'This One's Different': 'Abbott Elementary' Cast Breaks Down Hit Sitcom

ABC's Abbott Elementary is sliding under the microscope.

In the nine weeks since the mockumentary-style sitcom premiered on December 7, the buzz surrounding the new Quinta Brunson-created sitcom has grown to epic proportions. With record-breaking MP35 ratings and a never-ending sea of memes and social media posts responding to every new episode, Abbott Elementary's ascent has put Brunson (who stars as Janine Teagues, a second grade teacher at the fictional Willard R. Abbott Elementary School) and her supporting cast squarely in the spotlight.

Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in January, Brunson was surprised with her sixth-grade teacher and Abbott Elementary namesake: Ms. Abbott, and was lauded by Kimmel for creating a show he predicted will remain on TV for years to come.

"I don't want to set the bar too high," the late night host told Brunson. "But I feel like this is going to be a show that's going to be on in, like, nine years. We're still going to be watching this show."

Like Kimmel, fans across the internet have speculated about the sitcom's potential longevity, although a second season has yet to be confirmed by ABC.

However, as Abbott Elementary has grown in popularity, its cast has attempted to explain why it has resonated with audiences across multiple television platforms.

Former Everybody Hates Chris star Tyler James Williams, whose Gregory character has quickly become a fan favorite, recently told IndieWire that when he initially received the script for the pilot, he knew the show had hit potential.

"When I'm looking at a comedy script, as I'm reading I look to see do I actually laugh out loud while reading it," Williams explained. "That was the first thing that happened: I laughed out loud within the first 10 pages."

Continuing to describe a moment he shared with co-star Sheryl Lee Ralph, Williams said that the cast of Abbott Elementary knew how special the show could become from the time they filmed the first episode, but added that they were blown away by its massive social media response.

"There was one moment when we were shooting the pilot. It was something about the scene that we were doing. It was the scene where we go to get the rugs," Williams told IndieWire. "I look up at Sheryl Lee Ralph, and she looks at me and I was like, 'Do you feel that? I know you've felt it before because so have I,' and she like 'Yeah, I can feel it. This one's different.'"

"We knew we had something good that most people had not been used to seeing on network TV, but you still don't know if it's gonna resonate with people who can actually watch it.," he added. "The pilot had jumped off and people liked it, but January 4th we had seen Twitter was talking about it constantly...that was when I knew we may have something bigger than we thought, when it was trending for seven days until the very next episode aired."

In an interview with HuffPost, comedian Jannelle James told a similar story to Williams' and said her Principal Ava character felt tailor made for her.

"I remember telling myself that it's hard to make folks laugh out loud while reading a script, but I started reading it and was like, 'Oh, this is hilarious!'," James said. "This was a perfect pilot."

"The characters were really well-drawn, especially my character," she continued. "I felt like I knew this person and already had a composite of how I would do it in my head."

Despite Variety VIP+ data which revealed massive plummets in viewership for primetime network television shows from 2015-2021, Abbott Elementary has been touted as the face of a recent renaissance.

While the show has posted solid ratings in each of its first eight weeks, publications like NPR have included it on a short list of sitcoms that are "actually good again," and according to The Ringer, Abbott Elementary "revived the network sitcom."

Along with social media buzz and positive ratings, ABC's Tuesday-night hit boasts impressive numbers on Rotten Tomatoes, receiving a 100 percent approval rating from the website's top critics.