Now starring as Melissa Schemmenti in ABC’s #1 show, the Emmy-nominated "Abbott Elementary", Actress, Creator/Producer/Writer Lisa Ann Walter joins Bill Tafrow of Jenn & Bill to chat about the 9-time Emmy nominated sitcom, her South Philly accent, and much more.
Listen to Lisa Ann Walter's exclusive B101 Philly Interview with Bill Tafrow below.
The Philadelphia-based television series stars Walter as one of the show's lead roles as a teacher. The series is nominated for 9 Emmys this year, including outstanding comedy series. "Whenever I get a compliment, I always say 'thank you on behalf of Quinta,' because she's obviously the reason that the show exists, and she's the brainchild behind all of the story, and the wonderful star of the show," Walter shares. "[she] really created this homage to teachers and to the city of Philadelphia."
In the series, Walter's character is notorious for her South Philly accent. To many, it's so believable that many think Walter is actually from the City of Brotherly love, even though she's from Maryland.
"That makes me so happy because it means I'm doing my job as an actor, but it also means that they've embraced me - that the people from the community have said, 'Yeah, we accept you as one of our own,' and that means a lot to me." In order to nail the accent, Walter studied none other than Philly local Bradley Cooper in addition to general South Philly accent research.
"We have a lot of teachers that listen to B101," says Bill Tafrow. "and you're a champion as a second grade teacher, I know you play one, obviously you have so much respect for what they do. You can see it on the show, you can feel it." Lisa Ann goes on to share that her feelings of admiration come from her mother who was a teacher in real life.
"My mother was a Sicilian lady. she taught in D.C. in an urban environment as well. She was incredibly dedicated, loved her kids, fought for them, was tough, she really expected a lot. She was also just a great lady and very smart. Culturally, it was weird she went to college [...] She was a first generation that grew up in Littlie Italy in New York and then in Brooklyn, and they didn't do that. She paid for her own college education. She was the one that taught me all the trivia, she was the reason I won Celebrity Jeopardy!, because she knew a lot of stuff about stuff."
"The cool thing too about Abbott Elementary, I was just saying this to a coworker," Bill goes on to say. "I love zombie shows, I like superhero shows, I like dragons and all that, but it's nice to have something feel-good and funny on the air, cause there's not enough of it these days, don't you think?" Lisa Ann agrees.
It's not an easy feat to do a show where all generations can watch it and it's still funny [...] I think this is a very rare beast Abbott, because grownups can really get gut laughs, belly laughs out of the show. It's unexpected. I think the performances are unexpected. I'm bragging, not about myself, but my castmates. I think everybody is so good at what they do. It's a stacked cast, and our energy, our chemistry with each other is unmatched I think on any other show, and that's me bragging, but not about me, about the show. The writing is impeccable. People can watch it with their kids! It's nothing to be embarrassed about. So, I think that Quinta's favorite thing is when people say 'our family watches together' cause that's why she made it.
Lisa Ann Walter is performing at Helium Comedy Club in Philadelphia this weekend. Click HERE to find out more and purchase tickets.
FOLLOW PHILLY'S B101
X | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TIKTOK
LISTEN to B101 on Audacy
SUBSCRIBE to become a B101 Insider