When two of comedy’s brightest stars sit down together, magic happens—and occasionally, someone jokes about farting. Such is the delightful chaos when Quinta Brunson and Jenny Slate convene for a Disney FYC conversation.
As the creator, writer, and star of “Abbott Elementary,” Brunson is the driving force behind the show’s Emmy-worthy fourth season. The mockumentary series (which has already snagged four Emmy Awards) depicts the struggles that educators like Brunson’s Janine face at an underfunded, primarily Black Philadelphia school. Its latest season tackles weighty issues, such as gentrification, book bans, and labor protests, while still maintaining its signature optimism.
Meanwhile, Slate also delivers a potent, Emmy-contending performance as Nikki—a capricious woman who supports her friend Molly (Michelle Williams) as she navigates her impending death, bondage, and the pursuit of orgasm—on the darkly comedic limited series “Dying for Sex.” The “urge to take the thing that is uncomfortable and not allow it to become like a fossil” drives both series, says Slate.
Both self-described “funny girl[s]” found they had to be okay with being uncomfortable to push back against the industry’s tendency to pigeonhole comedic performers, especially women. “When you are a funny girl, they put something on you, as if you can’t be anything but funny,” Brunson explains. “But you’re funny because that’s your method of connecting with people. You don’t even want to know how dramatic I can get.” Slate echoes the sentiment. “Comedy comes easily, but that’s because I’m trying to find a way to synthesize or refine my intensity,” she says, explaining that she drew inspiration from the legendary Carol Burnett’s ability to navigate between laughter and tears when crafting her Nikki (who is based on Slate’s real-life friend!).
Delicately balancing hilarity with hardship is precisely the space in which these stars shine. For Brunson, finding that foothold is a matter of realizing that “people are not the bad circumstances that have happened to them; people are more resilient.” This sense of resilience manifests in both actors’ performances, leading to an infectious mutual admiration for one another: Brunson calls Slate’s dramatic range “incredible,” and Slate praises Brunson’s ability to write shows that make viewers feel like “there are friends around.”
But as is only fitting for the two queens of comedy, by the end of the conversation, they return to their jocular roots (or should we say, jocular toots?) by half-jokingly requesting audience participation in the flatulent variety. Because sometimes, even for A-listers, the funniest thing is just being human together.