If Quinta Brunson looks authentically stressed out on television, playing an overworked teacher at an under-resourced school, that’s because making a hit sitcom is (almost) as demanding. “This season, we were writing, filming and airing all at the same time, which for me is a lot,” says Brunson, resting her forehead in her palm and taking another sip from her electrolyte drink. To top it all, she is currently recovering from a nasty bout of food poisoning, but she showed up anyway. That’s the kind of person Brunson is: a comedy giant who still keeps her appointments.
Brunson’s show, Abbott Elementary, debuted on ABC in December 2021, and by its second episode had earned a perfect “100 per cent fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes and given the US network its highest ratings for a comedy since the finale of Modern Family. The first season was nominated for seven Emmys – it won three – making Brunson the youngest Black woman ever to be nominated in a comedy acting category, and the first to earn three comedy nominations in one year. Two more seasons have been commissioned, each with an extended 22-episode run.
