The hit sitcom “Abbott Elementary” may have taken home two Emmys for its first season, but it wasn’t because of a bottomless marketing budget.
Earlier this year, show creator Quinta Brunson revealed that the “Abbott Elementary” production team and ABC agreed to take a portion of the budget they had allocated to marketing expenses and donate it to teachers.
“We chose to put the marketing money toward supplies for teachers,” Brunson said in an interview on NPR’s “Fresh Air” in March. “It’s about being able to make those kinds of decisions that really excite me, things that can really materially help people.”
The comedy takes place at an under-resourced elementary school in Philadelphia where Quinta Brunson’s Janine Teagues is a second-grade teacher.
Brunson said in the interview that her mother’s experience teaching at an underfunded school gave her the idea for the show, as well as the desire to give back.
“Despite it getting harder, despite teachers not having all the support they need, despite kids growing even more unruly than they’ve been in recent time … she still loved the job, Brunson said, adding: “The beauty is someone being so resilient for a job that is so underpaid and so underappreciated because it makes them feel fulfilled.”
The comedy won two Emmys on Monday, one for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and one for actress Sheryl Lee Ralph for Outstanding Supporting Actress.
“Abbott Elementary” returns for its second season on Sept. 21. It airs on ABC, and streams on Hulu and HBO Max.
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