WIRED tasks William Stanford Davis (Mr. Johnson), Chris Perfetti (Jacob Hill), Lisa Ann Walter (Melissa Schemmenti), Janelle James (Ava Coleman), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Barbara Howard), Quinta Brunson (Janine Teagues) and Tyler James Williams (Gregory Eddie) to answer the 50 most searched questions about Abbott Elementary.
I feel like I'm Andy Cohen reading from-
Why is Ava so obsessed with social media?
Why are y'all so obsessed with social media?
Hi, we are the cast of Abbott Elementary
and we are gonna answer the most Googled questions
[percussive music] [modem beeping and squawking]
Okay, number one, What is 'Abbott Elementary' about?
Abbott Elementary is about school teachers,
who are fighting the everyday uphill battle
in the Philadelphia public school system.
They're doing it with a lot of heart, and a lot of grit,
Is Abbott Elementary a real school?
It's based on a real school. It is.
Yes, it was based on my experience when I was younger,
Harrity Elementary in Philadelphia.
like Abbott Elementary is a fictional school
Seen a lot of people have trouble with that lately.
I saw a viral TikTok where someone was very upset
Couldn't find it. Elementary school,
so, just so you know. Yeah, that really
wouldn't work well. The kids gotta go there.
Where does Abbott Elementary go on a field trip?
Museum, Please Touch. The Please Touch Me Museum.
It's just called the Please Touch Museum.
It's not Please Touch Me. Please Touch.
Went to the baseball game. Ben Franklin Institute.
Ben Franklin Institute. Baseball game.
And another park where we had a relay race.
Oh, Smith Playground. [cast talking over each other]
And then you all went to the ocean without Mr. Johnson.
When did we go to the ocean? Miami.
[bell dings] That wasn't a field trip.
Teachers convention. We went to the 305.
Why is the show called 'Abbott Elementary?'
Sheryl, I feel like you can answer this one.
Abbott Elementary is called Abbott Elementary
because I believe you had a teacher called Mrs. Abbott.
because of the impression that [bell dings]
I had to call and ask her if it was okay.
I guess I didn't have to, but I wanted to.
What city is 'Abbott Elementary' set in?
I actually have no idea. One, two, three.
Who is the principal of Abbott Elementary?
We're really getting some- Ava Coleman.
Base level information. The principal.
Played by Janelle James. These are easy.
Who is the janitor on 'Abbott Elementary?'
Mr. Johnson. William Stanford Davis.
Played by William Stanford Davis, Mr. Johnson.
was not originally one of the main series cast members,
but Stan's performance was so great as Mr. Johnson,
we wanted to have him in every episode.
And the best way to do that was to make him a series regular
Sorry, Janelle. [cast members laugh]
You should ask this one and answer this one.
That's interesting that that's Googled.
What would Ava do if she wasn't a principal?
I think we've already seen some of that.
A little bit of everything, including motivational speaker.
when she is the principal. True entrepreneur.
Yeah, she does. She does a lot while being.
So yeah, a little bit of everything.
I would like for Sheryl to answer this.
Who is Tariq in 'Abbott Elementary?'
Oh my goodness gracious. [cast laughs]
Tariq is the best pain in the patootie ever, ever.
He was actually Janine's worst boyfriend.
girlfriend has a son, and he's there sometimes.
How did he become president of the PTA?
Shout out Zack Fox. He's refereeing.
What song did they sing in 'Abbott Elementary' karaoke?
♪ It's hard out here for ♪ [cast laughs]
♪ When you're trying to get the money for the rent ♪
What song was it- Shout out to Rozy.
We were all singing at the end though?
What Would You Do? We were all together.
♪ I'm not always there when you call ♪
Yes, you did. What's the name of the song?
oh no, because Ava came late. Can't remember at all.
What is it, like a Maury Povich question?
It's Lieutenant Martin Eddie and he is played by-
The incomparable Orlando Jones. He's fantastic.
Why is Ava so obsessed with social media?
Why are y'all so obsessed with social media?
Turn that around? You're the one Googling.
And we're reflecting you, we're reflecting.
But also, I'm sure she's making a nice couple of checks
for her different accounts, thank you.
I don't take poorly at all. [bell dings]
I think she's making some good money through her channels.
Where does Melissa get all of her connections?
You don't need to know. [cast laughs]
Don't worry about it. There's no such thing as-
Wearing a wire? Don't worry about it?
I don't know what you're talking about.
I think this is so funny. It's beautifully said.
What do you mean? Why'd you Google that?
who appears when needed. Wrapped in a puzzle.
And that's all I'm telling. [bell dings]
Sage advice, and followed by inanities.
