Watch out, New York: ‘Abbott Elementary’ is coming to ‘Saturday Night Live’

From Philadelphia to New York, Abbott Elementary‘s own Janine Teagues is coming to Saturday Night Live, or rather, Quinta Brunson is. In the words of Lizzo, “it’s about damn time.” Having won numerous accolades for the show, including an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Critic’s Choice award, we are thrilled that Brunson will finally get the chance to stand up on the SNL stage.

Abbott Elementary took the world by storm when it first aired back in 2021. Following the classic American mockumentary style found in other classic sitcoms such as The Office and Parks and Recreation, we dive into the underfunded titular school looking into the lives of the teachers and students who study and work there. It tackles the plight of education standards in the U.S. while still retaining heart, comedy, and a “will they, won’t they” romance.

As well as creating the show and writing some of the episodes, Brunson plays one of the lead characters, Janine Teagues, an optimistic second-grade teacher who wants to give her students her absolute best at all times. Brunson kick off her career by creating content for Instagram, where she gained an initial following before moving on to Buzzfeed, where she worked as a producer and onscreen talent. She is the first Black woman to have been nominated three times in the comedy category at the 74th Emmy Awards. Now, she will be taking to the stage that so many actors and other legends of comedy have tread upon, when she hosts SNL on April 1.

Brunson will be joined by musical guest Lil Yachty, who will also be joining the show for his first appearance, during this week’s airing. This week is a particularly noteworthy one, as it marks the first performance since the show’s editors and post-production staff reached a deal with NBC that will see them receive a 60 percent pay rise over the next three years. If the deal had not been made in time, staff would have gone on strike and the episode would likely have not happened.

This month will see a new slew of stars taking to the stage and participating in sketches with Brunson followed by Molly Shannon and Ana de Armas, with the musical stylings of The Jonas Brothers and Karol G.

You can catch Brunson in Abbott Elementary on ABC, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, and Roku.