Rating: 3/5 stars

Most people know actor Glenn Howerton by a different name: Dennis Reynolds. The ruthless, sociopathic character from the FX comedy series “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” is a common fan favorite and was one of the biggest reasons for the show’s success and longevity. With that being said, it came as a pretty big shock when Howerton decided to have his character leave the show, giving no hint to when, or if, he would ever return. Instead, he has shifted focus to NBC’s “A.P. Bio,” another dark comedy in which he is playing the role of another high-functioning sociopath.

“A.P. Bio,” created by Mike O’ Brien (“Saturday Night Live”) and produced by Seth Meyers (“Late Night with Seth Meyers”), revolves around the spiraling downfall of Jack Griffin, a fired Harvard philosophy professor who finds himself stuck substituting for a high school biology class.

“This won’t be one of those things where over the course of the year I secretly teach it to you,” Griffin announces to the class,shortly after crashing into a sign with his car and stumbling into the classroom. “This also won’t be one of those things where I end up learning more from you than you do from me.”

Patton Oswalt (“King of Queens”) plays the role of Principal Durbin, who, over the course of the first three episodes, is completely at odds with how to get rid of the new faculty member.

Much like the 2003 film “School of Rock,” what makes “A.P. Bio” funny from the very beginning is the absurd concept of a teacher completely neglecting to do his/her job and still being allowed in the building the next day. It is the show’s tongue-in-cheek humor that continues to suspend the viewer’s belief, creating a world where somebody who is incompetent could still hold down a job.

Howerton is the perfect fit as Jack Griffin, who spends most of his time in the classroom demeaning the students, wasting time or coming up with complicated plots on how to take down his arch-nemesis, played by Tom Bennett (“Mascots”).

The show’s strength is in its self awareness. It knows exactly what it is and makes fun of tired clichés and tropes that are typically used in its genre. For example, when the class gets together to make a rap about the importance of education (an obvious reference to the film “Dangerous Minds”), Griffin stops them dead in their tracks. “Don’t ever surprise me with a rap,” he barks at the students. “Don’t ever rap about learning.”

While Howerton himself might be enough to carry any show for a few seasons, “A.P. Bio” does have some concerning similarities to the failed CBS series “Bad Teacher.” Both are school sitcoms based around an egotistical teacher who does not care about the students at all, with each show looking to pull most of its humor out of that idea. While it works for a while, it does start to wear the viewer out, especially if the main character does not have any redeeming qualities to balance out their constant negativity.

The three episodes give viewers a glimpse of a show stuck in the crossroads. Will the writers ram the “teacher who doesn’t really care” idea into a brick wall, or will they pull the show into a new and refreshing direction?

Image from A.P. Bio via YouTube.com