A Teacher Review: FX on Hulu’s Taboo ‘Romance’ Is More Icky Than Insightful
Each episode of FX on Hulu‘s A Teacher is preceded by a content warning I’ve never seen before: It warns about “sexual situations,” but also “depictions of grooming that may be disturbing.” And it’s needed, too, because A Teacher — debuting Tuesday, Nov. 10; I’ve seen all ten episodes — is certainly disturbing, depicting a sexual relationship between a high school teacher and a student in unprecedentedly graphic detail for a TV series. (It’s so nerve-wracking to watch unfold, it’s almost like a horror movie at times.) But it also badly fumbles its execution, with a fundamentally wrongheaded approach to the central relationship that often left me yelling, “What are you doing???” at the TV… and not just at the characters.
Kate Mara (House of Cards, American Horror Story) stars as Claire, a new English teacher in a Texas high school. (The setting brings to mind Friday Night Lights, which left me wishing this series had even a tenth of the heart and authenticity that FNL did.) Claire wears low-cut sweaters as she reads Dylan Thomas to her students, including Eric (Love, Simon‘s Nick Robinson), a popular senior and soccer captain. Soon, she’s tutoring him for the SATs, they’re bonding over a shared love of Frank Ocean… and a spark between them ignites a forbidden flame that leads to dire consequences for everyone involved.
It’s all shot handsomely, with a cool soundtrack — Hannah Fidell writes and directs several episodes, based on her 2013 indie film — but the tone is, if anything, too romantic. A Teacher plays too often like a star-crossed love story instead of what it is: a crime, an act of abuse and a massive breach of ethics. (Occasionally, a side character will point out how wrong all of this is, but they’re brushed aside in favor of more dreamy close-ups.) Robinson is actually 25, and so Eric seems older than high school, which blunts some of the shock value… but that also plays into the show’s problematic tendency to romanticize their relationship. The fact is that Eric is underage when his relationship with Claire begins — they celebrate his 18th birthday together — and while I get that the characters don’t think they’re doing anything wrong, that doesn’t mean the show shouldn’t challenge them on that.
There’s no real insight to be found here, either. Fidell seems to be going for a naturalistic vibe, but the dialogue is flat, with no wit or sparkle to it, and the characterization is bland and riddled with clichés. (Eric’s teen pals are all one-dimensional lunkheads that fail to even register.) Mara and Robinson are fine, but they’re never given enough depth to resonate as characters. Mara is well-cast, at least — she has haunted eyes that fit with Claire’s erratic nature — and Claire is given plenty of reasons to make a mistake like this. (Her inattentive husband is starting a band; what could be worse?) But because the scripts are so underwritten, we’re never given a chance to empathize with or even understand her decisions.
I did watch all ten episodes just to see what happens to Claire and Eric, and their bubble eventually does burst, with later episodes examining the painful aftermath months and years later. But it all unfolds along predictably miserable lines, and confirms that there’s not really ten episodes’ worth of story here to tell. A Teacher is just an uncomfortable, frustrating viewing experience, and not in the ways it’s meant to be. An honest, sensitive look at a relationship like this and the damage it inevitably does could work, but it would have to walk a very fine line in order to succeed, and this attempt stumbles way off course. In hindsight, those content warnings at the beginning? They sound more like a belated apology.
THE TVLINE BOTTOM LINE: FX on Hulu’s A Teacher tackles a taboo subject, but does so with thin writing and a disturbing romanticism that leaves a sour aftertaste.
I’m a HS English teacher. I hate that these programs get made tbh. It makes a lot of us look bad.
Also, idk any school where you’re allowed to tutor students that you currently have in class. Soooo, there’s that!
I wouldn’t say that shows like this make teachers look bad — the teachers who prey on their students make teachers look bad
Eh. I was literally just reading a PD book about how important it is to develop personal relationships with students to cultivate social empathy. It’s hard to do that sometimes because things could be perceived the wrong way. I just don’t like that sexual predators are often shown to be teachers in the media. Clearly, there are other professions where this happens? I was just glad that Miss Honey was written out quickly of Riverdale (and then killed lol).
I was tutored separately by several teachers when I was 16/17. But I was doing a year ahead of the class in those subjects and the sessions were always conducted at school. Around the same time though some of the younger teachers used to have parties with their students and no-one thought twice about it.
Same. Both Spanish teachers in my High School were 21 to my 18 (my bday was at that odd cut-off time so I was 18 for most of my senior year). They had parties. They hung out with us after school. I went over to their houses for tutoring (they shared classes, it was an odd setup). No one came down on them. Where I lived that’s just how it was but than again, it was the late 90s in rural America so maybe that’s why. 🤷♀️
“Then” not “than”…really need an edit button for fat thumbs.
Oh yeah. It’s cool when Marc Cherry shows and romanticizes a relationship between an underaged high school student and a 40+ year old woman in “Why Women Kill”, but it’s disturbing when someone else does it. Just wow.
It’s not cool in any form. End of.
This review doesn’t mention that show. Because it’s not a review of that show. “Just wow” indeed though, scathing outrage over here
Funny if it was the other way around no one would empathize with that situation it’s not alright that women do this and shouldn’t be romanticized
Its not right if a guy does this either. Its not alright if a Martian did it either.
Remember Ezria on Pretty Little Liars? It was exactly about a teacher/student relationship and people shipped it like crazy despite it being so wrong.
