‘Abbott Elementary’ Cast and Crew Talk Gregory’s Pivotal ‘Mother’s Day’ Episode and Why Quinta Brunson Loves a Drunk Barbara

Over its three seasons, “Abbott Elementary” has won four Emmy Awards and landed 20 nominations, with nine of those nods coming from the upcoming 2024 ceremony on September 15. According to series star Chris Perfetti, much of the ABC sitcom’s success is due to the “very specific and very real” cast of characters developed by “Abbott Elementary” creator, actress and writer Quinta Brunson.

“The mockumentary lets us rest on investing in the real lives of these people. I think if [the characters] were more caricatures, it’s just not a sustainable thing.” Perfetti said. “I felt like Quinta was writing jokes for herself and that is a quality that I’m very attracted to. It felt so real and so smart, and so Quinta has done a lot of the legwork there.”

At an Emmy FYC event Friday night at the Paramount Theater in Los Angeles, the “Abbott Elementary” cast and crew including Tyler James Williams, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, William Stanford Davis, Patrick Schumacker, Justin Halpem, Randall Einhorn and Brunson and Perfetti sat down with Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis to discuss all their success leading up to the show’s hotly anticipated fourth season.

“Abbott Elementary” follows a group of dedicated educators at an underfunded Philadelphia public school who defy all odds to help their students succeed.

Special attention was drawn to the deeply memorable “Mother’s Day” episode which gave a deeper look at the character Gregory Eddie, played by Williams.

Williams praised the work on Season 3 saying that it felt like they opened the door for more exploration into Gregory’s life and allowing him to explore the role outside of the comedic “straight man.”

“‘Mother’s Day,’ man, that was a fun one,” Williams said. “I got a chance to finally get my whole episode with this one, and I love this about long-form TV, right? You get to see these characters evolve in really dynamic ways over short periods of time, but then also over long periods of time. That episode, to me, explained a lot, for him, and gave me an opportunity to just nudge that growth a little bit. Season 3 has seen the most growth we’ve seen with Gregory thus far, and that’s why it’s one of my favorites.”

Fun fact: Williams is attempting to start his own garden, but, “previously, I have killed every plant that has come into my house, so pray y’all.”

Brunson did reveal that Gregory’s on-set garden is very real and grows fruits and vegetables that the crew takes home (thanks to Randall Einhorn), including watermelons, cilantro, and lots of kale.

Scott Kirkland/PictureGroup for Disney Entertainment Television

In the new season the audience also got to see a whole new side to Barbara Howard, a drunk shoe-losing side. “I do not know why Quinta loves a drunk Barbara,” Ralph asked.

“It’s so funny!” Brunson interjected. “It’s just funny!”

“And she just loses her shoes all the time,” Ralph continued. “I’m just happy that the wig stays on straight. She’s not one of those drunks that loses their shoes and then the wig ends up backwards. I love Barbra because I’m starting to see all these different layers peel away from this woman… I’m intrigued by her because it makes me think of every one of my favorite teachers and I just wanted to know, what were they hiding?”

James said that when audiences first saw her performance as the overbearing principal Ava Coleman, some reviewers immediately wrote her off due to the bullishness of the character. Knowing that there was much more to Ava than her antagonistic attitude, James has been delighted to see those critics “eat their words,” having earned three Emmy nominations herself.

“I read [the pilot] and I said, ‘This lady is it, and they will see,’” James said. “I knew that from the first episode, and so it’s been a joy again to see people come around and see people see how layered the character is and carry both sides of her humanity.”

Watch the full conversation above.