Quinta Brunson Explains Why ‘Abbott Elementary’ Will Never Have A School Shooting Episode
Quinta Brunson is once again explaining why her heartwarming comedy Abbott Elementary will never dedicate an episode to a school shooting.
During an interview with Kristen Welker for Glamour Magazine as she is recognized as one of the platform’s 2023 Women of the Year, the 33-year-old detailed her response to the request initially made by a commentator last year.
“I just think about the day-to-day in a workplace comedy, and I don’t think that that’s the realistic day-to-day in the classroom,” she explained. “There are two different realities. There’s the one present in the classroom where teachers are just trying to get through a lesson. And then there’s the outside perspective of us engaging with teachers through the news.”
She continued to detail, “To us, these school shootings are the biggest thing happening, but when I talk to my friends who are teachers, yes, that’s huge, but today they’re just trying to get through this lesson. They’re just trying to get the reading scores up. They’re just trying to do this job. If anything, the school shooting thing is in the background, like, ‘F**k.’ It’s kind of like, ‘We got to deal with that, too?’ Do you know what I mean?”
The Philadelphia native ended the answer, noting that the idea and her choice are complex, however, she stands in her beliefs.
“So it’s complicated, and I just don’t know if I want to dedicate my space to that. I don’t want to open up my show to that political violence. I consider it that at this point — even the discourse of it is violent. And although I participate in it outside of my show, and I’m a huge advocate for eradicating gun violence in this country, but I don’t think my show has to carry that.”
Abbott Elementary premiered in 2021 and has had two highly successful seasons, with the second earning Brunson a Golden Globe for Best Performance by An Actress in a TV Series, and Tyler James Williams the trophy for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. Additionally, the show itself scored Best Television Series, Comedy.
A third season is pending as the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike continues to pause several films and television shows. Still, Brunson is eager for the series to continue.
“I think they can expect more exciting guest stars — people who are very exciting to me. And I think they can expect more growth. That’s the beauty of starting your characters young,” shared Brunson with Glamour. “Janine and Gregory and Jacob are in their 20s. I think it’s fun that the audience is sometimes shocked by the choices they make, because they’re, like, 20 and they’re stupid and they’re growing. That’s exciting to me.”
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