Exactly – and TVLine just listed Pretty Little Liars as one of the top teen dramas of all time with the descriptions: “The twists! The ‘ships! The fabulous funeral attire! This insanely addictive ABC Family-turned-Freeform mystery was the reason live tweeting was invented.”
Yeah, that teacher/student romance was great!
And just to be clear, I don’t have an opinion on this new show because I haven’t seen it and I also don’t have an issue per se with a show about this subject matter; it’s all in the execution. I also don’t know reviewer Dave Nemetz’s opinion of Pretty Little Liars so my remarks aren’t directed at his review. But it a little hypocritical to say the least for TV Line to run a review complaining about the romanticization of a student teacher relationship given all the gushing coverage they gave – and continue to give – a show like Pretty Little Liars.
She’s 37 and he’s 25.
This storyline could work, look at Call Me By My Name, but the casting of this is all wrong to begin with.
I had a 16 year old friend who had a crush on my like 27 year old history teacher in high school. Something like 18 and 28 would be fine.
Had another friend who was 18 and dating a 30 year old teacher. Not his teacher but he was teaching 15-16 year olds.
I had a teacher who’s children were 3-4 years younger than me and he liked the leggy blonde students. The school did nothing for nearly three decades and finally forced him to retire.
*Call Me By Your Name
A kid having a crush on an adult is NOT the same thing. The power imbalance is a huge issue here: the 16 year old has very little power. And the adult has the responsibility to not behave inappropriately, b/c the kid’s brain literally isn’t even fully developed.
The short story Call Me By Your Name is based on was like a 14 year old and a 27 year old. You think that’s okay?
Short story? It’s based on a book, a novel. In the book and the movie. Elio is 17, Oliver is 24. Which is legal in Italy, and Oliver is in no position of control over Elio (not teacher, boss, employer etc).
However the casting was wrong. As Timothee Chalamet indeed look like 17. But Armie Hammer look like 30 years old
I don’t know what FX was thinking or why anyone would want to make this show. Hard pass.
Cry baby! Go watch days of our lives then if you can´t stomach any real life stories with great actors (Kate Mara). Wonder are you afraid to go outside too? Terrible life you must have.
The “romanticism” is probably unavoidable in a story like this, if they’re trying to establish them as anything other than basic outlines of characters. Something has to draw them together in the first place. I’d also argue that it’s not exactly indicative of “grooming”, so the warning doesn’t seem wholly accurate. Unless she’s some conniver determined to seduce teenagers, out to trap them in her web. I agree that stories like this walk a thin line that requires good characterization and excellent writing to get right, but they’re inherently exploitation fair at the core. It’s nearly impossible for them to be otherwise. So the necessity of the content warning is laughable to me. As if anyone watching, doesn’t already know exactly what it is.
As a teacher, that also has practiced child welfare I can assure you that is not how grooming works.
Most predators who are teachers don’t mean to be predators. The grooming process isn’t often intentional. This is why they go unnoticed because they are not conniving creeps.
Yet, the relationships are still inappropriate, unethical, dangerous, and illegal.
She did groom him. The subtlety of it is what is supposed to get you to raise an eyebrow. I think that was well done.
I like Kate Mara.
I’m not sure her low cut shirts have anything to do with this though. Women can wear whatever they want. Teach boys to be in control.
However, yeah this whole story line is ick. Funny that nobody cared about this but lost their minds over Cuties.
Yes to all of this !
I suppose it depends on what you mean by “in control”. It’s not a story about him trying to sexually assault her or anything. But being “Hot for Teacher” isn’t going anywhere, no matter how much control one tries to exert. (Speaking from personal experience.) Of course, the vast majority of those feelings don’t result in an actual relationship, no matter how much prominence it holds in teen fantasy.
I dont think it will really be disturbing to me knowing Robinson isn’t actually underage but the character is supposed to be. Is it really that disturbing? I didnt think it would be awkward from the trailer. I’ll watch because I love Nick and his work. Hopefully its better than the reviewer is saying.
They absolutely should NOT have cast an older actor for the kid. It’s bad enough on your average teen show. But in this context? Just no.
18 and early 20s look marginally different at best, so I don’t think it matters all that much.
I reckon 18 and 25 is a huge gap. If I look back at pictures of me at 18 and 25, in the latter I am clearly an adult and in the former, very kid-looking.
For some yes and for some no. It kind of depends on the person. Some people look like they’re still 16 when they’re thirty. Others could easily pass for 25 at 17.
You people listed Aria and Ezra as one of the best teen ships, but this one is icky? They’re both wrong!
“The fact is that Eric is underage when his relationship with Claire *begins*…”
In most, if not all states, when a person with the power (teacher) starts a relationship with a student of any age, even 18 or 19, it’s illegal.
Having a 25 year-old play the student destroys this show, because it’s perfectly fine to root for someone old enough to have graduated college a couple of years back and a mid-30’s woman. They should have gotten an actor 6 or 7 years younger so we got how icky it was.
They’re not going to have sex scenes between a 16 year old actor and a 37 year old actor.
I had a male bookkeeping teacher in high school who blatantly came onto the cute guys in class. He was creepy, married and obvious. No one ever did anything about it.
Kevin Williamson covered this topic 20 years ago on Dawson’s Creek when “Pacey” started a relationship with his comparatively older high school teacher. Why must Hollywood continuously recycle the same concepts instead of actively searching for fresh stories?
As for the “ick factor”…who can forget real life predator Mary Kate Letourneau who started a sexual relationship with her 12/13 year old student? She was in her 30s, married & mother to several kids at the time.