“Abbott Elementary” is headed outside the classroom once again in Season 5, this time to a Phillies game, which star Chris Perfetti jokes the team rigged for the Philadelphia team to win.
“It was a blast,” Perfetti told TheWrap at ABC’s summer soirée, adding it was a “historic” game as the Phillies iced out the Atlanta Braves 19-4. “The Phillies won. We rigged the game.”
The experience was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Perfetti, as well as much of the TV industry, with Perfetti noting that creator Quinta Brunson telling him filming a live sporting event for a TV series has only been done once before. “It was thrilling,” he said. “Only a show that’s operating on the level that we’re at can do something ambitious like that.”
“Our crew, most of whom have been with us since the pilot, they can predict [our movements] — the camera operators know when I’m going to look to them even before I know,” Perfetti said. “They’re just such incredible storytellers and masters of visual language that we can take a big swing and shoot a five-day episodes in two and a half.”
The Phillies game won’t be the only excursion for the teachers of “Abbott Elementary” this season, with Perfetti teasing “we’re leaving the school way more than we have before [and] we have amazing guest stars right from the jump.”
“It’s outgrown my expectations every year, every day, truly,” he continued. “I’ve gotten in the habit now of asking Quinta if there’s anything I need to know – and the surprises are big. Every season has expanded upon and continues to impress. We keep trying to push the envelope and this year is definitely going to do that.”
Similar to how last season centered on gentrification as Abbott grappled with a local golf course, Perfetti applauded “Abbott” for being in “constant dialogue with the world — not just what the audience needs, but what we need and what the world needs.”
Even with tackling these important themes, Perfetti also sung Brunson’s praises for crafting a comedy that brings joy into the world, and even changed his own views on what types of projects he wants to be pursue. “It’s rewatchable because people want to see certain moments happen again and people want to feel good, especially nowadays people need joy,” he said. “I’m just so happy to be part of something like this. When I left drama school, I was like ‘I want to do Shakespeare and Chekov and I want to suffer,’ but I’m so happy to be part of something that provides joy and comfort.”
“Abbott Elementary” Season 5 premieres Wednesday, Oct. 1 on ABC.
