Ain’t no sports fan like a Philly sports fan — and Abbott Elementary is looking to highlight that.
The Abbott Elementary cast took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday to reminisce about season 4 episode “Karaoke” and look ahead to season 5, coming to ABC in October. When asked about potential guest stars for the new season, creator and star Quinta Brunson didn’t name names — but she did hint at an exciting development celebrating Abbott’s hometown.
“You can expect us to be filming at a live event,” she teased. “You can do with that information what you will because I can’t give you more information.”
“But I do think that Philly sports fans will be very happy,” Brunson added, before amending, “Sports fans in general.”
Janelle James, who plays Principal Ava Coleman on the series, jokingly told the crowd that the scene would be at “Little League Soccer.”
Abbott Elementary is no stranger to Philadelphia sports tie-ins. Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty guest-starred in the season 2 premiere, while Philadelphia Eagles players Jalen Hurts, Jason Kelce, and Brandon Graham guest-starred on the season 3 premiere as part of Abbott’s career day.
Will the Eagles return to the show, or might it be time for the Phillies or the Sixers to get a moment in the spotlight on the series that has nothing but love for its hometown heroes?
Abbott has a history of teasing exciting developments for the show at Comic-Con. Last year, Brunson announced that an epic crossover would be part of season 4. That turned out to be with FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and while the ABC series aired their episode back in January, the FX show only debuted their own episode with the Abbott Elementary cast this summer.
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Brunson recently sent the internet into a spiral when she noted that members of her cast will eventually want to move on to other projects. “We are so fortunate and blessed to be on a network TV show for five seasons, and for people to still be fans,” Brunson told Bustle in an interview. “That being said, I have cast members who would love to pursue other projects, and our show is very time-consuming. We shoot about seven months out of the year. That can stop people from being able to do a lot of other things.”
But Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich addressed those remarks while celebrating the show’s six 2025 Emmy nominations. “I think those comments were misconstrued,” he told Deadline. “She remains incredibly dedicated to the show. And I think you can tell that from just watching the episodes.”
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