-Our next guest is an Emmy Award-winning
writer, comedian, and actress you know from
her critically acclaimed series, "Abbott Elementary."
The second season premieres this Wednesday, September 21st,
on ABC.
Let's take a look.
-And no more bringing my problems into school.
That was old right-sided-part Janine.
I'm a fully formed adult,
and this year is gonna be...different.
What the... What in the world?
-Eagles! Go, Eagles!
[ Indistinct conversations ]
-Ava.
Why is a man cooking ribs in my parking spot?
What is happening?
-It's game day, baby.
-It's Development Week. -Here's a development.
You either got to park on the street
or give me $50 for your spot.
I'm making extra money... for the school.
-Please welcome back to the show
our friend Quinta Brunson, everybody!
[ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪
Hello, Quinta. -Hi, Seth.
-You look fantastic. -Thank you.
[ Cheers and applause continue ] Hi, everybody.
Are they normally that nice?
-They're very -- No, they're only this nice
when people deserve it.
-Oh, my goodness. -And congratulations.
Not only did you win an Emmy for writing,
the show won three Emmys overall.
Was it a -- was it a fun night?
[ Cheers and applause ] -It was so fun.
You were there. -I was.
-Part of the fun of the night was getting to see you.
Always a treat.
But, you know, that was my first time at the Emmys, period.
So to go as a nominee and then have the opportunity
to not only win, but have a castmate win
and the casting department -- just incredible.
-And your castmate -- I was lucky enough
to be onstage with Amy Poehler when Sheryl Lee Ralph won.
And she not only came onstage and gave
one of the greatest speeches I've ever seen,
but she did seem genuinely shocked in the moment.
You were at her table. -I was at her table.
She was totally shocked.
Let me just say first, you and Amy Poehler
could not have been better.
One of my favorite people.
Amy doesn't know it, but she is one of my favorite --
She's one of my comedy moms.
And I was, like, "Oh, my God. Wow, look at that.
It would be amazing if, you know,
they said somebody from 'Abbot Elementary.'
Hmm."
And then I just talked to Sheryl the week before,
and we had this beautiful talk about how this is
a first-season show on network TV with 13 episodes.
It's amazing to just be nominated and be in the room.
And we had this beautiful talk with each other of, like,
it didn't matter if we won.
And we didn't think that we would win anything.
Especially Sheryl, who's like,
"You know, I'm just really happy to be here and be nominated.
And you know what?
Hopefully, the show will be around
and there's plenty of time to win."
So she was really in this place of just
pure joy with being nominated.
So when you guys called her name, I looked at her,
and she -- I knew -- I know Sheryl very well.
Sheryl is very dramatic, as you guys could see.
I know that, in her brain, she said,
"This is a dream.
This is not real." "I'm not going to get up."
And her whole body went into shock.
And, you know, everyone was like,
"Sheryl, they said your name."
But I know she was like, "This is 'The Wizard of Oz.'"
Like, this -- I'm in a scene of 'The Wizard of Oz.'
Better wake up."
So I had to physically get up and go shake her to say,
"This is real!" and get her up.
And her husband's like, "You won, you won, you won."
We're like, "Right there.
They said -- That's you, you, Sheryl Lee Ralph."
She's like, "Me?" "Sheryl Lee Ralph, you."
So, we get her up, and my co-star Tyler James Williams --
I whispered -- I was like, "You have to walk her
on the stage, because there's a chance she might
turn back thinking this is fake."
So Tyler walked her on the stage.
And I think it was once she was up there
that she really realized that she had won.
And Sheryl comes into the set singing.
Like, she comes in going...
♪ Good morning ♪
...every single morning.
So I think the first thing she could do, out of joy,
was just sing, and it was so beautiful.
-Well, it was so beautiful and surprising,
because the first half of the moment
was everything you've described, someone who was in shock.
And, usually, the second half of that
is someone who can't find the words for the moment.