What happens in 'Abbott Elementary'
We go outside and we lose our minds.
Night out, night out. It's night out, okay.
Y'all please don't clap. Janine and Gregory-
Gregory's on top of the bar. Gregory gets drunk.
Jacob has an incredible dunk package-
Oh yes. That he gets off in the tag.
Melissa, Barbara, and Mr. Johnson pull an all-nighter,
Barbara has to come to school in Melissa's clothes.
And that episode was very much inspired
by my mom watching movies, Barbara's reaction to Avatar.
The first question my mom had when I started that movie was,
We don't have enough time for this.
Oh, What magic tricks does Jacob know?
He can't do any of them very well, but he knows.
You made the money. You can do the hoops,
No, no, no, no, no. He was Lil Uzi Vert.
Yeah, and then you were- Jimmy Butler.
Emo Jimmy, Emo Jimmy. Emo Jimmy Butler.
It was so stupid. He was Emo Jimmy Butler.
What were you last year? Wasn't he himself?
Last year I was Denzel in- In Gladiator, he was.
Oh, that's right. My favorite was the one
when the little boy dressed up like him.
You'll hear from my lawyer. [bell dings]
Lil Uzi Vert, yeah. Oh, that was great.
Yeah, that was great. That was such a good year.
How many episodes of 'Abbott Elementary' are there?
Okay, so seven will be 100. Yeah, so then-
Who is the new janitor in 'Abbott Elementary' season five?
Ms. Carol is not only the new janitor,
but a love interest for Mr. Johnson.
How did ringworm spread through 'Abbott Elementary?'
That's how it spread. Jacob, very clearly.
Jacob's children. Even those of us-
Nothing you can do, as teachers know, it's not-
but no one listens to the principal.
Speaking of the principal, I'm gonna ask this one
I think that's harsh. She doesn't hate.
She practically parents her. That's harsh.
My own theory, maybe sees a little bit of herself in her,
wants her to lose her naive optimism
to prevent her from being hurt by it.
of some of her optimism as well, does it,
maybe that's been beaten out of her by life
[bell dings] and she doesn't see the-
I don't think Ava hates, I agree with that.
Can Principal Ava beat box? Oh, when did I beat box?
one joystick. You did this in an episode?
I didn't know until I did that line that I could.
Where does Mr. Johnson disappear to
An alternate reality. His office, his office.
He's got an office. I have a beautiful office.
A beautiful office. I have a beautiful office.
It really is gorgeous. I like to imagine
because maybe it actually will come up one day,
but we have a very crazy, [bell dings]
crazy story for where Mr. Johnson is a lot of the time.
What would Jacob teach if he could choose any subject?
Why does Jacob always want everyone to like him?
Does that seem like something that he dwells on?
No, because remember he was all upset
because the kids thought he was corny,
And then, I mean, that was early on,
and through Janine too, that corny's okay.
You could be corny, that's just who you are.
What would Melissa do if she weren't a teacher?
What's that mean? That means a mistress.
She's calling me- The beautiful side kick.
a woman of loose morals. [bell dings]
Why does Melissa act tough even though she cares,
Possibly speaking personally, when you come up in a world
where you feel like you have to fight for everything,
and you feel like you might not have people supporting you
unless you are tough, you act tough
even when you don't feel it because it's safer.
And she's also very protective and loyal
to the people around her. [bell dings]
Why is Barbara so calm under pressure?
I also think that she's been under pressure,
So when it comes on, she knows how to react.
What would Janine be doing if she weren't a teacher?
I think that Janine was born to be a teacher, I really do.
But if she weren't one- It's a calling.
If she weren't one, I think she'd be
like a substitute teacher. [cast laughs]
Oh, I love that about him. I would counter that
with another great question of why do people do
Gregory doesn't like communicating any more than he has to.
I wonder if that has something to do
with Gregory's relationship with his dad.
What is Gregory's relationship with his dad?
No, his relationship with his dad is really complicated
because his dad is from the military
and he was raised in a really military-style household,
And also because Gregory lost his mom
when he was very young, [bell dings]
so there's a part of his relationship dynamic
I won't put this on you guys to answer,
but it just says, Why is Abbott Elementary underfunded?
that we all should be asking ourselves because,
while Abbott is a fictional school,
it is based on and inspired by real schools in Philadelphia
There are many different reasons why,
you have the power to help change that being the case
by being part of your community and trying
I'm not gonna give them to you all, but there's many.
We're the cast of Abbott Elementary.
Starring : William Stanford Davis, Chris Perfetti, Lisa Ann Walter, Janelle James, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Quinta Brunson, Tyler James Williams
