'I hope I get to come back': New Bedford High grad appears on ABC's 'Abbott Elementary'

NEW BEDFORD — Starting as an actress in the PBS kid series “Zoom" and “Fetch,” New Bedford’s Taylor Garron is back on the small screen with her recent guest appearance on ABC’s “Abbott Elementary.”

“My friends have been so supportive. My family is obviously losing their minds,” Garron said, after she appeared on the television hit on Nov. 30.

She was recently out with friends and was recognized for her role on the series by a handful of teachers celebrating one of their co-worker’s birthdays. “It’s an amazing show. Everyone who watches it really likes it,” Garron added.

The series is about a group of teachers who find themselves thrown together in a tough Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed.

'Get things done': Bristol County Sheriff-elect Paul Heroux preparing for 'day one'

Garron plays a teacher on 'Abbott Elementary'

Garron plays the role of Tasha Hoffman, a teacher at Abbott Elementary, who returns to the teachers room after learning that Janine (Quinta Brunson), a teacher she finds annoying, was out sick. “She's very like bland, kind of like sarcastic and like low-energy, very much the opposite of Janine,” Garron said.

“I used to love sitting here until a certain ‘Cathy’ got a little too chatty for my tastes,” Garron’s character said in a scene opposite supporting cast members Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti and Emmy-winner Sheryl Lee Ralph.

“The cast was like a big family. Like even like the cast, the crew, like everyone on set was like really, really sweet. And really kind to me,” Garron said, who added that she filmed a day and half on set.

“It was really welcoming and really sweet, and I had lots of great conversations with everyone,” she said. “I hope I get to come back for more. I’m not a teacher in that school, you know.”

This also wasn’t the first time Garron worked with Brunson. During the pandemic, Garron wrote, co-directed and starred in her first feature film “As of Yet,” produced by Duplass Brothers Productions. The film, which is about two roommates exploring their relationship during the lockdown, featured actors on Zoom including the “Abbot Elementary” lead teacher, Brunson.

“As of Yet” took home the Nora Ephron Award at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival.

“It was fun to see a small creative, fun project to do during the pandemic turn into something much bigger than I expected it to be,” Garron said.

On track: South Coast Rail project chugging along in New Bedford — here's what to expect in 2023

Garron has been acting all her life

Garron is also known for her roles as an editor for The Onion’s original podcast “The Topical,” deputy editor for “Reductress,” and writing consultant for Adult Swim’s “Soft Focus with Jena Friedman.”

She has also written for The New Yorker, Vulture, CollegeHumor, VICE, and performs stand-up comedy in New York.

“My stuff is self-reflective, I like to talk about things that I've noticed about my life and things that are exclusive to being a millennial,” she said. “It tends to lean a little darker and tends to lean a little bit more dry.”

Growing up in New Bedford, Garron called herself a “big ham” as a kid. While performing with the New Bedford High School drama club, she saw an audition for PBS’s “Zoom” and begged her parents to take her. After losing out on a role the first time, she was called back the following year and landed a role in the cast.

She later appeared in the first season of the PBS Kids show “Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman.” After graduating high school, she studied at University of Massachusetts Amherst before moving to New York City when she was 21 years old.

“I love acting and writing and the entire entertainment industry as a whole. So happy that I'm finally getting to take some steps into there in my adult life,” she said.

Standard-Times staff writer Seth Chitwood can be reached at schitwood@s-t.com. Follow him on twitter: @ChitwoodReports.Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford's Taylor Garron guest stars on ABC's 'Abbott Elementary'