Despite an intriguing premise, Bad Teacher failed to reach its full potential: an edgy drama with witty humor depicting daily life in middle school.
The show follows ditzy Meredith Davis, played by Ari Graynor from the 2011 film, The Sitter. As she embarks on her mission to find a rich husband, she forges a résumé and finds a job teaching middle school social studies. Each episode features a different adventure with Meredith and her sixth grade class but always follows the same generic plotline: Meredith doesn’t know how to teach, Meredith flirts with a co-worker or parent of a student, her students get in trouble, and Meredith saves the day with nothing other than pure luck.
This makes for a few laughs for the first three episodes before becoming too predictable to enjoy. A headstrong heroine with exaggerated naïveté could have provided a solid foundation for a protagonist but is, in this case, poorly executed.
Meredith fails to fulfill her role as protagonist due to her villainous attitude with no redeeming qualities; she consistently ditches her friends in order to romantically pursue the single fathers of her students. Her egocentric nature makes it difficult to become emotionally invested enough in her struggles to care how the conflicts are resolved.
Bad Teacher is abundant in supporting characters whose potential are dismissed by the writers. Teacher’s pet Lily (Sara Rodier) and socially inept science teacher Irene (Sara Gilbert) both have the ability to develop into three-dimensional characters with strong motivations. However, their plotlines are often cut short to make room for more of Meredith’s repetitive schemes.
The show did not stand a chance against the film in terms of the A-list casting. Graynor’s performance in the series could not compare to Cameron Diaz’s portrayal of Meredith in the film. The show’s casting consisted of few recognizable names whereas the film featured Justin Timberlake and How I Met Your Mother’s Jason Segel as Meredith’s enviable teacher crushes.

After its cancellation, Bad Teacher will not air for a second season. While it just barely passed, no extra credit points for plot arc or character development will be awarded to Bad Teacher.