Over its three seasons, “Abbott Elementary” has won four Emmy Awards and garnered 20 nominations, with nine of the nominations coming from the upcoming 2024 ceremony on Sept. 15. According to series star Chris Perfetti, much of the ABC sitcom’s success is due to the “very specific and very real” cast of characters developed by “Abbott Elementary” creator, actress and writer Quinta Brunson.

"The mockumentary lets us rest on investing in the real lives of these people. I think if [the characters] were more of a caricature, it just wouldn't be sustainable," Perfetti said. "I felt like Quinta was writing jokes for himself, and that's a quality that I really like. It felt so real and so smart, and so Quinta did a lot of the legwork there."

During an Emmy FYC event Friday night at the Paramount Theater in Los Angeles, the cast and crew of “Abbott Elementary,” including Tyler James Williams, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, William Stanford Davis, Patrick Schumacker, Justin Halpem, Randall Einhorn and Brunson and Perfetti, sat down with Clayton Davis, senior awards editor for Variety, to discuss all of their successes leading up to the show’s highly anticipated fourth season.

“Abbott Elementary” follows a group of dedicated teachers at a cash-strapped Philadelphia public school who exceed expectations to help their students succeed.