Quinta Brunson is well aware that Janine Teagues isn’t a flawless character—because that’s exactly how she intended her to be.
While appearing on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast, the Abbott Elementary star and creator spoke candidly about how challenging it can be to hear critiques about the show, especially regarding her own character.
I’ll be real with you, She’s a Black character. Black audiences have so few representative characters on screen, and Black womanhood alone is so touchy. So when a lot of women were seeing Janine not present as they wanted her to, that became tough — and I understand it.
Brunson beganAdvertisement
But I think it’s important for us to have characters who are more realistic than they are the absolute best representation of us. I think it creates layers for us, not only on TV but in the public eye.
She added,
Now in its fourth season, Abbott Elementary has earned multiple awards and built a loyal following. However, Quinta Brunson shared that when she first created Janine’s character, she “wasn’t really thinking about representation” — though over time, “she became representation” all the same.
Amy Poehler, who led Parks and Recreation for seven seasons, also shared her thoughts, noting that audiences often take issue with flawed characters in comedies.
The interesting struggle about playing comedic characters is [that] you want them to be flawed and have stuff to learn, the minute people — either yourself or other people — start to get in your head about what they should be representing.
said Poehler, recognizing how challenging it becomes
Poehler also shared her perspective, saying, “I think Janine was one of the most exciting things about that show [because] you could see, ‘Oh, we’re really gonna go on this ride with her.'”
It’s hard to get people on the ride because they don’t know they’re on the ride. Abbott really started where I was like, ‘This is going to be a ride. This is going to go for seasons, I want to tell stories here.’ We gotta start somewhere.
Brunson agreed, explaining,
Over the course of four seasons, Janine has grown a lot — from exploring different career paths and updating her style to making bold moves in her love life. Still, not every viewer has embraced the direction Brunson has taken, and she’s very aware of that.
The Abbott Elementary star pointed out that because of social media, fans now feel a stronger connection to the creators of their favorite shows — which often leads to them feeling more at ease when voicing their opinions in person.
I have had people come up to me on the streets and go, ‘I don’t like what you’re doing with Gregory’s character,’ What?! It’s insane!
Brunson explained that the same fan had previously messaged her on Instagram with the same complaint — and made sure to follow up in person.
She really came to me, in a club, mind you, very much like, ‘Oh, I’m so glad I’m seeing you. I sent you an Instagram message, I like how you pretended you didn’t see it, but now that I got you in person: I don’t like what you’re doing.’
Recalling the moment, Brunson said,
You can catch the full chat between Poehler and Brunson on the latest episode of Good Hang.