Who is Jacob Hill in Abbott Elementary?

Show

Abbott Elementary

Played by

Chris Perfetti

First episode

“Pilot”Season 1, Episode 1, aired December 7, 2021

Role

Main cast

Network

ABC

Occupation

Middle-school history teacher, Abbott Elementary

Show run

2021 to present

Also known as

Mr. Hill

Jacob Hill teaches history to Abbott's older students and approaches every lesson, club, and cause with total commitment, whether or not anyone asked. Played by Chris Perfetti, he is the show's lovable overachiever and Janine's closest friend at work.

On Abbott Elementary, Jacob Hill's story runs through Janine Teagues (Best Friend at Work), Melissa Schemmenti (Roommate), Gregory Eddie (Friend), Barbara Howard (Colleague), and Ava Coleman (Principal).

Who is Jacob Hill?

Jacob teaches history to Abbott's middle-school grades. He and Janine are the only two teachers left from a big group of new hires the year before the series begins, which bonds them as the school's young idealists. Jacob backs nearly every one of Janine's plans, sometimes before he fully understands them.

As a white teacher in a school that serves mostly Black students, Jacob works hard, sometimes visibly hard, to get things right. When a parent complains about his Black history class, Ava sits in on his class to investigate and ends up enjoying it so much that she decides to go back to school herself.

Personality and comedy

Jacob is earnest, nerdy, and eager to be liked, which gives the show endless opportunities to deflate him. His students roast him, his coworkers tune out his long emails, and his attempts to seem cool often land with a thud. He is also a theater kid at heart and a former member of the Story Samurai, a corny touring educational performance troupe.

What keeps Jacob from being a punchline is how much he genuinely cares. He launches clubs, organizes protests, and fights for resources, and some of his biggest ideas actually work.

Key storylines

Jacob's longtime boyfriend Zach appears in season one, and the couple's relationship slowly comes apart until they agree to break up in season three. Soon after, Jacob moves in with Melissa, and the unlikely roommates become real friends, even if they try to keep that a secret from everyone else.

In later seasons Jacob throws himself into causes, from protesting the neighborhood deli's conversion into a smoothie shop to running for school liaison, which he wins by a single vote with Ava as his campaign manager. His estranged younger brother Caleb turns up and later joins Abbott as a part-time gym teacher. At the end of season five, it is Jacob who points out to the district that Abbott's new furnace makes it worth keeping open.

Behind the scenes

Chris Perfetti plays Jacob and has been part of the main cast since the pilot. Jacob's over-eager good intentions power many of the show's best awkward moments, and Perfetti plays them with a mix of cringe and heart.

Jacob's friendship with Janine, and later with Melissa, gives the show some of its most reliable pairings, and he is frequently the one nudging Janine and Gregory toward each other.

Jacob Hill: frequently asked questions

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