‘Abbott Elementary’ writer Joya McCrory on why the show is so hilariously relevant

When Joya McCrory earned a coveted spot in the Warner Bros. Television Writers Fellowship program, she had no idea it would lead to one of the biggest opportunities of her career: a chance to interview for a position with Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson.

The fellowship would ultimately open the door for McCrory to join the hit TV sitcom’s writers’ room, where she now uses her love of pop culture and movie references to help craft the sharp humor and heartfelt stories that have made the series a cultural phenomenon.

It was a long and winding journey for McCrory to break into television. She always knew she wanted to write, so she moved to Los Angeles from Detroit not knowing a single person in the television industry. Her path included years of storytelling as a journalist and nearly a decade working in human resources before finally landing her breakthrough as a staff writer on a major network series.

McCrory acknowledged that breaking into the industry has become increasingly difficult, especially with the effects of the writers’ strikes, shifting technology, and a shrinking job market, but has learned several lessons along the way. 

“Learning to network in a way that is productive, meeting people really just takes time,” McCrory said. “I think I used to be very precious with my writing, and it wasn’t until I started to share with people and entering contests and [landing] these fellowships where I actually started to go somewhere. So if you want to be a writer, you do have to share your work with people. So people can know that you are a good writer.”

Since joining Abbott Elementary, McCrory has made her mark as a key voice in the writers’ room, penning several standout episodes across the show’s five seasons. Her writing credits include fan-favorite episodes such as “Step Class,” “Egg Drop,” “Mural Arts,” “Rally,” and “2 Ava 2 Fest.” This season, McCrory debuted a new episode she pinned last week titled “No Phones.” 

McCrory is an avid researcher and the creative force behind Abbott Elementary’s character bible, a book ensuring each character’s backstory, personality, and voice stay consistent and authentic throughout the series.

Recently, Andscape spoke with McCrory about working on Abbott Elementary, her comedic writing process, and what to expect from the rest of this season.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Describe the collaboration process in the writers’ room when creating episodes for Abbott?

It’s a lot of us in the room, and it’s kind of like one big group project in a way. So we all contribute to episodes. We all write jokes within an episode, because we write the outlines together. So, like, each scene one person in the room writes, and then you get to be the one that assembles it all and gets to put your name on the final project.

But every episode has jokes from everyone in the room, so sometimes if you have a joke that you really love, you will fight for it. I’m a person who’s very adamant that sometimes the joke doesn’t have to be for everyone. I love a joke that five people in America are gonna laugh at. Very rarely do I get to include those, but when I do I love it.

Are there any particular shows that you enjoyed in the past that helped you find that creative voice for Abbott?

I wasn’t allowed to watch The Simpsons, but my older brother would watch it, so I would sneak and watch it with him. A lot of Sister, Sister, home movies growing up and then Living Single, Recess. So my comedy pulls from all over the place, but I think those early Black comedies. Quinta, right now, is obsessed with The Steve Harvey Show, so I recently started re-watching that, and it is super funny. She talks about it every day. So I have come to really appreciate those shows that we had growing up and you really take for granted.

What are some of your favorite jokes you have written that made it into the show?

I think one that’s memorable, me, writer Ava Coleman and another writer, Brian Rubenstein, came up with together. [It’s] about Sisqo [of Dru Hill] doing like 36 backflips at a concert, and it’s so weird and specific. I don’t know what the exact quote was, but something about that. Last week’s episode with the character Erica commenting, “What, a b—- can’t like art?” I love that. I don’t know where that came from, but I love a very hyper-specific cultural joke.

I think it’s been great being able to show up to work as my full self. We do have a really diverse room, so [we’re] learning from other cultures, and they learn from us. Like, no one fights us on making Sisqo jokes. Other people [might] be like, “Well, do people know Sisqo?” Like, yeah, they do. Our audience will know what we’re talking about.

What’s your favorite episode that you’ve written, and describe the emotion of seeing the episode air on television?

“Step Class.” That’s still my favorite episode that I have written. I think people really enjoyed it. It’s such a fun episode.

I think getting to be on set at first is so intimidating, but it’s just a learning moment. I always say this is a dream job. But seeing that come to life, I’m just like, wow, I’m really doing the thing it took 10 years. I think that’s probably the thing I’m proudest of, and how it all came together.

What are some elements of your comedic humor that you kind of incorporate into the show?

I love a pop culture joke. I love a movie reference. People don’t believe it, but I’m more of the story girl in the room, too. So I’m not a joke-first person. I’m a story person. But like with the “Ballgame” baseball episode I came up with [this season]. They’re like, O’Shon should take the picture of the selfie to send to the stadium to project on the broadcast screen, or like these little moments. I’m sentimental. I like to come up with those.

What does it mean to be a part of a show that resonates heavily within Black culture?

I don’t even know if that’s fully hit me yet. I love it when I hear that it’s people’s comfort show. And I think of the shows that have inspired me to be here today and the fact that Abbott will one day inspire other people to write. I don’t think I ever envisioned that I would be a part of that. I’m so grateful that I have the opportunity, and that Quinta gave me this opportunity to be able to contribute to our culture. I think I hope that whatever people take from this, they can just run, run even further, and like I hope there’s so many more Abbotts spawned from what we created, because our culture deserves to be seen on the screen.

What can we expect this season on Abbott?

If you’ve been tuned in for the previous seasons, I think you know these characters now. I think we’re just having a good time with them. There’s going to be some surprising twists and turns at Abbott, and we’ll see how these characters deal with setbacks. But in the meantime, though, they’re going to have a lot of fun. You can always count on having a good time with the Abbott gang no matter where they are.

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