Quinta Brunson Is Making the Grade

School is almost back in session for Abbott Elementary. And in Season 4 of the mockumentary set in a Philadelphia public school, star instructor Janine Teagues, played by the comedy’s Emmy-winning creator Quinta Brunson, is officially back in the classroom.

After leaving Abbott to work for the penny-pinching district, Janine realized her heart’s true desire was to educate—and be closer to stoic first-grade teacher Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams). The two even shared a fourth-wall-breaking kiss at the end of Season 3’s finale that had our jaws dropping.

Since its December 2021 premiere, the sitcom has been a broadcast hit, due in part to the will-they-or-won’t-they relationship between Janine and Gregory. (Will they finally get together in Season 4? Even Brunson says she “cannot” confirm if they’re in a relationship at the start of the season.) But that’s just one reason for its success. Abbott also has a hilarious ensemble of misfit school employees, ranging from vain Principal Ava Coleman (breakout Janelle James) to droll custodian Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis) to its dedicated teachers: no-nonsense Melissa Schemmenti (Lisa Ann Walter), old-school Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph) and enthusiastic Jacob Hill (Chris Perfetti).

And because of its urban setting, Abbott also shines an important light on the many issues plaguing American schools, from budget cuts to lack of supplies and community support. In one 2022 episode, Janine’s storyline centered on her determination to fix some busted hallway lights instead of waiting on the district. She gets on the ladder herself—and causes a power outage.

“We all feel very, very good,” says Brunson about the show’s fourth outing, which has been bumped back up to 22 episodes after a shorter 14-episode third season. “I feel like this season, it’s been a general consensus with my writers and cast and production, that it feels a little bit more manageable, like we understand our show’s engine even better than ever,” she continues. “The pressure of doing a truncated Season 3 for network TV, it was kind of like the pressure that turns us into a diamond.”

Below, Brunson breaks down her plans for Season 4.

Where do we start off this season?

Quinta Brunson: In our ongoing effort to work along with the school calendar, we start on October 9th this year, which is when the season airs. [It’s] your nondescript October day. It’s not like last season, where we had to make up for not being on the air in September and tell a story about how that happened, but instead we are picking up on your average day of school. I find that to be really fun.

Now that Janine has returned to Abbott, what struggles will she face?

[After working at the district] Janine came back knowing more than ever that she wanted to be a teacher—but that doesn’t mean things are perfect. With more experience, comes things you’ve never dealt with before. And Janine’s not even that far into her teaching career. A lot of the fun this season comes from the extremely unexpected.

Sometimes [the issues are] minor, like a kid having a new behavior that she’s never seen before, and she has no idea on earth what to do about it. There are things she learns about herself as a teacher this season. There’s a lot of growth for Janine.

Is Gregory and Janine’s relationship thriving? 

As you watch the first episode, you are going to learn a lot about where they stand. More importantly—what does [their connection] mean for them as teachers? As coworkers?

What upcoming storylines are you excited about?

We’re expanding on Ava [James’ fan-fave Coleman]—giving her more backstory. It was a conscious choice up until this point to not dig into Ava too much, because a lot of the funny comes from her and her chaos. But I really want all my characters to be fleshed out. So that’s something you can look forward to, seeing more [from] Ava.

And our second episode is about what it’s like when illness hits a school. It’s a nightmare. We [also] have an episode I’ve wanted to do since the first season based around Gregory that I’m just in love with.

What conversations about education are you hoping to open up this season?

Those really range. I’m excited to talk about a citywide issue that’s going to affect our school this season. I’m excited to talk about communities changing, [and] how facets of gentrification affect public schooling. I think with education in general, we’ll be seeing the needs of the teachers on a higher level a bit more this season. When they do overextend themselves and do the job beyond what the job requires, it starts to raise questions like, why is it up to us to do these jobs? Right? There should be other people in place—therapists, counselors. There are so many [factors] that make a supportive village for children that public schools are not given right away. They have to be asked for and they need to be funded.

There’s this fun aspect of seeing the teachers get their hands really dirty to get the things they need. We’ve seen it with Melissa and Ava, but now all the rest of them…

Even Janine gets her hands dirty?

All of them. [Laughs]

At Comic-Con International, you teased a crossover this season that will “change television.”

That was so dramatic when I said that. [Laughs] But I don’t think it was wrong. It’s fun to try to find ways to shake things up. I think that it’s probably harder [to do on] TV now more than ever [before] — surprise people in how we deliver television. But I still think it’s worth trying.

Premieres Wednesday, October 9, 10/9c, ABC