Quinta Brunson wants to make a sitcom about the TSA
The Abbott Elementary creator revealed that she has a couple more tricks up her sleeve on a recent episode of Hot Ones
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Quinta Brunson can make anything funny. She continues to deliver joke after joke on season three of the excellent Abbott Elementary, but at some point, she knows she’ll have to graduate and move on. “Both I and Larry Wilmore have been trying to crack a TSA comedy for the longest time,” the showrunner said on a recent episode of Hot Ones. “I think a comedy has to have an engine, and I think that in workplace comedies, you need to be able to count on an environment where there is a situation that would naturally arise each episode.” That, at least, is a big check in the TSA’s column.
This eye to the future doesn’t mean that Brunson is giving up on Abbott—far from it. The series is meticulously thought out, in everything from the former Buzzfeed star’s casting choices to the evolution of Janine’s hair. “[Janine’s hair] looks bad on purpose,” Brunson explained. “She’s a girl who doesn’t quite know what to do with her hair and wardrobe yet, but she’s proud of herself regardless. That’s what I wanted people to take away with that kind of character—not that she’s perfect or knows how to do it all.”
“Janine’s a character now who has started to watch some YouTube videos, and she was like, ‘That’s how I’ll maintain my curls.’ And then she went, ‘Maybe not that shirt with that skirt!’” Brunson continued. “That’s fun. It’s a way for us to show her brain on the outside of her head. It’s important to have those things for all characters, but especially a young, Black girl character as well.”
You can watch more of Janine’s evolution on Abbott Elementary season three, airing Wednesdays on ABC and Hulu.
6 Comments
Oh use my buddy’s story from his work trip the other week: He had 4 MTG Commander decks in his carryon, TSA went through every single card for his outgoing flight. Because of all the terrorist bombing trading cards out there?On his way back? TSA did not give a shit about the cards.
The TSA is a workplace ripe for comedy. Their remit is to make us feel like we’re safe from terrorists – but they probably all make around minimum wage and their rules are contradictory as hell. Not just from airport to airport, but sometimes terminal to terminal…
Funny, I heard Brian Baungartner was trying to put together a sitcom about baggage handlers. I’d imagine the airport as a workplace is ripe with stories but the general crappiness of the experience is hard to navigate humorously without bumming people out. TSA seems like it’d have that same potential, but with the baggage that comes with a government agency that’s literally the face of inconvenience in the name of security theater.
It’s not theater. Sure, people do get things past TSA (a massive system with that much volume is inevitably going to have that), but you would not believe how many weapons, including guns, they flag. In 2022 that was 6,500 firearms, not counting other prohibited weapons. Mind you, these workers are paid very little (much like many teachers) and get zero pay when the government shuts down (yet they must continue to work no matter what with no guarantee of make-up pay when shut downs end). Sadly, they cannot protect us from people bringing stinky food onto planes.
May I humbly propose the title: Whose Bag is This?