Quinta Brunson of ‘Abbott Elementary’ turns down requests for school shooting episode

Quinta Brunson, the creator and star of ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” said she will not be writing a school shooting episode of her beloved comedy series, despite many people requesting one.

She said on Twitter on Wednesday, May 25, it is “wild” how many requests she has received for a school shooting episode of the mockumentary series. Her tweet came one day after 19 children and two adults were killed when an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

“People are that deeply removed from demanding more from the politicians they’ve elected and are instead demanding ‘entertainment,’” Brunson said. “I can’t ask ‘are yall ok’ anymore because the answer is ‘no.’”

“Abbott Elementary” debuted in January and has been picked up for a second season. It has been praised for its portrayal of life in an underfunded school system, but Brunson intends to keep the series light-hearted.

“I don’t want to sound mean, but I want people to understand the flaw in asking for something like this,” Brunson added. “We’re not okay. This country is rotting our brains. I’m sad about it.”

Brunson rose to fame through “Abbott Elementary” and was recently named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2022 list.

School shootings has previously been depicted in TV series, including “American Horror Story,” “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” “Law and Order” and “One Tree Hill,” among others. But it’s rare for a half-hour comedy series to involve a school shooting in a story line.

Earlier this week, the CBS series “FBI” announced it was pulling its season finale, which dealt with a student’s suspected involvement in a fatal robbery.

This story was originally published May 26, 2022 at 5:31 AM with the headline "Quinta Brunson of ‘Abbott Elementary’ turns down requests for school shooting episode."