The 'Abbott Elementary' star shares his perspective on fan-favorite potential couple, Janine and Gregory.
Tyler James Williams isn't afraid to admit that he's among the Abbott Elementary fans who aren't rooting for Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory Eddie (Williams) to get together. At least not anytime soon! During an appearance on Monday's episode of The Jennifer Hudson Show, the 31-year-old Golden Globe winner shared that he doesn't "necessarily want to see them together."
"It's partially an actor's choice but also, I read a lot of scripts all the time, I watch a lot of TV, a lot of films, [and] I don't think that we see displays of platonic love between two people often," Williams explained. "I think it's really easy to go right to 'they have feelings for each other therefore they should be together,' right? [But] I like this dynamic of them exploring withholding that and just actively loving each other where they are. That, I like to see."
The actor added that he believes that TV "allows people to see things that could be their lives for the first time," and that the depiction of a "healthy friendship" is needed more than another romantic relationship.
"I think seeing a healthy friendship that is deeply caring about one another in a work atmosphere needs to be shown more than the relationship," he told Hudson.
It isn't the first time Williams has shared this particular opinion on the potential romance between Janine and Gregory after season 2's finale saw the two teachers admit to having feelings for one another.
Despite the reveal, Janine and Gregory decide to put any romance on hold while the former works through her "selfish era" and they continue building their friendship. Although it's clear that their feelings for each other are strong, they resolve to "plant something new," as they grow together as friends.
When the cast chatted with ET ahead of season 3's premiere, Williams teased that fans could expect a "lateral move" when it comes to the teachers' relationship.
"It's definitely much more complicated. I think what happened at the end of season 2 was it felt like there was at least a pause button being put on things, but I don't think the audience or either Janine or Gregory really thought about, 'OK, we have to go back to work at some point and see each other,'" Williams shared. "And that's got them in this kind of really complicated purgatory. But we address a lot of it in episode one."
Brunson also told ET that she believes Janine and Gregory are "becoming better friends" this season, which she admitted to being more of a fan of than anything else.
"I think that's a cool way, no matter what path you take, will they or won't they -- sure. It's nice to be good friends with people and I love watching Janine and Gregory be friends," she said. "It's some of my favorite moments in the show."
During a visit to SiriusXM's The Jess Cagle Show in February, Williams posed the possibility that Janine and Gregory will never get together despite fans rooting passionately for the two to begin their romance.
Williams shared that "one of the things" the team behind Abbott has considered is whether they want the show's story to "mirror real life as much as possible."
"In real life, getting together with somebody is never a straight line. It doesn't just go from we meet, we like each other and now we're together. It doesn't happen like that," Williams pointed out. "Part of what we want to continue to do is throw real-life obstacles in their way that they have to grapple with. Quinta said multiple times, she's not even sure if they're going to get together at some point."
"We're more focused on the journey of what it looks like to them making that decision, but I think everyone assumes it will end with them being together. There's a version of the show we've talked about where they never get together, and they choose not to be together that we also like, so the writers' room is sometimes split 50/50," he added. "There's several storylines that we've talked about that half the room hates, half of them love, and then we'll figure out where it actually goes. But there is no actual endgame by way of, they for sure get together."
Noting that there's "a great payoff here," Williams reiterated that the writers wanted to mirror real life with Janine and Gregory's relationship as much as they could and "sometimes that doesn't always happen. No one ever thinks about that. There's a real possibility that it just never comes together."
"I think there will be a rip in the space-time continuum if they don't get together," co-host Julia Cunningham responded. "Are you ready for that? Are you ready to take that on?"
Joking that he's already been "catching heat" for Gregory rejecting Janine, Williams quipped that he's got "a strong core. I can take some jabs."
One complication in that couple could come in the form of The Other Two and Scream VI star Josh Segarra, who is one of the many stars appearing in season 3. Fans have speculated that Segarra's Manny, one of the three "good-natured" school district representatives who take pride in their jobs and strive to freshen up the old ways of schooling, might have a more than strictly professional interest in Janine.
Since the series has already been renewed for season 4, there's plenty of time for Janine and Gregory (and Manny!) to figure out their love lives.
Fans will have to wait and see what happens with their favorite teachers as Abbott Elementary airs Wednesdays on ABC at 9 p.m. EST.
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