Lisa Ann Walter breaks down the Melissa-centric Abbott Elementary midseason premiere.
Lisa Ann Walterknows you all love Chessy and she is just as fond of your love forThe Parent Trapcharacter.
So much so that she included a reference to the 1998 film in a season 2 episode ofAbbott Elementary.
Lisa Ann Walter in ‘Abbott Elementary’ and ‘The Parent Trap’.ABC/Gilles Mingasson; Walt Disney Pictures
In her more casual clothes at home, Melissa is sporting a denim over-shirt.
“I wanted to dress a little bit differently at home,” she says.
“They said, ‘Well, what do you want?’
Lisa Ann Walter as Melissa Schemmenti.ABC/Gilles Mingasson
And I went, ‘I’m in my kitchen.
We’re standing over food.
So, let me do this.”
There was only one hiccup costume designer Susan Michalek had never seenThe Parent Trap.
I said, ‘You don’t have to do the chinos, but let’s do the shirt.’
And I didn’t think necessarily people were going to get it.
I thought it was going to be just for me.
It was really fun."
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: This championship belt for the read-a-thon that Melissa carries what’s the backstory on that?
Did she make it?
We were totally into it.
And I just love the visual of holding the belt.
Do you know in the writer’s room where that came from?
Is that something that you could personally relate to from family or anything?
I don’t know who originally came up with the idea.
I remember when Quinta first told me about it.
They wanted to do a story about a kid struggling with a learning issue.
I was the opposite.
I did have, what in those days never would’ve been diagnosed, ADHD.
But in a way that’s hyper-focused.
Once I start doing something, I can’t stop.
I want to finish the book.
I would actually stay up late with the book under the covers.
And I had it inside of my economics books.
And my teacher said, “What are you doing?”
I just lifted the book up inside and she was like, “Oh yeah, that’s good.
Math to me was hard; that was the one that I didn’t get.
I went to advanced algebra when I started middle school because of how I tested.
And then I just never got the math.
It took me four years to graduate from first year algebra.
Numbers made no sense to me.
But words I got.
However, I was heavy.
I was a fat kid.
Being shamed for that and being teased for that was what I used as an actor to replace.
The scene with the parents who are in denial will be familiar to any teacher.
Was that challenging to shoot?
It’s a real departure for Melissa.
It’s tough for Melissa in a number of ways.
We’re used to seeing her being very straightforward and not tempering her words.
She’s really a truth teller.
She tells it like it is.
It’s hard for them to hear that they might be having a problem.
She’s not going to be her usual brash self.
To do that relationship in a much quieter way than we’re used to seeing Melissa.
It was a question of being honest in the exchange with them.
She is very supportive and vocal about how much she appreciates my straight acting.
Will we see more between Miss Schemmenti and Mya this season?
I don’t know.
Let’s put it to you this way I haven’t seen a script yet where we revisit that.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen.
Will we see more of Melissa’s own relationship with reading pop up?
Because that was key in her figuring out what the rules of the contest actually were.
That’s another thing that’s wonderful in terms of playing things out.
The writer’s room will take a piece that we saw in 102 and then bring it back.
So it’s entirely possible that that’ll come up in the future.
She took the initial loss a lot better than expected.
But was she secretly plotting revenge on Janine?
Maybe going to call one of her cousins?
There are things that she takes a little more lightly.
Obviously the reading thing is important because of her relationship with reading.
But it’s still a contest in school and she doesn’t want the kids to feel bad.
Number one is that she wants to protect the kids.
And it didn’t matter.
They weren’t going to learn physics.
She knows for a fact that was not going to happen in this grade.
And maybe get revenge on Janine, but not now when she’s expecting it.
Every competition is important to her.
That’s why she’s such a huge sports fan.
She likes aggression, she likes the fight, she likes the win.
She loves rooting for something.
Might she inveigle herself in that further?
We’re in the same school with you.
We’re not shocked by this.”
Because she’s a truth teller.
She’ll be like, “Yeah, we get it.
It’s not big news.”
But also she’s very committed to “mind your own business.”
It’s not your business, so stay out of it.
Speaking of people minding their business, will we see more of her sister this year?
And you will be incredibly excited.
I was like, “I’d like to seethishappen.”
That’s what’s happening.
I can’t tell you any more than that.
We’ve heard her talk about her vending machine man, but we haven’t really seen him much.
Might he turn up?
You will see him as well.
And it’s great.
Can you tease next week’s episode?
The students are fighting, and there’s a storyline about fantasy football.
There’s some competitiveness.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
