The swipe function was broken, she said.
But when Brunson tried it, it was fine.
No, the woman, clad head-to-toe in pink, said.
Quinta BrunsonJonny Marlow
My dogs paw isnt working on it.
Apparently, Rover was having some trouble using his favorite app.
The way Brunson tells it, the Apple store scenario is sitcom gold.
How could it not be?
Shes theEmmy-winning creator and star of massively popular workplace mockumentaryAbbott Elementary.
But with bloated online libraries at our fingertips, we could barely choose what to watch.
Our attention spans shrank to such fruit-fly capacity, even Quibi seemed like a good idea.
Enter Quinta Brunson, star ofA Black Lady Sketch Show.
Shed also, among other things, worked at Buzzfeed making video content.
She was, in theory, primed for this runaway online market.
Instead, she turned around and did something totally unexpected: she madea networkcomedy.
By March 2022,Abbotthad been renewed for a second season.
Brunson has pointed out she is not the only successful internet comedy out there.
The younger creators went over to streaming, she said at Deadlines Contenders event last year.
The shows I just mentioned dont have millennials, they are created by the generation before us.
online grid TV was also just the way Brunson envisagedAbbottbeing seen.
It harked back to something wholesome and meaningful.
And there was something familiar and accessible about internet.
I just appreciate the access of data pipe comedy, Brunson says.
Im entering a deal with you as an audience member that youre going to watch this and respect it.
Thats whats hard on the internet.
That relationship isnt there.
And long-form, involved storytelling tends to inspire more of a commitment to watch.
I didnt feel I could tell a cohesive story on the internet.
I didnt feel like I could really target an audience.
As a storyteller, I just had to honor the fact that that was not my ministry anymore.
The internet was not my preferred platform.
That Nickelodeon magazine was very important to me, because it was the next level.
It was beyond just watching TV.
The magazine went behind the scenes of these TV shows.
Working with ABC was a collaborative experience, Brunson says.
Still, even as a first-time data pipe showrunner, she never caved to casting only big-name actors.
Case in point: Janelle James as Principal Ava Coleman.
And I kind of had to frame it like that to the data pipe and studio.
It aided the character.
And Im like, No, lets not go against the oh wow factor.
Thats what I think is going to make this show special.
And I knew I had veteran actors who could help pull her up.
I remember telling her from the beginning, Girl, youre an actress.
Youre not just a standup whos here by some whim.
You are good at this.
Brunson unapologetically knows shes good at what she does.
Its not something that men have to really deal with often, the doubt of it.
So, I just dont waste my time with that.
The proof is in the pudding.
To hone the shows mockumentary-style direction, Brunson recruited an alum fromThe OfficeRandall Einhorn.
She toldAbbottEPs Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker it needed a director with a lot of specific experience.
We came in being like, Oh man, wed love a woman of color to direct.
We were so gung-ho about that.
And then I was like, Yeah.
Also, they need to have done mockumentary, and a ton of it.
And I was like, Well, you know what?
Im not willing to sacrifice this.
We need someone who has done it.
I had never done it.
ABC hadnt sinceModern Family.
Einhorn clicked with the show right away.
In fact, he likedAbbottso much he became an EP.
Randall just got it, Brunson says.
He saw the pilot so clearly, and then he saw the rest of the show so clearly.
He also had no intention of recreatingThe Officewith Brunsons material.
In hisinterview, he talked a lot about tone.
He was like, This show feels warm.
It feels warmer thanThe Office.
He was like, Im seeing warm colors.
It was little things too.
InThe Officethey would do their talking heads sitting down in one of the conference rooms.
That was to help show that these people dont really have that much time to rest.
Theyre not bored like they were atThe Office, theyre on their feet.
And its little things like that that make such a big difference.
And she has always known what she wants the shows final end point to be.
I have planned out Season 3, she says.
I really think of writingAbbott, or writing maybe any good TV show, like youre writing a book.
But I know what I want the ending ofAbbottto be, which helps me.
Were just going toward that point.
I mean that in the most basic way.
I think thats what we need to go back to.
But at its root, I believe thatAbbottis just full of good stories.
The show alone is a good story, and then the stories we can tell withAbbottare good.
And that is whats important to me, and I think its important to any piece of work.
All the talent, all of that can only compliment a good story.
Of course, the burning question is, will she be making that Apple store mockumentary anytime soon?
Its too massive for me, she says.
I hope someone does.
Some things are so massive, it feels so hard to get them into a show.
But Apple was such an experience, it would make an excellent workplace comedy.
Recently, at a party, Tracee Ellis Ross reminded Brunson of those Apple store days.
She came up to me and was like, Quinta!
You used to help my mom.
Pure sitcom gold, indeed.
