Elementary

Abbott Elementary creator and star Quinta Brunson and her sitcom cast were on hand at a Philadelphia Phillies game on Thursday night to shoot a season five bottle episode during the live event.

Their presence at Citizens Bank Park was marked on the Instagram page for the Philadelphia Phillies mascot, the Phillie Phanatic. A bottle episode is usually done to save on production costs. But Brunson, who comes from west Philadelphia and plays Janine Teagues on the ABC workplace sitcom, first teased a live event filming for the series in July at San Diego Comic Con.

“You can expect us to be filming at a live event,” a coy Brunson hinted at the time, before adding, “but I do think that Philly sports fans will be very happy.” Then Thursday night, with the Phillies playing the Atlanta Braves, Brunson and her fellow West Philly Abbot Elementary teachers were on hand, in the stands and on the field for a group photo, to shoot the anticipated episode.

Brunson, a two-time Emmy winner, wore a Phillies jersey as the single-camera comedy about a small group of teachers at a chronically underfunded public school left a studio audience behind to film at the sporting event. The bottle episode shoot had the blessing of MLB Studios, Major League Baseball’s in-house studio.

“As big fans of the series, MLB Studios initiated outreach to Warner Bros. and subsequently the Phillies to get the shooting process started. Collaboration between MLB Studios, the Phillies and the show commenced to shoot a bottle episode on-location at a Phillies game, with a goal of ensuring authenticity and access to the field,” a statement from MLB Studios obtained by The Hollywood Reporter says.

Abbott Elementary, for which Brunson also serves as creator and executive producer, wrapped up its fourth season by nabbing six Emmy nominations, including best comedy and best writing for a comedy series, which Brunson won for the series’ pilot episode in 2022.