3 days ago
‘Abbott Elementary' Season 4 Took Pains Not to ‘Phone It in': ‘We Want Every Episode to Be a Surprise'
While 'Abbott Elementary' creator and star Quinta Brunson is a noted scholar of classic sitcoms, she does not envy the episode orders of yore. 'Some of my favorite shows had 30 to 40 episode seasons, which is insane,' said the Emmy winner, noting her respect for those older series' hustle. 'But I cannot tell you how hard it is to not make absolute garbage. You start going [into Episode] 22 like 'Honestly, I could phone it in.' We've seen other shows do it. We don't want to do that. We want to continue to make good television. We want every episode to be a surprise. We want you to not [say] 'I'm going to go back to the tired episode of the tired show.' We would like to keep it compelling.'
In an event giving the audience a peek inside the 'Abbott Elementary' writers room, as part of IndieWire's Pass the Remote FYC series, produced in partnership with Disney, Brunson and executive producers Patrick Schumacker, Justin Halpern, and Brian Rubenstein, plus co-executive producer Brittani Nichols joined IndieWire's Awards Editor Marcus Jones for a discussion about the show was able to navigate several changes with Season 4, including more episodes, and a big change to the group dynamics.
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At the panel, which took place at the Vidiots Foundation in Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 20, Halpern shared that conversations around how much of the show should focus on the blossoming relationship between Brunson and Tyler James Williams' characters Janine and Gregory has been a bit of a tug of war from the beginning. 'From the very first time we talked about [the show] with Quinta, she was like, 'I don't want this to be the Janine and Gregory show. I want it to be an ensemble.' And let me tell you the notes that we would get sometimes from the executives early on was like, 'Can we get more Janine and Gregory?'' He added, 'They wanted it so bad, and we had to push back and be like, 'The show is going to be stronger in the long run.''
Despite the pair finally being a couple in Season 4, the show still managed to spotlight its other characters like Principal Ava (Janelle James) throughout its 22 episodes, an effort that is core to the show's DNA. 'You go back to the Bible of the show, of why you created it. And as we start Season 5, I in my head go, 'What is this show about? It's about teachers in Philadelphia trying to make the best out of what they have.' And so we couldn't let that change to 'This show is about Janine and Gregory', or 'This show is about Ava,' or 'This show is about Barbara.' When you have an ensemble, it has to continue to focus on each character,' said Brunson.
The executive producers also highlight that one of the benefits of having a 22-episode season is how that inclusive ethos extends behind the scenes as well. 'It's really important to us to be able to give people their first opportunities, people who are generally looked over. And because we have 22 episodes, we have four assistants who are now on staff of the show, a writer's PA that gets to write an episode of the show, we have first AD's getting to direct,' said Halpern. 'Because we do 22 episodes, and a lot of other shows don't, we are able to actually bring people along and start a bunch of careers.'
For instance, Season 4 saw both Schumacker and Nichols make their directorial debuts on the episodes 'The Deli' and 'Music Class,' respectively. While Schumacker shared that directing had been his initial passion, delayed by his writing duties alongside Halpern, Nichols revealed that she had never even thought about directing until she worked alongside 'Abbott Elementary' director and executive producer Randall Einhorn. 'I just was very talkative, and had a lot of opinions, and things that I wanted to get. And he just was like, 'Do you want to direct?' And I just said 'Yes' in the moment, and then we sort of built off of that,' she said. 'Truly, it starts with that question, of just someone being willing to see you, and put attention on you, and ask you the thing that a lot of people in this industry won't ask you. And that is how it came to be, truly, was just this old white guy being like, 'What's going on with you over here?''
As for how 'Abbott Elementary' continues to foster an environment where everyone is seen and heard, despite a rigorous work schedule, Rubenstein said, 'It starts from the top. These are the most generous people I've ever worked with … It sounds ridiculous, but it's true, everyone is so nice and amazing on this show, and it's just been the best experience of my career, and I love coming to work.'
Watch the complete video of IndieWire's 'Abbott Elementary' panel above. More Pass the Remote panels are available as well on IndieWire's website and YouTube channel.
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