As a fan of Abbott Elementary, I can’t help but feel a sense of admiration for Lisa Ann Walter, who plays the character Sheryl Nunez. Her portrayal of a dedicated and passionate teacher is nothing short of inspiring. It’s clear that her real-life experience as an educator in Philadelphia has greatly influenced her performance.
[This story contains spoilers from Abbott Elementary‘s Dec. 4 episode, “Winter Break.]
Although Bette Midler had proposed playing Melissa Schemmenti’s (Lisa Ann Walter) mother on Abbott Elementary earlier this year, the role of the Italian matriarch in the ABC sitcom has instead been taken by Talia Shire, who is well-known for her roles in films like The Godfather and Rocky.
Walters expressed his excitement,” stated to The Hollywood Reporter, about collaborating with Shire on the second of the two half-hour holiday specials that were aired one after another on Wednesday evening.
In episode eight titled “Winter Break,” Melissa welcomes her big Sicilian family for Christmas Eve festivities, together with Jacob (Chris Perfetti) and his sibling Caleb (Tyler Perez), who unexpectedly arrives early and joins the scene in the previous episode “Winter Show.” There’s a moment of panic when Jacob shares that Melissa’s troubled uncle Archie isn’t merely napping upstairs, but has passed away. Despite this distressing news, Melissa decides to continue with the dinner, reasoning that her family, who are already grumbling about her being single and demanding food, would never let her forget a flawed gathering.
During the filming of the scene, Walter had some personal preferences. She was permitted to oversee the preparation aspects since, when handling numerous props and emotions, it’s crucial for everything to seem authentic, as if one were truly preparing the food in real life, which she articulated.
Walter discusses with THR his collaboration with Shire, the unusual response she exhibited when informed about her potential role, their plans to spend Christmas together with the rest of the cast, and his thoughts on the postponed surge in viewership for season four’s premiere, which has now amassed 9 million viewers.
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When did you find out that Talia Shire would be playing your mom?
There’s been a lot of talk about it due to the Bette Midler situation. When things fell through due to scheduling conflicts, they mentioned discussing several potential candidates, and Talia Shire was one of them. Hearing this made tears well up in my eyes. Isn’t that strange? Quinta Brunson said, “We’re considering Talia Shire,” and I couldn’t help but shed tears. I exclaimed, “I don’t understand why I did that. I feel foolish. But she’s a queen,” and Quinta simply responded, “She truly is.
Growing up, we’d watch “The Wizard of Oz” on Thanksgiving. As we grew older, our family switched to watching “The Godfather.” When my mom was still alive, we’d watch “A Christmas Story” for 24 hours straight at Christmas, just like how some Philly people might associate with “Rocky.” But for us, it was always “The Godfather,” appreciating the transformation of its actress from a meek young woman to a powerful figure in her career, and finding her growth over the years captivating. She was also delightful to work with.
Had you met her before?
In a different setting, when I spotted her at the studio, she was engulfed by our costume and makeup team. Without hesitation, I approached her, and she greeted me affectionately, “My child, my girl!” From that moment onwards, throughout our collaboration, she persistently questioned me about a certain firefighter. “What’s the matter with the firefighter?” was a frequent query. It felt like discussing family matters during Thanksgiving dinner. I would often respond, “Oh my goodness, it’s just like having family gatherings. He’s fine, mom. He’s fine.
Did she say anything about what made her say yes to guest starring as your mom?
Indeed, I wish I had asked her myself, but alas, I did not. You see, unlike a journalist, I tend to act impulsively and didn’t consider asking her questions. However, if I were you, I would have been clever enough to do so, as you can imagine (laughs). Now, the show we worked on together is quite famous, and she has grandchildren. During our downtime, we often found ourselves deep in conversation about our families. And here I am, being as forgetful as ever. It’s astonishing how unaware I usually am of connections between people or their famous relatives.
Initially, we were engaged in conversation when she inquired about the TV show, “Isn’t it true that Melissa has eleven brothers and sisters?” To which I responded by asking, “Do you have any siblings yourself?” I must confess, I momentarily forgot that she is related to filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and academic August Coppola. Oh, how mortifying! Thankfully, she was very understanding about it. Instead of pointing out her famous relatives, she expressed pride in her family’s artistic heritage, saying, “We are a family of artists.” I found this remark incredibly beautiful and heartwarming, as it reflected the strong support and involvement of her entire family in the arts. Remarkably, I wasn’t aware that her parents were also part of the artistic world, which added another layer to their family’s rich artistic history.