And, yet, she delivered a speech that was as polished
and as finished as anything you've ever seen.
-That's Sheryl. -It felt like an one-act play.
It was beautiful.
-That is all day with Sheryl Lee Ralph.
-Yeah. -That is how she is.
So to me -- I could just cry now because it was beautiful
seeing her be the most herself in that moment, too.
There's something very pure about her being
exactly who she is while accepting that award
and making -- I'm getting teary.
But making a beautiful -- a beautiful night for everybody.
-It was also -- It seems crazy to say this now,
but a network comedy getting nominated is a throwback to,
you know, a previous era of the Emmys.
We're not used to seeing that. -Right.
-You wanted this to be a network television show
at a time when I feel a lot of creators
maybe are going the other way.
-Yes. You know, we've talked about this before,
but I love network television.
I love the accessibility of it.
People laugh at me when I say this,
but it is something people can watch in prison,
which is a huge demographic.
But it's not about that. It's about accessibility.
-Yeah.
-It is about accessibility and people being able to
watch network TV from anywhere.
And I feel like my generation, Millennials,
started veering toward the cable and streaming space,
and for one, I think they were
pushed away from network for a while.
There was just a misunderstanding
between the previous generation and ours.
But after so many creators went over and proved kind of, like,
the value of our stories in network and streaming,
it feels like now network kind of gets it,
and, thus, something like "Abbott Elementary"
is able to be born.
And I'm happy that it's on network TV.
I love that families watch it together.
-Yeah, I mean, that's how my family watched television,
obviously, growing up, was that way.
And another thing that happened is,
you had a successful network television show,
and, again, it's another throwback.
You did 13 your first season.
You're doing a 22-episode season,
which now -- [ Cheers and applause ]
I mean, that was the norm,
but that is an exception to the rule now for comedy.
How has it been so far?
Obviously, you're in the middle of it.
-I'm in the middle of it.
So, you know, the producer in me is like,
"Why are you on 'Seth Meyers' right now?"
But then, also, the producer in me is like,
"That's good marketing.
We need it for the show.
That's good publicity."
But then I'm like, "Man, I really wish my actress
was on set so we didn't have to rearrange her schedule
to do --" So it's -- All of my brains
are having a fight at the same time with 22 episodes.
But I will say, I have such a supportive system
in my co-producers and my writers and my crew and cast.
So, I think we are doing a good job at it,
but 22 is crazy.
I don't know how you do this every night, you know?
-Yeah, but we don't have to write scripts
that connect to the next day and characters.
I mean, and we -- Because we can't get ahead of it,
because it's about -- You know, so --
Still, thank you, though, for saying that.
-Do you do any drugs? I've been trying --
-Do I do any drugs? Thank you for asking.
No one asks.
-I want to know what everyone's secret is.
I'm like, "Does anyone have different time?"
-Hey, my -- The last thing I want to ask.
I know your mom is a teacher,
and that must make the show extra special for her.
Did -- She's on the East Coast.
Did you get to talk to her the night of the Emmys?
-I did. I called her when I could, you know,
come up for air, and it was about 12:00 her time.
And she was super-proud,
but what was sweeter was how proud my dad was.
My dad doesn't watch awards shows.
He doesn't care about anything. He watches, like --
You know, he'll watch paint dry before he watches
an awards show and will genuinely find it
more interesting.
But he actually -- My sister said
he was watching the Oscars like -- like it was the --
I'm sorry, the Emmys like it was the Super Bowl.
Like, he watched the carpet.
He watched everything leading up to it.
And hearing that he was really proud of me
was perhaps the highlight of my night.
So it was really sweet. -Well, you all deserve it.
-Thank you. -Thanks for being back.
I just love having you here. You guys, that's Quinta Brunson.
Don't miss the second-season premiere of
"Abbot Elementary" and then the 21 episodes after that.
It's Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. on ABC.
We'll be right back with music from Courtney Barnett.