TikTok star Sabrina Brier graduates to ‘Abbott Elementary’
You might know her as the “Extremely Passive Aggressive Roommate” on TikTok, or as “Jessca” — there’s no “I” — from “Abbott Elementary.” However you know her, Sabrina Brier has always dreamed of making it big. The Connecticut native and Smith College alum is hot off her guest appearance on “Abbott Elementary,” the ABC mockumentary comedy series created by Quinta Brunson, where she portrayed a substitute teacher temporarily taking over Brunson’s class.
The guest spot was made possible after the SAG-AFTRA strike ended, when Brier noticed Brunson followed her on Instagram. Brier messaged Brunson to tell her how much she admired her as her “personal comedy queen,” and Brunson fired back with the idea for “Jessca” — the name taking light inspiration from one of Brier’s own characters on TikTok.
“When I saw those little elements in the script, when I read it for the first time, it was so exciting to feel that I had a part in this collaboration with Quinta and her incredible team of writers,” Brier said over Zoom. “But it was definitely exciting to feel that I had a little tiny part of creative input in what they were able to put together.”
On TikTok, Brier’s “Jessica” is typically on the receiving end of her quips in the sub-60-second videos, notably “the friend who only wants 1-on-1 time,” “when your best friend has her wedding on your birthday,” and “when you and your bestie will be debriefing later.” She says she takes inspiration for her sketches from her own life as a New York transplant..
“Ironically, of course, that really was a huge part of the beginning of my TikTok-making was recognizing that there was that cultural conversation going on on TikTok around the people who are actually from New York versus the people who invade, like myself,” Brier said.
The influencer path wasn’t one she saw for herself, she said, noting that during high school and into college, she “wasn’t an Internet-y kid.” She recalled “missing” different trends, like the “Tumblr girl” aesthetic that reached its peak in 2014.
“It really was [during] COVID that I was able to finally conquer that fear because I was not a person who put myself out on social media much at all,” she said. “I was just terrified, just really so deeply afraid of how I was being perceived.”
Brier first found her footing in the entertainment industry right out of college as an assistant to a talent manager at
Door 24 Entertainment. After that, she was an assistant in the writers’ room of “For Life,” a drama series based on the true story of Isaac Wright Jr., from mid-2020 to early 2021.
Her TikTok character work took off later that year, and Brunson was watching. It only took a few DMs before Brier found herself fitting right in with the cast on set.
“I felt such a weird sense of calm when I was there because it really felt like this full-circle moment coming back to my roots in theater and my acting training,” Brier said. “I felt so supported by the people around me, so really, truly the experience could not have been better.”
She’ll be flying to LA in early May to host two shows at the Netflix Is a Joke Festival, a comedy affair that features Ali Wong, Shane Gillis, Tom Segura, and many more.
Brier’s no stranger to live audiences; she sold out two shows at Union Hall in Brooklyn last spring. She revels in connecting with followers and feeding off of their energy.
The festival will “be different from what I did last year because I’m still growing and I’ve got different ideas, but I’m really excited for it,” she said. “I’m so excited to be able to put a show together with a lineup of incredible comedians that I get to work with, and bond with followers in person.”