-Our next guest is an Emmy-nominated comedian
and actress who stars in the hit series "Abbott Elementary."
The winter finale airs this Wednesday on ABC,
with new episodes returning January 4th.
Let's take a look.
-It's time for the gift exchange.
Let's find out who's been naughty and who's been nice.
And remember, I only reward the naughty.
Everyone who picked a name out of Mr. Johnson's ice skate
last week, please gather 'round.
-Dorothy Hamill and I used to be a thing.
This is all I have left of her.
-Okay, I hope you guys all stuck to the $25 minimum.
-Um, I thought that was a maximum.
-Stop limiting yourself. Thinking small is
what's got you in a dead-end job in a poorly run school.
-Can't argue with that.
-Please welcome back to the show our friend Janelle James!
[ Cheers and applause ]
[ Mid-tempo music plays ]
♪♪
Now, Janelle, I'm so happy you're here.
You are one of our favorite kinds of returning guests,
because you were first here in 2019 as a stand-up.
-Yes! -You did five minutes with us.
-I did. -I was not lucky enough
to have you even sitting here next to me.
-Oh, my God. I was so nervous there, too.
I'm looking at the picture. That's my nervous hand
that's up like that. [ Laughter ]
And now people yell at me in Target,
so this is nothing. [ Laughter ]
-I mean, we're so happy with how everything's going for you.
Are you overwhelmed by it, or does this make perfect sense?
-Uh, both. -Yeah, I think that's right.
-Yeah. -I think that's right.
-I was working towards it, but it's still like, "Aah!
What's happening?" So, yeah.
No, but it's all been great. It's so good to be, like,
on something that seems to make so many people so happy.
-Yeah, and it seems like a show for so many people,
which is so nice in this day and age.
You were at the Emmys. The show was
very well represented at the Emmys,
which was wonderful. [ Cheers and applause ]
Was it your -- Was it your first Emmys?
-Yeah. [ Laughs ]
I mean, I think I had a men's undershirt on in this.
Like, I've never been to the Emmys.
I don't even know whose clothes I have on right now.
But, yes, my first time at the Emmys.
My first time being nominated. And, yeah, it was wild.
-Did you -- You know, sometimes the logistics
of the Emmys are an obstacle course in their own right.
Did you make it in time?
-He know I was late. That's why he brought that up.
[ Laughter ] He knew I was late.
Yes. No, I didn't make it in time, Seth.
[ Laughter ]
-I'm just curious. I mean, I guess
if I could ask one question out of the blue...
-I was late to my first Emmys. I mean, it's a story now.
So, it's a story that I get to tell.
But I wasn't the only one, so that's all that matters.
-Yeah. It's not -- They make it very hard
to be on time at the Emmys. -Yeah.
-I'm saying that genuinely. But what about you --
Do you get to go to Hollywood fancy parties now?
How is that treating you? -I mean, I do get to go to --
I don't go to many, and then when I do,
it's just a disaster because I'm not --
I guess I'm not trained to do the thing.
-That looks pretty good. I feel like -- Do that.
Yeah, oh, I think, don't sell yourself short.
I've seen a lot of high-powered agents do exactly that.
-I practice in the mirror
ever since I embarrassed myself. I went to the "GQ" party.
Were you there? -No, I was not
at the "GQ" party, no. [ Laughter ]
-I was. I was there.
I went to the "GQ" party, and I saw Travis Barker.
-Uh-huh. -The Blink-182 guy.
The reason I know who he is, is, truly when I was getting ready,
earlier that day, for the party,
I was watching a video of him showing his home
with one of those Kardashians. -Yeah.
-Right? -He's famously with one of them.
-One of them. Still don't know which one.
And -- [ Laughter ]
But the home was lovely, and he seemed like such a nice guy.
Every piece in his house had a meaning,
and it wasn't ostentatious. It was really nice.
And I saw him at the party. Yeah, I'm drunk. I was nervous.
But I saw him at the party, and he walked by,
and I said, "Oh, my God,
I was just looking in your house."
[ Laughter ]
[ Applause ]
And that's -- That's why I stay home.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah. [ Laughter ]
How does a fella respond
when you say you were just looking at his house?
-So, the Kardashian said, "Okay," like that.
[ Laughter ]
They looked horrified. He looked horrified.
-Yeah. -And she said, "Okay."
And then they, like, walked off. -Still hasn't really
narrowed it down for me which one it is.
-Yeah. [ Laughter ]
You -- One of the things --
obviously, we first met you here as a stand-up.
That's this real solo art form where you get to tell the story
entirely by yourself. You know, you're just out there
totally by yourself. -And I am myself.
-You get to be yourself, exactly.
You get to choose what you say.
Obviously, this role seems to be a perfect fit,
but it's also a wonderful ensemble.
How have you found that shift from, you know,
sort of being on your own to being in a world full of --
-I work less. -Yeah, you do. You do work less.
-When you're an ensemble, it's not only about you.
So I get some time off, where the story
focuses on other people and the --
I just learned this thing with the actors,
where actors say, "You're only as good as your scene partner."
And so it's really good actors on this show,
and it makes me step up and have my [Bleep] together.
-And you guys all really do feel like you've known each other.
-Truly. -The show only works
if you only believe you've known each other for a long time,
working together long time, and it's just so natural.
-I think partly it's because we're all cool people,
but also we started this show, like, right out of quarantine.
We couldn't go nowhere. Couldn't go anywhere
but work and hang out with each other, you know.
We were the only safe people that we knew at the time.
So it really made us closer in a faster way,
having to do -- you know, having to do it at that time.
-I've been lucky to talk to some other cast members
of the show. They were saying
the technical aspect of the show,
the way you shoot, because it's documentary style,
there's a real choreography to every scene.
Do you feel like you're getting better at that,
being able to know the camera's coming?
-I mean, I thought I was good from the beginning, so, um...
-Yeah, yeah. I think everybody agrees.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-I'm not -- -I guess my question is,
do you feel like your castmates are catching up to your --
-To me? Tyler got some work to do.
But, uh, yeah.
I feel like, because I didn't know anything...
-Yeah. -...I'm just doing it.
Until somebody tells me otherwise,
I'm just gonna keep doing what I'm doing.
-Well, I think everybody here agrees
that that's the best plan forward.
So nice to see you again. -Yes!
-Thank you for being here. -Thank you so much.
-You guys, that's Janelle James.
The winter finale of "Abbott Elementary"
airs this Wednesday on ABC,
with new episodes returning January 4th.
We'll be right back with an incredible performance
of "Funny Girl."