SCHOOL’S OUT
Tyler James Williams breaks down the ‘Abbott Elementary’ Season 3 finale.
AFTER another ambitious, star-studded, hilarious season that took educators and viewers alike out of school more than ever before, “Abbott Elementary” slid (literally) into its Season 3 finale with Janine (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory’s (Tyler James Williams) relationship in a complicated place. In Season 3, Episode 14, aptly titled “Party,” however, fans who’ve been shipping the co-workers together for years have serious cause for celebration.
The phenomenal finale finds Janine throwing a party for friends and colleagues in honor of the last day of school. To kick off summer, she meticulously plans the event to ensure each individual guest has a blast, but when the fun dies down and all her guests leave, she realizes it’s time to pursue her own happiness. She heads to the door in hopes of catching up to Gregory and admitting she wants to be with him. To her surprise, he is already standing in her doorway under her formerly flickering broken light. After uttering four super sexy words (“I fixed your light”), he shoots the camera a palpable “scram!” glance, and sweeps Janine in his arms for a passionate kiss.
“We talked about that one scene for it feels like two weeks. And I’m happy it came together so well,” Williams told DECIDER via Zoom ahead of the big episode. “I could tell [Quinta] was very concerned about landing this the right way — not only in how we shot it and how it was written, but how she performed it… The stakes were very high for her, I could tell, with this scene. And I think, once again, she executed it perfectly.” In honor of “Abbott Elementary”‘s Season 3 finale, Williams
shed some light on Janine and Gregory’s big kiss, how the season was altered as a result of the 2023 WGA and SAGAFTRA strikes, what to expect in Season 4, and more.
DECIDER: We obviously have to start at the end. Janine and Gregory finally take the leap and share an incredibly romantic kiss. It’s been such a long journey for them. What were your thoughts when you first read that scene in the script? Did it feel right to you?
TYLER JAMES WILLIAMS:
Yeah, it felt super right. So we had always been talking about that — we were getting to the moment at the end of Season 3 where we would be making the feelings concrete and mutual. We knew just how were we going to get there, and I think the strike is what made that difficult, because we didn’t know how many episodes we would have and what we would be able to really work with. But the way it was executed — from the line about the light at the door to how much of it played with no dialogue [and] how many looks to camera we chose — that was one of the times when we really picked out those looks. We talked about that one scene for it feels like two weeks, and I’m happy it came together so well.
Do you think Janine and Gregory are in the clear, or will they encounter challenges back at school?
Oh, there’s definitely going to be challenges. Even without revealing stuff going into Season 4, we just look at the landscape. We now have to reveal it to the rest of the school, or maybe not, or maybe keep it a secret.
Fans have loved watching Gregory and Janine’s relationship over the years in large part because you and Quinta have such a natural, but electric chemistry. What’s your favorite thing about working so closely with her?
One of the things I love most about working with Quinta is we have this same burning desire to do it right. What’s the right way to do this? What’s the answer? How do we check all ego at the door and come into this the right way? But I think that’s required. I think the anxiety about making it right and caring that deeply about this and giving your audience the moment that they deserve is the frequency that we meet on.
Looking back at Season 3, “Abbott” really stepped up the guest star game. What was your biggest jaw-dropping talent moment this season?
Oh, it was Bradley Cooper. For sure. Like, what? [Laughs] I didn’t think we’d be able to pull that one off.
Before we go, what can you tease for us about Season 4?
The show doesn’t stop here. If anything, it feels like it just got started.
This interview was edited for length; to read the full interview, please visit decider.com/abbott.
Nicole Gallucci is a Sr. Reporter for DECIDER.