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English Teacher<\/em> (premiering its first two episodes September 2 on FX before streaming on Hulu the next day) introduces Alvarez\u2019s distinctive sensibility to prime time, with the backing of one of TV\u2019s most reliable comic writers. But it took Alvarez some convincing to go all in. \u201cI had tried to make some things at this level, and I hadn\u2019t been able to really navigate the system myself\u2026. I was like\u2026\u2018I couldn\u2019t figure it out, and so I\u2019m not really doing that anymore, but thanks,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cPaul was like, \u2018No, we\u2019re gonna do this. I\u2019m gonna show you the ropes, I\u2019m gonna guide you through this process, and we\u2019re gonna get a show on TV.\u2019 And he delivered on his promise extraordinarily.\u201d<\/p>\n Alvarez\u2019s idea for the show stemmed from a common theme in his work: \u201cpeople trying to do the right thing, but not knowing if they\u2019re doing it the right way\u2026or if they\u2019re achieving the right thing through questionable means.\u201d The series is set at a public high school in Austin, Texas, and centers on Alvarez\u2019s Evan Marquez as he navigates intraschool dramas, troubled students, brazenly involved parents, and the friction of living inside a liberal bubble in a conservative state. The pilot examines the fallout from a student seeing Evan kiss his boyfriend. The second episode follows a drag queen, played by Trixie Mattel,<\/strong> teaching a group of football players how to amp up their cheer bona fides for a politicized powder-puff game. (\u201cTrixie Mattel was number one on the list,\u201d Simms says.)<\/p>\n \u201cPeople from every different part of life are basically forced to come together for a common goal, which is just to educate these kids,\u201d Alvarez says. \u201cWhat we enjoy is this idea that obviously the teachers are teaching the kids, but sometimes the kids are teaching the teachers how to live in this modern world that\u2019s moving so fast, [where] it feels like the rules change every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n