Lisa Ann Walter Deserves Emmy Love for ‘Abbott Elementary’

This is a preview of our pop culture newsletter The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, written by editor Kevin Fallon. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox each week, sign up for it here.

This week:

• Thankful for the Barbie memes.

• Give this Abbott Elementary star some love.

• Quinta Brunson, always perfect.

• I’m sorry, Jen Shah is doing what now?

• A very important Reba moment.

Let’s Hear It for Lisa Ann Walter

It’s heartening to see how widespread the love for Abbott Elementary has been, because the entire cast is so great. That Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble was earned.

When you love a show, it’s always tempting to pick a favorite character or performer—even if it changes on a season-by-season, or episode-by-episode, basis. Already this year with Succession, I have changed allegiance from Shiv to Tom to Willa to Roman, with his fruity little standing positions and jittering nefariousness.

But there’s something about Abbott Elementary—It’s so pure! Everyone seems so nice and happy to be there!—that makes it impossible to choose one favorite. Who could possibly admit whether they find Janelle James’ Principal Ava or Sheryl Lee Ralph’s Mrs. Howard funnier? Who isn’t charmed by Chris Perfetti’s well-meaning cringiness? Or finds themselves erupting in shocked laughter by some totally random aside William Stanford Davis’ Mr. Johnson says?

Forgive me, however, for breaking from this share-the-love stance to fawn over how much I’ve loved Lisa Ann Walter’s Melissa Schemmenti. While the comedy stemming from her marinara-for-blood, tough Italian roots has always been delightful, the way in which it’s been shaded this season with her earnest love and dedication to teaching and her students has revealed the character in an entirely new light. I’ve also loved how she’s warmed up to and started to really care for the young teachers in a genuine, if begrudging way.

That was on display in this week’s episode, “Educator of the Year,” in which she gives a supportive speech to Tyler James Williams’ Mr. Eddie, when he feels like he didn’t deserve an award.

“Yeah, you’re definitely not the best teacher in Philadelphia. Or this school. Or this grade. Or this classroom,” she told him. “But I’ve seen you stick it out and improve week after week. You work really hard to get better, and you care. So maybe someday you’ll grow into deserving this award. But you know what? They’re not going to give it to you then, because you can’t choose when people acknowledge you.”

I have to admit that when I first read this in my colleague Fletcher Peters’ recap, I cried a little bit. When I finally saw it in the episode, I cried a lotta bit.

I really hope Walter starts collecting more accolades for her work on the show. Like the perfect lasagna, it’s a hard performance to cook up—and only she could make it.

Thank God for Quinta Brunson

It’s a banner week for cast members from Abbott Elementary delivering perfect speeches.

It’s rare that the monologue is a standout segment from an episode of Saturday Night Live, but after rewatching Quinta Brunson’s from this week’s outing more times than I’d care to admit, I can say that hers is the exception. (Watch it here.)

She made a perfect joke riffing on the seemingly ever-present “Friends had no Black people” discussion, humbly flexed that she’s now friends with Oprah and Obama, and delivered a hilarious analogy comparing teachers to having a dishwasher to explain how indispensable they are.

What I loved, though, is that she didn’t just let the humor stand on its own. She underlined it with a pointed address to the country, taking advantage of the platform and this moment in her career to say something important: “Please remember how important teachers are. Acknowledge the work they do every day. And for the love of God, pay them the money they deserve.”

The Cell Block Tango

According to Page Six, currently incarcerated The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah is creating a play with her fellow inmates. It is apparently titled The Real Housewives of Bryan, named after the facility where she is locked up.

The details in this Page Six story are a riot. According to Shah’s manager (who knew you still needed one of those while in prison?), “the production is still in early development because Shah is teaching some of her crew how to read and write”—a sentence that is just allowed to exist with the business-like sincerity of Playbill reporting an update on a new Broadway show.

“The script reportedly will revolve around the real-life ‘Housewives,’ locked up at FPC Bryan in Texas,” the article says. “Naturally, the personalities are ‘cranked up to 11.’”

Has anyone ever tried to break into prison before? I need to see this production so badly. The Pulitzer committee must be alerted. The Tony Awards found shaking.

A Very Important Reba Moment

I am of the opinion that 2001-2007 The WB/CW television series Reba is among the greatest sitcoms of our time. My old roommate and I owned only one set of DVDs, and it was the Reba series box set. I commissioned a tote bag with Reba McEntire’s face from the opening credits that has since been stolen. (If you see someone walking around the streets of New York rocking this tote, APPREHEND THEM!!!!) I love this show.

Which is to say, if I had attended McEntire’s recent concert at the Hollywood Bowl and seen the Reba cast holding onto each other and swaying while McEntire sang the show’s theme song, I would have died on the spot. (Watch it here.)

What to watch this week:

Beef: Road rage has never been so fun! (Now on Netflix)

The Super Mario Bros. Movie: There hasn’t been a good movie for kids in theaters for a while. Let’s enjoy this one! (Now in theaters)

Air: I would not have predicted that the movie about sneakers would be getting critics this excited, but here we are. (Now in theaters)

What to skip this week:

Paint: They did Bob Ross real dirty with this one. (Now in theaters)

How to Blow Up a Pipeline: You’d think with that title, it would be more explosive. (Now in theaters)

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