Quinta Brunson finished her first year at Abbott Elementary with flying colors.
At the age of 32, Quinta's ABC series has been renewed for a second season and has a rare 100 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But the actress is staying humble about her success.
In a recent interview with E! News, the showrunner said she and the writers are keeping their heads down as they plan their new episodes, explaining, "We're kind of going with the flow, seeing what feels natural to us to bring back from the first season and what to elaborate more on."
And, of course, they want to maintain the lighthearted humor that brought audiences in the first time around.
But Quinta hesitated to share too many details about the new episodes—after all, they're still in the early stages of writing. However, she promised there are exciting stories about the teachers and other Abbott Elementary staff members in the works.
There will also be the introduction of new characters too, with Quinta emphasizing that she's not ready to make a casting call just yet. "I'm sure we'll find more opportunities to bring new people in but for the first season, we were just writing really strong characters," she explained. "Then, when it came time to cast them, everyone auditioned and we just so happened to get wonderful people like Zack Fox and Orlando Jones."
Quinta shared that she "didn't expect" to book stars like Zack and Orlando, who audiences loved, adding, "I think that's the beauty of writing really strong characters is that really strong, new and exciting actors will come."
The actress understands that she wouldn't be where she is today were it not for the support of educators. That's why she recently teamed up with Box Tops for Education to raise money for teachers across the country. "Box Tops was such a big part of my childhood," she shared. "So when this opportunity came about to get involved with them, I really jumped at the chance."
She also gave a shoutout to the people who inspire her day in and day out, saying, "I have so many friends who are teachers right now and it's not easy, but I just think they're doing incredible jobs."
Shoppers that download the Box Tops for Education app and enter code "TEACHERSMAKEUSBETTER" during registration can earn $5 for their school of choice when they scan a receipt before May 31. To learn more, check out the Box Tops for Education website.