‘Abbott Elementary’ cast reveals trust level in writers
Janelle James, Chris Perfetti and Tyler James Williams explain their trust in “Abbott Elementary” writers for season 5.
The Philadelphia Phillies may be out of the MLB postseason, but they’re still in the hearts of everyone from ABC’s “Abbott Elementary.”
The sweet, award-winning sitcom (Wednesdays, 8:30 ET/PT) will travel to the Phillies‘ home stadium, Citizen’s Bank Park, in the Oct. 15 episode of Season 5. Creator and star Quinta Brunson takes the cast and crew out to the ball game to catch pop flies, party with team’s big green mascot (the Phanatic), and generally see if these crazy teachers and staff can make it out of the ballpark without any major incidents.
Knowing the high jinks these characters always get up to, don’t hold your breath.
USA TODAY can exclusively reveal a photo from the new episode, which brings Janine (Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams) closer together, sees Ava (Janelle James) vie for the jumbotron with beau O’Shon (Matthew Law) and has Jacob (Chris Perfetti) trying to outeat and outdrink Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter). Plus, we spoke with Brunson, episode director Randall Einhorn and Major League Baseball to find out how the episode came together, how four home runs from Phillie Kyle Schwarber complicated their plans, and where “Abbott” might head next in the City of Brotherly Love.
‘The episode was destined to happen’
“Abbott” proudly takes place in a West Philadelphia elementary school and has had many episodes set throughout the city, including landmarks like the Philadelphia Zoo and the Franklin Institute, and local haunts like Smith Memorial Playground. The infamous Gritty, the orange, bug-eyed mascot for the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team, has cameoed on the show, along with Philadelphia Eagles players like Jason Kelce. According to everyone involved, it was only a matter of time before “Abbott” hooked up with the Phillies.
“The episode was destined to happen,” says Nick Trotta, VP of global media programming and licensing for the MLB. He says the episode was pitched by his corporate fellows at the same time it was suggested by his 10-year-old son, who is a huge fan of the show. “When I called the studio to gauge their interest the response was one of surprise, along the lines of ‘You’re kidding − Quinta has been talking about doing this too.’ It was meant to happen.”
“That was my first time being in the park in well over 10 years,” West Philly native Brunson says of the day the crew came to film this summer. “That alone was exciting to me. I was more familiar with Veterans Stadium, so it just felt cool to be in the ‘new’ ballpark, which really is gorgeous.”
Taking the cast and crew of the episode to Philadelphia and managing to film a cohesive and coherent episode amid 40,000 screaming Phillies fans was no small feat, director Einhorn says.
“It was such an ambitious episode,” Einhorn says, noting filming had to be done both when the stadium was full during a real game and when it was just the cast and extras so the audience at home could actually hear the characters talk. “There’s 40,000 people and the sound of the game is going on, so we knew that we needed to shoot all of our dialogue on non-game day and then connect those two.”
But in spite of many logistical problems, everything went OK in the end. “The people at the ball field were super-helpful. But you know, if Kyle Schwarber would have stopped hitting so many home runs I could have gotten some other stuff,” he jokes. “But he just had to do what he was doing.”
It was always the plan for Schwarber, a designated hitter and left fielder for the Phillies, to make a cameo in the episode. Nobody planned for him to hit four home runs in one game, but the “Abbott” team was happy to include it in the story.
“We had the game portrayed in our script to be great no matter what happened, so it was awesome to have that as the reality, and actually be astonished,” Brunson says. “In fact, my character wasn’t supposed to be into baseball, which made it difficult to sit there and act like I wasn’t witnessing the best ballgame of my life.”
“You could really feel the energy of the place,” Einhorn agrees. “It was really something special.”
What’s next for ‘Abbott Elementary’ Season 5?
Heading to the baseball game will be a test for two of the sitcom’s biggest relationships: Janine and Gregory plus Ava and O’Shon.
In the episode, Gregory, a lover of statistics, reveals he is an avid baseball fan who desperately wants his girlfriend, Janine, to fall in love with the sport, too. Principal Ava and IT guy O’Shon are testing the waters and boundaries of their burgeoning relationship as Ava’s big and demanding personality clashes with O’Shon’s more laid-back, casual vibes.
“One couple gets stronger while another gets even sillier,” says Brunson, without giving any hints about who is who.
As far as future Philly landmarks Brunson would like to bring the “Abbott” crew to, she says she’s partial to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky famously ran up the steps. (She could maybe talk to Sheryl Lee Ralph, who recently rented the place out for a renewal of vows for her 20th wedding anniversary with her husband, Pennsylvania State Sen. Vincent Hughes.)
“Philly has always just embraced us,” Einhorn says. “I would like to just see our cast walking around in Philly, not necessarily even at a location, just being in Philly, because I think the place has a very unique feel to it. … The place has such a character.”
The Phanatics of the city would probably agree.