The cast of Abbott Elementary has been working hard at Willard R. Abbott Elementary, but no one more than second-grade teacher Janine Teagues.
The main cast has remained mostly the same since the comedy’s inception.
Quinta Brunson stepped in a different light as we saw her work in her new role as a temporary fellowship in the school district.
This gave Season 3 a little twist, following her trying to adjust to bureaucracy and her co-workers’ happenings.
The cast brings mightier humor to our TV screens each new season.
Meet Abbott Elementary Season 4 cast and characters:
Quinta Brunson (Janine Teagues)
Janine Teagues is the main character of Abbott Elementary and a second-grade teacher. She always remains optimistic despite the school’s underfunding and lack of essentials.
In season 3, she was offered a temporary fellowship at the school district.
Her mission is to help the lives of her students, and her cheeriness can sometimes get on her co-worker’s nerves.
Quinta Brunson is best known for creating, executive producing, co-writing, and starring in ABC’s Abbott Elementary.
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She was the daughter of a school teacher, and her mom’s real-world teacher struggles inspired the show.
At the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, she became the first Black woman nominated three times in the comedy category. For the hit pilot episode, she won Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.
In 2024, she was nominated for three Emmys in the comedy sector and won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
Brunson has also been nominated for and has won many other awards for the show.
She was on the Time 100 Most Influential People of 2022 list.
Brunson has also acted in iZombie, Single Parents, and Miracle Workers and starred in the first season of the HBO series A Black Lady Sketch Show.
Tyler James Williams (Gregory Eddie)
Greg was initially hired as a substitute first-grade teacher despite interviewing for the principal position, which was his original goal.
He eventually becomes a full-time first-grade teacher.
Although he is considered to be more serious than his co-workers, he has a great sense of humor.
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He is also pretty nonconfrontational and initially fosters a secret crush on Janine.
Williams is widely known for his role as Chris Rock on Everybody Hates Chris.
He has also been on The Walking Dead and starred in the Disney movie Let It Shine.
For his role as Greg, he was twice nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
He won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor- Television Series.
He also received a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performances by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
Janelle James (Ava Coleman)
Ava is the school’s aloof principal who singles out Janine due to their personality clashes.
She also constantly does things that give her staff good reasons not to respect her as a principal.
After all, she did get the job after blackmailing the superintendent.
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She focuses on her social media and her crush on Gregory more than her job.
However, as the seasons go on, she realizes she actually likes her job and starts acting accordingly.
Janelle is best known for her role as Ava, for which she has won a Screen Actors Guild Award and NCAAP Image Award.
She has also been nominated for two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.
She wrote for and acted on the Showtime comedy Black Monday. She has also been in Crashing, Corporate, and Central Park.
She has a comedy album called Black and Mild and has hosted podcasts, including Strong Black Laughs and You in Danger, Gurl.
Lisa Ann Walter (Melissa Schemmenti)
Melissa is a second-grade teacher at Abbott and is close to veteran teacher Barbara.
She comes from a large Italian-American family and hints at having questionable connections to municipal government agencies and crime.
Melissa also has a sister with whom she has a rivalry because of family issues and works at a competing school.
Lisa Ann Walter is known for her role as Chessy, the housekeeper, in The Parent Trap, and Melissa.
She won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy for Abbott Elementary.
She was the creator and executive producer of the Oxygen reality show, Dance Your Ass Off.
She has also been a judge on The Next Best Thing: Who Is The Greatest Celebrity Impersonator?
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Walter created and starred in Life’s Work and appeared in Bruce Almighty, Shall We Dance, and War of the Worlds.
Chris Perfetti (Jacob Hill)
Jacob Hill, a 6th-grade history teacher, backs Janine in her calling to help students.
He is the awkward one who is also occasionally the negative one as well.
He was also once part of the “Story Samurai,” which tells entertaining stories from school to school.
Chris Perfetti was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for his role as Jacob Hill.
He was also Tim Fletch on Crossbones, Brady on the HBO series Looking, and Ben on In the Dark.
Sheryl Lee Ralph (Barbara Howard)
Barbara is an old-school veteran kindergarten teacher who is idolized by Janine and was inspired by Brunson’s mom.
She is also vocal regarding her religion and sings in a choir.
Her daughter, who visits and we learn has not impressed her mother with her career choices, starts dating Gregory.
She then eventually has to break up the two.
Barbara is known for bribing Delisha Sloss, a school board member, into giving the school a loan.
As a highly respectable teacher, she receives some disappointing news when a former student comes to visit Abbott.
Sheryl Lee Ralph not only acts on screen but on stage, too.
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She is praised for her role as Deema Jones in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, which landed her a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical nomination.
She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Barbara.
She was the first Black woman in 35 years to win the award.
For her role as Barbara, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series.
As well as an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
Her debut was in the comedy film A Piece of the Action in 1977.
In 1990, she was in To Sleep with Anger, for which she won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female.
She has also been in The Mighty Quinn, Mistress, The Distinguished Gentleman, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, and The Comeback Trail.
William Stanford Davis (Mr. Johnson)
Mr. Johnson is the school’s custodian, but he is much more than that.
He is a little quirky but hilarious, lovable, and gifted.
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He didn’t become a show regular until Season 2, but now we are graced to learn about all his conspiracy theories.
A brilliant on-screen moment for Mr. Johnson was convincing Jacob that a ghost lives in the school’s basement.
For his role as Mr. Johnson, William Stanford Davis won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
He was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Previously, he was in the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.
Davis was Potato Pie on the Showtime Golden Globe-winning series Ray Donovan and Coach Max in Swagger.
Abbott Elementary Season 3 just ended, so an air date for Season 4 is unknown.
The great news is that there will definitely be a Season 4, and the cast is guaranteed to have audiences laughing.
We want to know your favorite Abbott Elementary characters in the comments below!
Eve Pierpont is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. You can follow her on X.
