Following the fifth season premiere of the 4-time Emmy-winning ABC series Abbott Elementary on October 1, 2025, I spoke to the newest teacher on the block, Luke Tennie, who plays fourth-grade teacher Dominic, for an exclusive conversation.

You probably know Tennie as a military vet and Jason Segel’s favorite therapy patient, Sean, on the highly beloved Apple TV+ series Shrinking, which is about to enter its third season. From its very first episode, I was struck by how seamlessly the show blends laugh-out-loud comedy with heart-wrenching drama.

Tennie commented, “When you try to do two things at once, it can split the audience. But there’s this true warmth and sentimentality and joy in Shrinking that is so reflective of real life, and I think that’s why it’s so beloved… There may be shows out there with more laughs or more tears per scene, but I don’t think there’s anyone who’s got both right on top of the other. You could be crying at the top of one scene and falling over laughing at the end of it.”

Reflecting back on when he first auditioned for the role of Sean, Tennie added, “I try to make Sean somebody who only meets people’s gaze at very specific times. And during that read, I could see Jason [Segel] on the screen chasing my eyes. And I was like, ‘He knows what I’m doing!’ and I feel like I have chemistry with this dude. And then came to find out I got the part… One of my favorite parts was also doing the chemistry read with Alice (Lukita Maxwell). She had such a natural ease and there was something about her. She was brilliant.”

As he neared the end of filming Shrinking season three, Tennie auditioned for Abbott. This was his second time auditioning for the show, after going out for a different role in season four. He reflected, “My wife and I have been fans of Quinta [Brunson] forever…and it’s really cool to watch a show, be a fan of the show, and then get to join it. It was kismet and the perfect part for me to get the role of Dominic.”

So who exactly is Dominic and what energy will he bring to the school? Tennie says, “He admires Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) a great deal, so there’s a lot of who she is that he wants to emulate. A lot of things that he appreciated when he was her student… and then there’s the establishment of his mentor/mentee relationship with Janine (Brunson), and he’s kind of reminding her of who she was when she first got here. He’s chipper, he’s happy to be here, he’s grateful.”

Looking at his experience being on both hit shows simultaneously, Tennie is grateful for the mentor relationships he has been lucky enough to have as well. He said, “Ted [McGinley] is 25 years ahead exactly of where I want to be in my life. His love for his wife and respect for family is something that we share. Jason is somebody who provides so many golden nuggets career-wise. And Quinta, who is checking costumes, showrunning, writing, and starring in the show, still makes time to check in with every single person every day. Huge respect to all of those people.”

Tune into our full conversation in the video above.

Season 5 of Abbott Elementary continues every Wednesday at 8:30 PM ET / 7:30 PM CT on ABC with new episodes available to stream on Hulu the following day. All episodes of Shrinking seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream now on Apple TV+.