HBO Max, Hulu ink deal to share Abbott Elementary’s library streaming rights

Abbott Elementary was created by Quinta Brunson (left) who stars in the show as Janine Teagues

Rival US streamers HBO Max and Hulu will share co-exclusive streaming rights to all seasons of ABC workplace comedy Abbott Elementary, which hails from Warner Bros Television and 20th Television.

Season one of the show, which launched on US broadcast net ABC last December, will debut on August 20 on Warner Bros Discovery-owned HBO Max in the US ahead of the season-two launch on ABC on September 21.

Hulu, which sits with ABC under the Disney umbrella, has in-season streaming rights to the show and premieres new episodes the day after they air on ABC.

Under the deal, new episodes and prior seasons will continue to be available on Hulu, while complete future seasons will be available to stream on HBO Max before the launch of any subsequent seasons.

Created by and starring Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary has been both a commercial and critical success, pulling in solid ratings for ABC and landing several Emmy nominations including for best comedy, best writing in a comedy and best actor for Brunson.

The half-hour comedy follows a group of dedicated, passionate teachers and their slightly tone-deaf principal as they try to help their students succeed in a Philadelphia public school.

Brunson serves as executive producer alongside Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker of Delicious Non-Sequitur Productions and Randall Einhorn.