Quinta Brunson wanted the primary “Abbott Elementary” character, Janine Teagues, to be multidimensional and conquer “tough” criticism about the show’s star.

The two-time Emmy winner appeared on the podcast “Good Hang With Amy Poehler,” where she expressed her initial adverse reactions to Janine. Despite this, Abbott Elementary lasted four strong seasons and scored four Emmys.

“I’ll be real with you, [Janine is] a Black character. “Black audiences have so few — still — representative characters on screen, and Black womanhood alone is so touchy,” 

“I think that’s sweet when the character believes so deeply that the show doesn't care what the audience thinks,” Brunson said around the 17-minute mark of the video below. “That was a challenge with Janine because, I'll be real with you, she's a Black character. “Black audiences have so few—still—representative characters on screen, and Black womanhood alone is… so touchy.” 

Brunson added that it “became tough” when Black female viewers “were seeing Janine not present as they wanted her to.” 

“And I understand it but I think it's important for us to have characters who are more realistic than they are the absolute best representation of us,” Brunson continued. “I think it creates layers for us not only on TV but in the public eye. When I was thinking about her, I wasn't really thinking about representation, but she became representation.”

But Ms. Teagues has been wildly essential to Black educators like her, and there’s hope for “Abbott Elementary” to continue well past four seasons. “‘Abbott’ really started where I was like, This is going to be a ride. And I feel like that goes into thinking about things. This is going to go for seasons. I want to tell stories here. We’ve got to start somewhere,” Brunson explained.