Warning: Spoilers ahead!
When one door closes, another one opens.
At least, that's what we're hoping after the season finale of ABC's Abbott Elementary. In the April 12 episode, Janine (Quinta Brunson) realizes that her 10-year relationship with boyfriend Tariq (Zack Fox) has reached its end. It's a tough pill to swallow for Janine, but fans are hoping it means that Tyler James Williams' Gregory will finally make the move in season two.
Quinta is open to the idea of a romance but hesitant to push her character into a new relationship so soon. "To me, Janine is now on a journey of finding herself," the actress and series creator told Entertainment Weekly. "And for the first time, she is a single adult, and now she has space to discover what that means. So I don't feel like she's going to hop into anything immediately with Gregory."
Moreover, Gregory just accepted a full-time position at Abbott Elementary, so, Quinta said, "he has that to worry about—what that means for him, what that looks like, making that kind of commitment."
But Quinta hasn't ruled out a workplace romance entirely. "I think right now, these are two individuals who are growing up," she said, "and we'll continue to see them meet in the middle of that growing up during the second season."
Tyler agrees that Janine and Gregory should remain friends for the time being—especially because he wants to see where things could go with Barbara's daughter Taylor (Iyana Halley). "Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) serves as a mother for everybody on this show, but she has this tough love aspect with Gregory," he told Variety, "making sure that he reaches his potential very quickly—because we don't have time for you not to."
Not to say that Tyler doesn't see the bond Gregory and Janine share. In fact, the star said that Gregory's ability to be "emotionally open" with Janine is one of his favorite aspects about the show. "It's something I've always wanted to bring to a character on network TV," he shared. "There's this open dialogue where he's not afraid to say, 'I wouldn't have made it without you.' We need to see more of that on TV, because we're in an era now where people don't like to admit when they're weak. They don't like to have vulnerable moments with people and give them their flowers."
That being said, Quinta doesn't expect the finale to mark Tariq's final appearance. "I don't want to give anything away, but I feel like we will be seeing more of Tariq in the future," she told EW. "I do think that they are broken up and things are over, but I think we'll still… Let me not say that! Who knows! Who knows! But I don't think you've seen the last of him."
Season one of Abbott Elementary is streaming on Hulu.