Abbot Elementary star Quinta Brunson continues to receive high accolades throughout the award season as she was named Comedy Star of the Year by The Hollywood Reporter for 2022.
Brunson, a stand-up comedian/actress/writer from Philadelphia, PA has had a year for the ages and as crazy as it sounds, she might only be getting started when it comes to her greatness.
Debuting in late December 2021-January 2022, Brunson’s sitcom would pull in 7 million weekly viewers across platforms in its first season. A mockumentary spin on an underserved Philadelphia grammar school, It follows the story of Janine Teagues, a second-grade teacher at the underfunded Abbott Elementary school who is dedicated to helping her students succeed. The cast includes Tyler James Williams, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, Janelle James, and Sheryl Lee Ralph. Critics would immediately worship the acting and writing on the show, receiving a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Striking while the iron is hot, ABC would capitalize on the show’s first season success by ordering a 22-episode season two that would premiere in fall of 2022.
Awards would be soon to come as Quinta would win the Emmy for Outstanding Writing For a Comedy Series at the 2022 Emmy Awards in September. Brunson would become the first black solo, and the second Black woman to win the category after Lena Waithe won the award for Master of None in 2017. Apart from her win, Brunson was also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, and through Abbott Elementary‘s Outstanding Comedy Series nomination.
In August 2022, she would sign her first exclusive overall agreement with a major studio, inking a multi-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group.
During a recent phone interview with The Hollywood Reporter’s Mikey O’Connell, Brunson shares her thoughts on Abbott Elementary’s sophomore season and being considered a “Savior” for TV Sitcoms:
Are you feeling the difference between a 13-episode and a 22-episode season of TV?
Brunson: Oh, for sure. I have never known the meaning of bittersweet so well. It’s amazing. It’s job security for a lot of people for a long time. It’s more Abbott for people to watch! But I was like, “Fuck, that’s so much TV!” (Laughs.) It’s not a concern of producing all of these stories — it’s about making sure that things run smoothly, trying to make sure my cast and I don’t burn out. Because it is a lot.
Is there anything you wish you’d known a year ago, before the show took off?
Brunson: I felt very prepared for what was to come with Abbott. There was something about making a pilot, and everyone involved felt it. I did a pilot once where I was like, “Oh my God. If this goes, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I am going to hate my life. I don’t want to move to Vancouver. This show isn’t that special.” It would’ve been my nightmare if that pilot had gone. Whereas with Abbott, it was like, “If this doesn’t go, I don’t know what I have to give to the world because this is the best I can do.” I could see us winning awards. I could see us becoming really popular.
With that popularity, a lot is being put on your shoulders. You’re being credited with “saving” broadcast and the traditional sitcom. You’re representing women and Black women in Hollywood. You’re highlighting the institutional problems of the American educational system. Yet you asked for none of that. How do you navigate that part of the job?
Brunson: On one hand, I’m super happy to represent very positive things to people. It makes me feel humbled and grateful. I try not to live in it too much because I think it’s a trap. I think perfection is a trap and I think branding’s a trap. But you can’t really control how people see you, good or bad. And so I don’t want to try. I really just want to make a good TV show.
What’s changed for you in the second season?
Brunson: We did a lot of character development in the first season. And not that we’re ever going to stop that, clearly, but there are more opportunities to just be plain, flat-out funny. The audience knows these characters now. But I’m worried this season. Even though it’s my goal to not always be working on the serialized [elements], an episode will finish and I’ll be like, “Oh my God. Is this too broad?” It feels scary, in an age of deep art comedies, to do something that’s a little tongue-in-cheek, a little kitschy … and a little pointless.
Now that folks are lining up to work with you, who are you most anxious to collaborate with?
Brunson: Not to be corny, but I really enjoy working with my peers, people who are just across the pond from me or someone whose talent I think has not been put on display yet. Someone who’s already been in a few episodes [of this season] is Keyla [Monterroso Mejia]. I saw her in Curb Your Enthusiasm and did the first real producer-y thing I think I’ve ever done. I called her, like (in old-timey studio executive voice), “Hi, this is Quinta Brunson calling from Warner Bros. I want to put you in a picture!” I thought I had to convince her. That put me over the moon to be able to get her.
Abbott Elementary is currently available for streaming on Hulu and Disney+.
