Hit Show in Jeopardy as Creator and Star Hit With Sexual Assault Claim

The future of FX’s critically acclaimed series English Teacher is currently up in the air amid allegations of sexual assault made against the show’s creator and star Brian Jordan Alvarez in an in-depth reported feature from Vulture.

A former friend and collaborator of Alvarez’s named Jon Ebeling alleges that Alvarez sexually assaulted him while filming the web series The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo in 2016. According to Vulture, the day before English Teacher premiered, Ebeling filed a police report of the incident and reported Alvarez to the Screen Actors Guild.

Alvarez denies the allegations and says his sexual interactions with Ebeling were “consensual.”

Now, despite the show’s widespread success, it has yet to be renewed for a second season. Asked directly by the Daily Beast whether the show would be picked up, a spokesperson for FX declined to comment.

“We reviewed the allegations presented to us by another media outlet prior to the show’s launch,” an FX spokesperson tells the Daily Beast, “Mr. Ebeling never reached out to us with any concerns. We will have no further comment at this time.” The silence about whether or not the show will continue is loud, considering the show’s several nominations at both the upcoming Critics Choice and Independent Spirit Awards that celebrate both its acting performances and writing.

Alvarez is nominated for Best Lead Performance at the Indie Spirits, alongside heavy hitters like Julianne Moore, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Lily Gladstone. His Critics Choice Award for Best Actor puts his name next to vets like David Alan Grier and Martin Short.

A spokesperson for Alvarez provided the following statement to the Daily Beast on his behalf denying all allegations of wrongdoing against him:

“Brian Jordan Alvarez’s interactions with Jon Ebeling were always entirely consensual—as numerous witnesses have attested. Indeed, in 2018, two years after this alleged incident, Mr. Ebeling himself unambiguously said as much on tape.

For many months, Mr. Ebeling has peddled his falsehoods to anyone who would listen but, when confronted with proof of his duplicity and definitive evidence provided by third parties showing why Mr. Ebeling should not be trusted, numerous media outlets declined to print his outrageous claims. Sadly, New York Magazine displayed no such judgment in its reckless headlong pursuit of publishing a salacious, attention-grabbing article, no matter the truth.

As well as minimizing Mr. Ebeling’s taped admission that his relationship with Brian had always been consensual, New York Magazine entirely ignored first-hand testimony about Mr. Ebeling’s history as a perpetrator of scarring acts of assault. That’s beyond disappointing and is a deeply troubling reflection on New York Magazine’s ethics—and anyone tempted to republish Mr. Ebeling’s claims should be aware of the risks involved in doing so. Brian is currently taking legal advice as he considers his next steps.”

Standing in the limelight next to Alvarez is his best friend, fellow English Teacher star and writer Stephanie Koenig, who’s also nominated for her supporting performance on the show—and who was dating Ebeling at the time of the alleged assault. Vulture reported that Koenig interpreted the incident as Ebeling cheating on her with Alvarez, however, and the pair eventually split.

According to Ebeling, Koenig, along with the rest of his and Alvarez’s shared friends, sided with Alvarez when he shared his story. Some dismissed his allegations as jealousy over his former friends' success. And there is plenty of success to be jealous of. In addition to its awards nominations, English Teacher was recently named one of the best TV shows of the year by The New York Times and its first season has a 98% fresh rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

It stands to reason that FX would want to bask in the glow of the hit and make the show’s many fans happy with a renewal announcement, which makes this line from the Vulture investigation stand out for its ominous connection between the alleged incident and the show’s future: “FX is aware of the allegations and has yet to renew it for a second season.”

Ebeling began sharing his story with friends and acquaintances over the past few years—and about a month before formally reporting the incident, he hinted at the alleged ordeal publicly with a social media post. In the midst of Baby Reindeer’s rising popularity, Ebeling wrote on a screenshot of an English Teacher promo poster, “My personal experience with the Creator of [English Teacher] was much closer to the plot of B*by Reind**r than whatever this is.”

Now that Ebeling’s allegations have been fully reported and exposed, fans’ growing doubts about future episodes of the popular show will only grow—especially as its network dodges questions about what will happen next.