This story about Janelle James, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Tyler James Williams and “Abbott Elementary” first appeared in the Down to the Wire: Comedy issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
It’s impossible to overstate the talent of Quinta Brunson, creator, executive producer, writer and star of ABC’s hit comedy “Abbott Elementary.” But part of Brunson’s genius has been surrounding herself with gifted artists who are keen to tap into her creative vision. Indeed, part of the reason that “Abbott Elementary” is such a hot commodity is thanks to the show’s stellar comedic cast, including Janelle James, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Tyler James Williams, all of whom earned Emmy nominations for their performances.
And while each actor’s reaction to the nomination news was different, all were uniformly delighted at the accolades that the series earned and the fact that production had just begun on the 22-episode second season. Ralph, who plays a veteran kindergarten teacher, said she “lost it” on hearing the news, and added, “It felt as though every show I’ve ever done, every word I’ve ever uttered from a script came flooding on me.”
Williams, for his part, reacted to his nomination for playing a solemn first-grade teacher by standing in the living room in silence with his brother and wondering, “What does this mean?” And James, who spent most of her career as a comedian before landing her breakout role as the school’s outrageous principal, said her response was, “Of course (“Abbott Elementary”) was nominated! We killed it! Why wouldn’t we get nominated?”
James isn’t wrong. “Abbott Elementary” certainly took the Emmys by storm, with seven nominations for a network series that aired as a mid-season replacement. But Williams has his own suspicions as to why the show hit a nerve with audiences, against all odds. “Coming out of the pandemic, that two years, it felt like people were just kind of doing shit,” he said. “And the bar for people wanting to show up and do things well had fallen. I think there’s something about seeing these teachers at this school, knowing how hard it is, but still wanting to do the absolute best that they can. It’s not a show about somebody who’s a hot mess and comfortable being a hot mess. They want to do a good job. And I think we need that right now.”
In addition, real-life teachers are seeing their hardships depicted for a wider audience and are grateful for the raised awareness the series offers. “I’ve heard from teachers how much they love having their stories told, having their trials, their joys uplifted so people can see, and that has been great,” Ralph said. “And they pay attention so much that I had someone say to me, ‘I love the fact that you wear sensible shoes. You’re not dressed up like one of those TV teachers!’”
James, however, might have the clearest read on what makes “Abbott Elementary” in its entirety—cast, crew and beyond—work as well as it does. “I think the main reason is, there’s no jerks,” she said. “We’re all here with a good boss and just kind of get it done. I mean, I’ve been in bad situations before I got into acting, bad jobs and bad co-workers. This just isn’t one of those situations. I guess we got lucky. Like, we’re all just cool people and (we) come in and have fun.”
Read more from the Down to the Wire: Comedy issue here.
