How Quinta Brunson Kept ‘Abbott Elementary’ Exciting in Season 5 by Bringing Teachers Out of the Classroom
In its fifth season, ABC’s acclaimed comedy series Abbott Elementary faces the ongoing challenge of deepening character backstories while maintaining viewer engagement. Creator Quinta Brunson is tasked with ensuring that long-time fans remain invested in the storylines.
This season, one creative approach involved transporting the ensemble cast of teachers to an abandoned mall for several episodes. Brunson drew inspiration from real-life incidents affecting Los Angeles schools after the wildfires of 2025.
Another significant cultural element incorporated into Season 5 was the Philadelphia Phillies, with the elementary school staff attending a game. “I love Philly sports, and we had been looking for a way to work with them,” Brunson said. “It gets hard to get the players out here to do anything because their season aligns with our filming schedule, and we don’t want to disrupt their season. So it became easier to just go, ‘Why don’t we just go to a game?’ And that was a huge challenge for all of us, mind you… but that’s another one where I just don’t think people know it’s really hard to film at a live event, damn near impossible.”
As the season progressed, a pivotal conflict emerged between Brunson’s character, Jeanine, and Tyler James Williams‘s Gregory. Both actors addressed this tension during a panel discussion, alongside speculation about a significant question Gregory might pose to Jeanine in the future.
“[Quinta thinks hard] about every relationship conversation, the amount of time over the course of the season,” Williams noted. “I watched and heard you talk out the two sides of both arguments, making sure that both of these characters had a point. It just didn’t seem frivolous in a way I think was really important. I think it speaks to really great Season 5 storytelling, where I think a lot of shows would kind of just chalk it up and then throw something in there that felt like it was out of left field. I think that this was a really smart way to handle them, having to pick up more communication skills that we haven’t seen in this way in a long time.”
The panel video is set to be released on Monday.
