‘Abbott Elementary’: Quinta Brunson and ABC Hit With Copyright Suit

Quinta Brunson is having the year of her life. After scoring six Emmy nominations for breakout ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary and making history as the first Black woman to nab three Nominations, the Philadelphia native is prepping the show’s second season. Brunson has been open about how her mother’s work as a teacher in the Philly public school system is the inspiration for the show, but a copyright infringement lawsuit says otherwise. AV Club reports another writer says Brunson stole from her work.

Christine Davis sued Brunson and the network, claiming that Abbott Elementary was copied from a script she wrote in 2018 entitled Our School Year. Davis’ script is about an underfunded public school that invites in a documentary crew to film, with an optimistic teacher (Brunson’s character) trying to push for reform. She says she showed her script (which she filed a copyright for in early 2020) to producers Cherisse Parks and Shavon Sullivan Wright. Neither have any connection to Abbott Elementary. Davis claims the producers told her they’d show the script to Hulu (which, like ABC, is primarily owned by Disney). A few months after Davis’ meeting with the producers, the suit claims ABC began filming on Abbott, with Brunson as both star and series creator.

The suit notes how the show’s mockumentary style and several of its characters are strikingly similar to her script. Brunson nor ABC have commented on Davis’ suit publicly. Davis demands that “Brunson and ABC turn over all profits they made from the show.”

Davis’ Emmy nominations are for a comedy series, being the lead actress in a comedy series, and writing for a comedy series. At just 32, she is the youngest Black woman ever to be nominated in the comedy category. 

Her nomination is on the heels of Insecure creator Issa Rae and Black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross making history in 2020 as the first two Black women to be nominated for their comedy series as producers and lead actresses. Rae also received a nomination this year.