Emmy voting opened yesterday, and one of the shows expected to be a big player is Abbott Elementary, Quinta Brunson’s super charming sitcom “savior”—comedy has been sustaining better on network television than drama has, since the streaming revolution—that should be your must-watch show of the summer (if you haven’t seen it already). 

 

Lainey has been championing Abbott Elementary for months now, and it is absolutely a show that lives up to the hype. Like Ted Lasso (especially in its first season), Abbott is a show that knows what it is and what it’s doing from the jump, and it delivers a lot of laughs while also being deeply sincere and sweet. There’s no “finding its footing” or soft reboot season two to get the tone right. The show, and its creator Brunson, knock it out of the park from the first episode. It’s no surprise, then, that Abbott Elementary leads all series with the most nominations for the Television Critics Association Awards. 

That momentum will hopefully carry through Emmy voting, where the comedy category is INSANELY competitive this year. Abbott will have to contend with reigning champ Ted Lasso, plus better-than-ever Barry, Hacks, and What We Do in the Shadows, not to mention fellow freshman series like Only Murders in the Building and Reservation Dogs. Drama usually sucks up all the oxygen in the room when it comes to awards season, but c’mon, Succession has that on lock, with the only chance of an upset coming from Squid Game. Comedy is where all the excitement is at, and Quinta Brunson could cap off an extraordinary run with Abbott’s first season with a shelfful of awards. At the very least, she’s going to bag a bunch of nominations. 

 

Here’s Quinta on THR’s comedy actress roundtable talking about the expectation she’ll have something to say for every topical moment. 

 

People want her to do a school shooting episode of Abbott. I know we’re struggling with this in America right now (and always), but Abbott Elementary, while not presenting a perfect world, isn’t and shouldn’t be burdened with that particular reality. Leave Quinta Brunson alone, she’s handling her bag just fine.

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