‘Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson Has Explained Why Season 3’s Premiere Needed A Time Jump

Abbott Elementary Season 3 premiered on Wednesday evening, but fans of the hit ABC sitcom were hit with an unusual circumstance: The show picked up five months into the school year, which has not been the cast for previous seasons. Fortunately, creator and star Quinta Brunson stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! that same night to explain why Season 3 had to make some changes to its timeline.

“Abbott is a show where we try to go by the school calendar,” Brunson told Kimmel via The Hollywood Reporter. “We start in September, along with teachers, and we like to stick with that calendar. This year, we had to make some adjustments so we got creative, so to say why we’re starting in February instead of September.”

This season will also have a shorter number of episodes, which Brunson doesn’t mind.

“I’m not mad at it right now,” she quipped to Kimmel. “Twenty two was a lot.. but it’s fun! Everybody has fun, right But you know, 14 has been great.”

As for the reason behind the time jump and the shortened season, that would be the dual writers and actors strikes that delayed projects all across Hollywood. Brunson supported both efforts, but was happy to get back to work on Season 3 once the strikes were resolved.

Back in October 2013, she told Deadline that it was “inspiring” to “build something that was both grounded, and for this premiere, splashy enough to bring people back at the same time.”