Attention students, teachers, and everyone in between: “Abbott Elementary” is on its way back!
In fact, the beloved ABC show will premiere for its third season on Feb. 7 and one of the shows stars, Lisa Ann Walter who plays “Melissa Schemmenti,” says folks will be surprised at what our beloved school has in store, sharing that the new season will see the characters take “bigger swings.” Speaking to The Root on the red carpet at the 2024 Emmys, Walter explained:
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“The first couple of seasons, people were getting more accustomed to us, feeling like we’re family to them. And our audiences are. They’re our extended family, they’re one of the gang. So when they feel comfortable with who we are, you can take bigger swings. And I think that’s what’s going on in this season.
We are going away from what’s expected and delving into the really surprising. So I’m interested to see how the audiences will react.
Speaking specifically to the upcoming hour-long premiere episode, Walter teased that a lot of things would be revealed so viewers had better set their DVRss or watch in real-time lest they be forced to catch up later.
“We always start at the beginning of the school year and in this one we’re starting halfway through and that’s explained in the first episode,” she said. “A lot is coming out in the first episode, it’s a double long episode, you can’t miss it.”
Later, when show creator (and history-maker) Quinta Brunson entered the press room following her big win at the Emmys, she echoed Walter’s sentiments about a revelatory premiere for season three of “Abbott” and mentioned that she was able to snag two of dream guest stars to make an appearance in the episode. But of course, she wouldn’t divulge any more details than that.
I guess you’ll have to do what they say and make sure you tune in on Feb. 7 at 9p.m. ET on ABC and streaming next day on Hulu.
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