Sharpen those pencils and pack those lunches becauseAbbott Elementaryis back.
ABC’shit sitcom mockumentary returns on Oct. 9 for its biggest season yet (a 22-season episode order!).
Gilles Mingasson/Disney
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You guys have established that these seasons run during the school year.
Ben Onyx Dowdy, Janelle James, and Quinta Brunson on ‘Abbott Elementary’.Gilles Mingasson/Disney
PATRICK SCHUMACKER:Yeah.
We’re going to try and align everything.
We’ll open essentially in October.
Matt Oberg, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Lisa Ann Walter, and Chris Perfetti on ‘Abbott Elementary’.Gilles Mingasson/Disney
Then, we’re right back off to the races.
Speaking of Janine and Gregory, we got this extremely satisfying moment at the end of season 3.
We tend to approach everything from character.
SCHUMACKER:The Gregory-Janine shippers will be pleased.
Janine was at the district last season.
She chose to go back to Abbott.
Are we going to see the district continue to be in play?
Will Manny (Josh Segarra) still be a part of their lives or some of those other characters?
What combination of characters that we got to meet last season is still a little bit TBD.
There’s definitely a handful of district personalities that do show back up within the first episodes.
Jacob and Melissa moved in together last season.
Is that going to continue this year and what does that look like as it marches on?
HALPERN:Yeah, it is going to continue this year.
I know you guys really wanted to bringAyo Edebirilast season.
Obviously she’s got a lot on her plate.
Might we get to see her orTaraji P. Hensonagain this year?
HALPERN:They’re both incredible performers, so we would love to have them back at some point.
Barbara mostly is so even keeled, but sometimes she’s having a crisis.
What would you say will be her biggest challenge or her arc this season?
HALPERN: Those are the conversations that we continuously have during the breaking of the first 10 episodes.
So we’re still kind of actively in those conversations right now.
We really like seeing layers of characters that we haven’t seen before each season.
We’re not going to just do a story that feels akin to one we’ve done before.
Sea Barbara is my favorite Barbara.
Might we see her return?
HALPERN:She’ll make an appearance.
SCHUMACKER:Not yet, but the holidays are coming up.
Are you excited to have that back this year?
Are you going to take advantage of it?
SCHUMACKER:Very much so.
It’s so nice being able to mirror the school year and the calendar year.
HALPERN:You’re getting a Halloween episode, you’re getting a Christmas episode.
SCHUMACKER:Actually two Christmas episodes if all goes to plan schedule-wise.
I believe we’re going to have a double header in December of two Christmas-themed episodes.
We knew Ava was really into Gregory in spite of the tension between him and Janine.
What does it look like for her having Janine and Gregory together?
No, I don’t want that."
As she’s matured, her relationship to Gregory and Janine has matured as well.
She probably supports it.
Are we going to learn more about her this season?
HALPERN:Yes, you will.
We are currently breaking an episode where you very much will.
Jacob and Zach (Larry Owens) came to a detente at the end of the season.
Will we see Zach again this year?
Are they going to continue to be part of each other’s lives?
HALPERN:As of right now, they are broken up.
SCHUMACKER:I mean, Zach’s still in Philly, but you never know.
Tariq (Zack Fox) has been amping up his PTA and district antics.
Are those going to complicate the lives of the teachers further?
HALPERN:You are absolutely correct.
Zack Fox is a comedic powerhouse.
Rarely does someone pitch a Tariq idea that we aren’t at least entertaining.
We never quite know what Mr. Johnson is up to.
Can you tease what kind of shenanigans he might be getting into this season?
HALPERN:Oh, man.
So he’s told zero lies in the history of the show.
We think it’s important for the character too.
So we’re always careful when we see little bits and pieces.
If somebody could put that together in chronological order that would make the writers' room so happy.
SCHUMACKER:We need it.
It would be a very useful reference for the writers at this point in time.
This is going to be your biggest episode order yet, which gives you more room to play.
Would you ever do a full musical episode?
We don’t do dream sequences, so in the context of a classic MGM musical or theMean Girlsfilm?
No, I don’t think so.
That would take us out of our reality.
But that’s not to say that the school couldn’t put on a musical production.
Quinta hinted at Comic-Con about this television-altering crossover episode.
Can you tell me anything else about it?
But I think we’re close to figuring it out.
And we’re all getting on the same page about what this could be on both sides.
Can you at least tell me if it will be before Christmas or after Christmas?
Possibly the first episode back from the holidays.
You’re aces at guest stars every season.
Do you have some great ones lined up?
SCHUMACKER:It was tough.
It started to defy reality given how many celebrities were somehow crossing paths with the people of Abbott Elementary.
We have some ideas in the works for sure, the crossover obviously being a pretty big one.
it’s possible for you to pick and choose, and we’ve had a lot of success.
It’s trying to strike a balance .
There is such a thing as too much of a splashy cameo.
And you’ll get more than a hint of that in the premiere.
Abbott Elementaryreturns Wednesday, Oct. 9 on ABC.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