I was talking about my father, who was a beautiful singer. He was training at Carnegie Hall when he was young. But he was also at the Bronx High School of Science because he was first generation and he wasn’t Mario Lanza. My father’s family was from France, and they were like, “You are going to be a physicist.” So that’s what he did. So we shared about our family. She is just warm and darling, but she has a real steel to her. I thought it was a great casting choice. As were every member of the Schemmenti family. I told Quinta afterward, “Man, you really know what you’re doing” — turns out, she knows what she’s doing (laughs). I said, “Everybody was good. Everybody fit in and was funny. It’s a really good mix.”
Was the dinner scene absolutely entertaining with all its chaos, making me eagerly anticipate getting to know more about each member of Melissa’s family in future episodes. How did you find the experience while filming it?
Absolutely on the same page with you! I’m eagerly anticipating more of the series too. The actor portraying Jacob’s brother is simply charming, so full of life and originality. At one point, he playfully commented, being a bit flirtatious, “Why can’t Melissa date someone younger?” To which I replied, “Well, Lisa, in reality, that didn’t happen and no.” I added, “You don’t have to put yourself out there like that.” But it was quite entertaining!
To begin with, my genuine family photos adorn the walls of that particular set. Consequently, I was showing people around, including Talia, pointing out and saying, “This is my mom, here are the grandparents from Sicily, these are the ones from Calabria, this is our Brooklyn kitchen.” It felt akin to hosting a Christmas dinner at my home since, in truth, I was the one doing the cooking. They had an excellent food stylist who was dedicated to ensuring I was satisfied with what I was serving, which I truly valued as someone who enjoys feeding others. There seemed to be some type of sauce on the table and I questioned, “Why do I have white sauce here?” To which they replied, “You need to differentiate.” So, I agreed, “Alright, okay…” Everything tasted great; I sampled everything. They asked me what I wanted to serve, so I requested cannolis from a specific place, and they managed to procure them. The cannolis were simply breathtaking, causing quite the commotion among the guests at the end of the day.
Did you invite Chris Perfetti for the holiday season last year? Are you planning to do so this Christmas as well?
I do have Christmas arrangements set. Everyone is expected to join us. It’s likely that Stan [William Stanford Davis] and his wife will be here for our Christmas dinner, and I invited Chris as well. He mentioned he might come with his boyfriend if they are in town, but I suspect they’ll also visit the boyfriend’s family who reside in Orange County. I made sure everyone had plans for Thanksgiving since I was busy with their parade in Philly, but everything worked out fine. Quinta and Sheryl [Lee Ralph] were there around the same time, but unfortunately, we couldn’t meet due to our schedules being fully booked.
Are you excited for the forthcoming It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia crossover? I’d love to share some insights about collaborating with that talented cast and the moment I learned it was going to take place.
I believe I can express our shared sentiments when I say we were all thrilled beyond words. As avid enthusiasts of the series, I’ve been captivated by it for quite some time now, ever since its inception. To me, the idea behind it was nothing short of ingenious. My hats off to Quinta and Rob [McElhenney] for bringing this vision to life. Working with them has been an absolute pleasure, as they are not only incredibly gifted actors but also improv artists. What’s more, they’re genuinely kind individuals. They’re kind-hearted. This project, besides being a significant artistic achievement for everyone involved – I sense that they were content with it too, although I can’t speak for them personally – was also an enjoyable experience because they approach their work playfully and maintain a passion for what they do. Despite the years they’ve invested in this project, they don’t appear to be weary or burnt out. Instead, they continue to innovate, making it a delightful experience. I have no doubt that many will find joy in it.
What are your thoughts on the impressive viewership figures Abbott is still garnering four seasons into the show? Is it something you’ve been noticing as well?
I find the statistical analysis of viewership figures intriguing for several reasons. For one, numbers like the “35-plus days” figure are astonishing, almost quadrupling night-of ratings, which is impressive. It seems that many viewers prefer to stockpile shows and wait until an entire season is complete before diving in. I’ve encountered people who express this desire, saying they don’t want to watch any of it until the whole season’s done. They’ve been conditioned to binge-watch. Unfortunately, because our show airs later in the evening, families with young children usually won’t be able to watch it on the night of broadcast as their kids are already asleep by then.
Often, viewers tend to wait for specific periods such as weekends or when multiple episodes are scheduled together. In November, for instance, we only have two episodes, so they usually wait until the end of the year. This pattern isn’t unexpected considering the build-up of episodes throughout the month. It’s also been suggested that our overnight numbers could potentially increase if we aired a bit earlier. I recently read about this possibility regarding better night-of viewership in a different time slot. However, as long as people are watching and appreciating it, more episodes per season sounds great to me. I enjoy working with my talented team members, much like the Always Sunny crew, and they’re pleasant individuals. I find joy in my work.
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Abbott Elementary starts its fourth season on Wednesday, January 8th, shifting to a 8:30 PM timeslot. You can catch up on the episodes the following day by streaming them on Hulu.
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2024-12-05 06:25