Advanced Placement Biology teacher at Whitlock High School.
* Lyric Lewis as Stef Duncan, a history teacher at Whitlock High School.
* Mary Sohn as Mary Wagner, an art teacher at Whitlock High School.
* Jean Villepique as Michelle Jones, a home economics teacher at Whitlock High School.
* Tom Bennett asMiles Leonard, a scholar who is Jack's rival and nemesis. (Season 1)
* Paula Pell as Helen Henry Demarcus, Principal Durbin's secretary (Season 2, Recurring Season 1)
* Patton Oswalt as Principal Ralph Durbin, the principal of Whitlock High School.

### Recurring

* Jacob McCarthy as Devin (Season 1)
* Aparna Brielle as Sarika Sarkar
* Nick Peine as Marcus Kasperak
* Allisyn Ashley Arm as Heather
* Eddie Leavy as Anthony Lewis
* Charlie McCrackin as Coach Dick Novak
* Jacob Houston as Victor Kozlowski
* Tucker Albrizzi as Colin McConnell (Season 1)
* Spence Moore II as Dan Decker
* Sari Arambulo as Grace
* Elizabeth Alderfer as Lynette (Season 2)
* Miguel Chavez as Eduardo
* Marisa Baram as Marissa

### Guest stars

* Collette Wolfe as Meredith
* Nikki Glaser as Chloe
* Niecy Nash as Kim Burke
* Taran Killam as Mr. Vining
* Mark Proksch as Philip
* Michael Gross as Brandon
* Christopher Lloyd as Melvin
* Erinn Hayes as Trish
* Tim Heidecker as Greg
* Brooks Wheelan as Seth

## Production

### Development

The series was created by Mike O'Brien for NBC, to debut in 2018. On January 23, 2017, NBC officially ordered the pilot. The series was greenlit on May 11, 2018. It was announced the premiere of the series on February 1, 2018 at 8:30 p.m.

On May 8, 2018, NBC renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on March 7, 2019. On May 24, 2019, NBC cancelled the show after two seasons. In July 2019, NBC reversed this decision and renewed the series for a third season, which is set to premiere on Peacock on September 3, 2020.

### Casting

In February 2017, it was announced that Mary Sohn and Lyric Lewis had joined the pilot's main cast. In March 2017, it was reported that Aparna Brielle, Glenn Howerton, Patton Oswalt, Nick Peine and Jacob McCarthy had joined the cast in their main roles. On June 12, 2017, it was announced that Tom Bennett had joined the series regular. On August 1, 2017, it was announced that Jean Villepique had joined the series regular.

## Release

### Marketing

On April 15, 2020, Peacock released the first official trailer for the series' third season.

### Streaming

The show currently streams on Hulu and Peacock.

## Reception

### Critical response

The first season holds a score of 66% with an average rating of 6.34/10 on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 32 reviews. The site's critical consensus states: "*A.P. Bio* has some genuine laughs, but audiences have already seen plenty of authority figures behaving badly -- and have a right to expect more from this promising premise and talented cast." Metacritic assigned the series a score of 59 out of 100 based on 17 critics.

Writing in *The Hollywood Reporter*, Daniel Fienberg commented that *A.P. Bio* had a good cast and "the only thing holding it back is the small quibble that it's not actually all that funny." Margaret Lyons of the New York Times called *A.P. Bio* "an abrasive sitcom that isn't merely unfunny, it's also deeply unpleasant." Jen Chaney of Vulture said the series had bright spots but was "conceptually played-out" overall.

## Home media

The first season of *A.P. Bio* was released on Region Free DVD in the United States on August 14, 2018 and in Australia on Region 4 DVD on June 6, 2019

## References

1. ↑ Petski, Denise (December 14, 2017). "NBC's 'A.P. Bio' Gets February Preview Date, 'This Is Us' Midseason Return Moved Back A Week". Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
2. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (January 24, 2017). "NBC Orders Comedy Pilot From Seth Meyers, Mike O'Brien & Lorne Michaels". Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
3. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (May 8, 2017). "'A.P. Bio' NBC Comedy Pilot From Mike O'Brien & Seth Meyers Gets Series Order". Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
4. ↑ Otterson, Joe (May 8, 2018). "'AP Bio' Renewed for Season 2 at NBC, Comedies 'Abby's,' 'I Feel Bad' Ordered to Series". *Variety*.
5. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie; Pedersen, =Erik (December 18, 2018). "NBC Sets Premiere Dates For New Dramas 'Enemy Within' & 'The Village', Return For 'Good Girls', 'The Voice', 'World Of Dance'" (en). *Deadline Hollywood*. Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
6. ↑ Iannucci, Rebecca (May 24, 2019). "A.P. Bio Cancelled at NBC" (en). *TVLine*. Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
7. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (July 17, 2019). "A.P. Bio Revived for Season 3 on NBCUniversal's Streaming Service (Exclusive)" (en). *The Hollywood Reporter*. Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
8. ↑ "Peacock Launches Nationally Tomorrow with Free and Premium Tiers" (July 14, 2020).
9. ↑ Petski, Denise (February 24, 2017). "Gillian Vigman Cast In The CW's 'Life Sentence' Pilot; Mary Sohn in NBC's Seth Meyers Comedy". Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
10. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (February 28, 2017). "Noah Mills Enlists In 'For God And Country'; Lyric Lewis Joins NBC's Seth Meyers Pilot". Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Petski, Denise (March 7, 2017). "'Redliners': Greg Germann Joins NBC Drama Pilot; Aparna Brielle In Seth Meyers Comedy". Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
12. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (March 8, 2017). "Glenn Howerton & Patton Oswalt To Star In NBC's Mike O'Brien/Seth Meyers Pilot". Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
13. ↑ Petski, Denise (March 10, 2017). "NBC's Seth Meyers Comedy Pilot Casts Nick Peine; CBS' 'The Get' Adds Alex Fitzalan". Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
14. ↑ Petski, Denise (March 14, 2017). "Christopher Gorham Joins the CW's 'Insatiable'; NBC's Seth Meyers Comedy Adds Jacob McCarthy". Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
15. ↑ Stanhope, Kate (June 12, 2017). "NBC's 'A.P. Bio' Promotes 'Mascots' Star to Series Regular (Exclusive)". Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
16. ↑ Petski, Denise (August 1, 2017). "'A.P. Bio': Jean Villepique Cast As Regular In NBC Comedy". Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
17. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (April 16, 2020). "Peacock Trailers: 'Brave New World', 'Saved By the Bell', 'Punky Brewster', 'Psych 2,' A.P. Bio', 'Angelyne' & More". *Deadline Hollywood*. Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
18. ↑ "A.P. BIO: SEASON 1 (2018)". *Rotten Tomatoes*. Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
19. ↑ "A.P. Bio: Season 1". *Metacritic*. CBS Interactive. Retrieved on May 21, 2020.
20. ↑ Fienberg, Daniel (February 1, 2018). "'AP Bio': TV Review". Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
21. ↑ Lyons, Margaret (January 31, 2018). "Review: 'A.P. Bio' Is Not Advanced in Timing or Taste". Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
22. ↑ Chaney, Jen (January 31, 2018). "A.P. Bio Isn't Exactly Advanced Placement TV". Retrieved on July 19, 2020.
23. ↑ "Amazon.com: A.P. Bio: Season One".
24. ↑ "A.P. Bio - Season 1 3 DVD".