“Abbot Elementary” Producer Quinta Brunson is Just Getting Started
On April 12, 2022 the hit mockumentary sitcom “Abbot Elementary,” following determined teachers passionate about their students’ success, aired the final episode of its first season one. Although the show might be disappearing from our Tuesday nights for a while, fans’ love of the series and its creator have done anything but that. From celebrities to the everyday man, people have been singing the praises of long-time comedian Quinta Brunson, and celebrating her rise from social media comic to a hit television series producer.
Comedy has been thought to be a man’s game, but Brunson is representing for women and femme’s like me everywhere. Now sitting down with stars like Kelly Rowland on the “Today” show and headlining the covers of magazines like Essence, Brunson is taking Hollywood and the entertainment world by storm. But she wasn’t always gracing the stage of “Saturday Night Live.” Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Brunson came from humble beginnings and describes her childhood as “great” and the city being a “beautiful place to grow up in” in a Hollywood Reporter interview with Charlamagne tha God. “I loved growing up in Philly, it’s a beautiful city with a ton of culture. It was a nice environment to grow up in,” shared Brunson. Beyond the vibrant, multicultural city of her youth, Brunson’s family served as a source not only of comfort but also of her first introductions to comedy, continued Brunson. “Being the youngest of five, I just took so much from my siblings. They were older, they were experiencing comedy in their own ways. Their favorite things ranged from “Kings of Comedy” to… “Conan.” My mom and dad liked really old shows like “The Bob Newhart Show” and “The Jeffersons,” and so I feel like all of that funneled into me.”
Comedy was always a part of Brunson’s life. If it wasn’t her family’s TV habits, it was her own impressions and jokes she would tell, stating “when I could make my siblings laugh I knew I was doing something right.” Beyond this, comedy served as a connector across ages between Brunson and her family. “It was kind of knowing these shows like the back of my hand, to be able to say the lines to them later that was the way to connect to them. I was also so far away from them. My closest sibling is eight years older than me and my other siblings… I couldn’t really relate to them but making them laugh was how I got to, you know [and] hang out with them and our whole family, my mom and dad too. We all really came together over comedies. It was like the one thing that we could all agree on… a good sitcom at the end of the day” shared Brunson.
While comedy was integral, Brunson was not always working in comedy and entertainment. Originally studying advertising at Temple University, it wasn’t until deciding to drop out of school and posting a comedic skit on her Instagram that her career in comedy was born. Her skit “The Girl Who’s Never Been on a Nice Date” turned into an internet series that went viral, leading to her successful career as a content creator and landing her a job as a comedy writer/content creator at Buzzfeed. As Brunson rose in popularity, she was able to land roles on series like HBO Max’s “A Black Lady Sketch Show” and eventually create her own show, Abbot Elementary.
Brunson’s first ever TV series, “Abbott Elementary,” was inspired by her mom, Norma Brunson, who worked as a school teacher, and also the power of passionate teachers like her own second grade teacher Ms. Abbott, whom the show is named after. “Your teachers are, to me, ultimately responsible for your ability to read, write, articulate, present yourself – they turn you into a human. So I was really fortunate enough to have really good teachers that I loved” said Brunson.
Many fans of the show deem “Abbott Elementary” inspirational; this effect was not by coincidence, but rather an intentional choice by Brunson due to having good teachers and the desire to share that experience. “It always, like, bugs me out when people talk about having a teacher they hated [because] I just never had that experience. So not only did it inspire me to make Abbott clearly influential for that reason, but they (teachers) were good at making people, turning kids into good people, citizens, creators, etc.” said Brunson.
Through all her achievements and influence with the show’s success, Brunson remains grateful for all the support the series has received. “I did not imagine this energy so fast and I’m just in awe and very humbled by it. I am so happy that people are seeking out something like this to watch” shared Brunson. Continuing on, Brunson attributed the shows success not only to the hard work of the crew and cast but also the freedom allowed to her as a Black creator with a vision. In her interview with Charlamagne tha God, she said “ABC was definitely the place I just felt…they believed in me like you said, the budget was there up front…it wasn’t a fight for it because it’s surprising how much…we still have to fight for pennies sometimes.”
Brunson’s rise to success shows creators and dreamers everywhere that success is possible, and that no matter how long it takes, you can come out on the other side triumphant. Whether through pursuing advertising with a comedy passion or years of comedic writing before producing a hit show, Brunson’s story shows that dreams don’t just happen, they’re made to happen through time, consistency, belief in oneself, and hard work.
From her humble beginnings, her star-studded life now serves as an inspiration not just to fans of the show, but to everyday creators like me. Oftentimes as creators – in any field – it’s hard to feel like one is making progress and producing valuable content that people enjoy. But Brunson’s story shows that if you produce good quality content you love, the audience and opportunities will come. Her story serves as a beacon of light to all creators, but specifically Black creators who’ve been told they’re too much of “this” and too much of “that.” Brunson’s rise to success being her authentic self serves as motivation for Black creators like me to continue to be themselves in the work they pursue and create, and also in their everyday life.
With a bright career ahead of her, Brunson’s hopes for her future and the show are to leave the world “a little bit better.” “I hope that after the show finishes airing, it will have made something in the world just a little bit better. And I don’t want to do that by putting it in the show, I just want people to have a good time watching it, I want them to leave thinking about the human condition a little bit more” said Brunson.
The full first season of “Abbott Elementary” is available to stream on Hulu, Apple TV, Prime Video and ABC.