March 19, 2024
CraSH/imageSPACE; Sipa USA
In an interview with The New Yorker published March 18, Quinta Brunson talks about the evolution of her character Janine's style on 'Abbott Elementary' and her future hope to make a 'coming of age' show about a teen girl.
Fresh off another victorious awards season for "Abbott Elementary," the ABC sitcom's creator and star Quinta Brunson is reflecting on her journey so far and what she hopes to do next.
The Emmy-winner opens up about her childhood in West Philly — where she clashed with her parents over her desire to pursue show biz — and how her "Abbott" character's hair and wardrobe reflects her own evolution in a profile by The New Yorker magazine published on Monday. Brunson also offers details on her idea for a "coming of age" show and mentions a book she'd be interested in adapting for the screen.
Here are some highlights from Brunson's interview:
Brunson offers little-known tidbits about life on the "Abbott Elementary" set, like that she drives a yellow golf cart labeled "Q-BABY" when traveling longer distances on set. Last year, the sitcom's art department rebuilt the facade of the fictional Abbott Elementary, replacing plastic panels on the studio lot with a real brick edifice.
"It's something I've always wanted to do," production designer Michael Whetstone said of the brick facade. "But you have to do it on a show that you think is going to be around long enough to warrant it."
Along with the growing list of celebrity cameos on "Abbott," the son and daughter of Brunson's older sister Kiyana, who lives in Philly, have appeared as students on the show.
Extremely famous people also send gifts to set. The article's writer, Molly Fischer, describes being present to witness the moment that Brunson received the larger-than-life bouquet that Oprah Winfrey sent to celebrate Brunson's Emmy win for lead actress in a comedy series.
"Dear Quinta, And still you rise, and make history. Oprah Winfrey," the note with the flowers reportedly read.
Brunson also mentions the careful consideration that goes into each detail about the "Abbott" characters, from their hairstyles to their fingernails. As she noted in her recent "Hot Ones" interview, her character, plucky second-grade teacher Janine Teagues, has evolved and matured over the past few seasons and those changes are reflected in her ever-changing wardrobe and hair.
For Season 3, which marks Janine's big step from the classroom to a fellowship with the school district, Brunson gets her nails done and wears a middle part in her hair to portray her character's slowly building confidence.
"In Black culture, there's a thing called a bust-down middle part, and I just associate it with being a bad bitch," Brunson says. "When I have a middle part, I feel like more of a boss than when I have my side part. This middle part, for Janine — it's big."
Brunson hasn't strayed too far into the "more glam" vibes of sitcoms in recent years. Instead, she looks to her past to maintain a sense of realism in what the characters wear.
"I thought about myself much younger," she says. "The things I wore in college were absolutely insane."
The New Yorker also details Brunson's journey to Hollywood. She grew up in West Philly, the youngest of five, and discovered she could get attention and elicit laughter from her family by imitating the '90s sitcom "Martin."
In their younger days, Brunson's parents were performers and were involved with the Black Power movement. By the time Brunson was born they had become Jehovah's Witnesses. Brunson's mother, Norma Jean, also taught kindergarten and served as inspiration for the "Abbott Elementary" character Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph), on whom Brunson originally planned to make the center of the show.
Brunson feels that she imparts different aspects of herself in the unique and quirky cast of characters.
"Six different characters on 'Abbott' are six different ways of showing people who I am," she says.
As she grew up, Brunson longed for a career in show business but was urged by her parents to choose a more practical field and enrolled at Temple University to study communications. She left her parents' religion at 21, and said she often clashed with them about her desired path.
"Comedy — it's wack to say, but it is kind of a religion," Brunson says.
While she recalls "intense fights" with her mom that she didn't understand at the time — "When I got older, I realized this was a person who'd lost a lot and didn't want me to lose anything" — she says that watching sitcoms, like "King of Queens," together was the only time she truly could get on the same page with her family.
She recalls how when she was 14, in 2004, she introduced her classmates to "Napoleon Dynamite," bringing the DVD to school at the Charter High School of Architecture and Design to share with her friends. They were unsure of the quirky cult comedy at first but ultimately became fans the film, too.
"I remember that being a moment for me," Brunson says. "Being, like, 'I know comedy.'"
Brunson researched career paths of comedians who ended up on "SNL" and read Upper Darby-native Tina Fey's memoir, which led to her decision to take an improv course at Chicago's Second City. When she got back to Philly, she left Temple and began working at an Apple Store in the King of Prussia Mall, saving money to move to Los Angeles.
It was there that Brunson debuted her character "the Girl Who's Never Been on a Nice Date," which gained attention on social media and opened up more opportunities. In the 2010s she worked at Buzzfeed, which was churning out successful video content at the time, before striking out on her own, taking on acting roles and joining writers' rooms.
As she continued to make connections in Hollywood, Brunson got the idea for a workplace comedy set in a school while she was visiting her mom's classroom in Philly. While most other school-based shows and movies have centered on students or portrayed teachers who disliked their jobs, Brunson hoped to relay her experiences of meeting teachers who loved what they did, and thus, "Abbott Elementary" was born.
When her mother saw "Abbott," Brunson said it was the first time she ever told her she was proud of her.
"Abbott Elementary" is airing its third season and has already been renewed for a fourth. But Brunson is already thinking about what's next for her in her personal and professional life.
"I want a baby, but I think I'll either be the world's worst mom or the world's best mom," says Brunson, who is married to Kevin Jay Anik. "I'd want to be there for that kid's every waking moment, but I also know how much I love work, and nothing keeps me away from work — and it worries me."
As for future entertainment endeavors, Brunson would love to make a show for a young adult audience about a teen girl who is coming of age. She also wants to try out projects that are totally different from "Abbott," and hopes to make movies — original films preferably, though she said she would be interested in remaking Marilyn Monroe's 1953 film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." She also has thoughts about how she would adapt Emma Cline's 2023 novel "The Guest."
"Would they let a Black person — me — spearhead a movie where the lead is not Black, and the story is not Black?," she wonders about "The Guest," later adding, "Shonda Rhimes did it."
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