How ‘Abbott Elementary’ TV Writer Brittani Nichols Finds Moments of Levity

If you've been an avid viewer of the hit Emmy award-winning television show Abbott Elementary, you may have felt a deep connection to storylines and the show's main cast of characters. From calling your teacher "mom" (even though this was blurted out by Janine Teagues to fellow teacher Barbara Howard - their relationship is like that of a teacher and student), to not wanting to let anyone down, like your parents (think Jacob Hill and his relationship to his father Gregory Eddie),  to feeling like an outsider and wanting to be accepted like Jacob Hill. 

These are important characteristics and moments that imbue this show, which makes it feel so incredibly universal. But the real beauty of this show is how the writers inject humor into the most surprising situations and at just the right moments. One of those writers is Brittani Nichols, who's had a varied career in the industry from working as PA, acting, and stand-up comedy to rising up the ranks at Abbott Elementary from executive story editor in Season One to producer on Season Two. 

Brittani recently spoke with Script about what drew her to comedy, gives insight into joke writing, the importance of understanding feedback, and finding her voice. Plus, Brittani gives invaluable advice for those wanting to break into TV comedy writing.

This interview has been edited for content and clarity.

Sadie Dean: What inspired you to become a storyteller? And why comedy?

Brittani Nichols: Watching TV is what made me want to be a television writer. I don't think I grew up understanding that it was a profession. And it was really only after I graduated from college, and caught myself watching TV after my day job, which was working at sports camps for kids, that I put it together that that was something that I could do. And comedy is just what I was drawn to. I think I was someone that was always like, sneaky-funny growing up, because I didn't talk much. But when I did talk, that was usually a joke. And so, I just was drawn to that form of storytelling.

I think I also have always used humor as a coping mechanism. I'm like one of those people that immediately turns anything that happens to be bad into a joke. [laughs] Like, some would say too quickly, probably. So that's, I think, why I've always been drawn to the comedic arts rather than like drama.

Sadie: You also have an acting background, how much of that helps inform your writing, especially from the joke delivery standpoint?

Brittani: Performing absolutely helped me find my comedic voice even in like the acting realm, [but] doing stand-up, and doing improv, and doing sketch - it really just was all repetitions to help me figure out like, what are the jokes that I like telling? What are the jokes that I tell that people relate to and folding all of that back into writing?

I think also performing helps me think about things from the perspective of an actor when I'm writing. Sometimes I'm like, ‘Would I be upset if someone handed me this speech?’ [laughs] Like, would it upset me to think that I had to memorize all of this and that they maybe should have done some editing and finding just the necessary beats before they gave me this script?

So yeah, just trying to ensure that the performers have a good time, I think is how it helps with writing. And it also causes me to just say everything out loud, which I've surprisingly, I've run into writers that don't actually read their scripts out loud. I think that's what helps me write pretty good dialogue, and also ensures that there's nothing that's gonna trip someone up, unless sometimes the joke is that it is a phrase that should trip someone up and they're able to pull it off.

Sadie: When you’re writing a comedy script, when do you know when and where to place jokes?

Brittani: There are so many different types of comedies right now, or things that qualify as comedies right now [laughs] that being in touch with what exactly it is that you're writing, and where the jokes need to be not just for story, but for editing. So, there are times within a scene where I'm like, there's a chance that we won't use the back half of this scene, just because we won't have time, so I need to make sure that there's a pretty good joke in the middle of the scene that we can go out on. I like to throw in a few jokes sort of back-to-back at the end of a scene just so we have different outpoints. And sometimes that feels like it's too blow, sometimes the blow ends up being the joke that you didn't necessarily think was the blow.

So yeah, I think that a lot of the time, scripts dictate where the jokes should be and you just feel it within the rhythm and I think it's about just listening to the rhythm of the dialogue and the rhythm of the scene rather than like sort of pre ordaining where the joke should be and writing around that.

Sadie: Or forcing it when it's not necessary. Having worked in various writers’ rooms and now working your way up on Abbott Elementary, can you walk me through what that means for you in terms of how many episodes you get and what you're getting to do in the room to being on set?

Brittani: Yeah, so in TV, we, unfortunately, have been facing this situation where the writers’ room has been separate from production a lot of the time, especially on streamers. So, the two previous narrative shows that I wrote for, I actually never got to go to set. I never went to any production meetings. All of that experience that I was able to bring into Abbott was from making my own pilot, my own feature, and just asking people if I could shadow so that I could see those things in action.

And with Abbott, it's great, because we're shooting the show as we're writing a show. So, everyone has the opportunity to be on set for their episode and to produce their episode. And it's sort of a situation where I think if you asked to go to something, no one would tell you no. And so, I've sort of just asked to go [laughs] to an increasing amount of meetings and different levels of editing and producing aspects as my title has gone up.

And I think the expectations for what I'm showing up to also rises with the title. Like when you're a producer, you should make sure that you're on the notes calls, even if the room has wrapped and gone home, and so other people aren't necessarily going to be on it. I think taking ownership of a lot of the production meetings that you're in, just having confidence in your vision, and working closely with the director to make sure that everything happens, and nothing falls through the cracks.

But yeah, it's not always like that. I know that there are shows where if you are a staff writer, you only get to pitch jokes, you don't get to pitch story. But I've been lucky enough that even in the rooms where I didn't get to go to set, there was no sort of delineation between the levels, which is also why I think I've been able to really step into these higher mid-level roles, because no one has ever told me no, [laughs] no one has ever been like, ‘Oh, you don't get to do that. You don't get to learn that skill.’

And so, I feel very well practiced in doing a lot of this stuff. And also, having five episodes in two seasons of television is a rarity these days. I'm very lucky to get three episodes in one season, which is certainly something that's only afforded to me because of the level that I'm at.

Sadie: Right. But your persistence and the consistency of your asking I think also says a lot too, in that you’re there to actively learn and better yourself as a storyteller, all in service of the show. I think writers should feel confident in taking those chances of getting on set, but some are afraid to step out of their own comfort zone to even do that.

Brittani: Yeah, I think it's...a lot of the title of ‘writer’ makes you think that the job is just writing when in actuality the job is so much more. And the more that you can prove yourself in these realms that aren't specifically writing your assigned script, I think the better off you're going to be.

Sadie: I had the opportunity to speak with your two showrunners from Abbott Elementary, Justin and Patrick, and we talked about giving feedback and receiving notes in the writers’ room. With you being one of the writers in the room, how important for you and your writing to receive constructive feedback from your peers, and how do you collectively act on those notes?

Brittani: I think that the more you understand that feedback is part of the job, the better off you're going to be. Because it's never personal. It's always just like, we're all trying to get to the best version of whatever it is. And it's 100 ‘nos’ before you get to the ‘yes’ and I think that some people have a little trouble understanding that a ‘no’ was helpful. [laughs] We need to ‘yes and’ from that idea. And even just ruling something out, even just being like, 'Well, we for sure know what's not that!' is helpful, because then that leaves one less thing in the bucket of things it's not.

And I think speaking up sometimes, and sometimes being the one who's like, ‘I know everyone else is agreeing about this, but this is still bumping me’ - just helps in case you're right. And there's no harm in ever doing a double-check. Especially as the season gets deeper, or it's longer in the day, sometimes we get a little lazy, [laughs] you know, sometimes people want to go home, people just want to be like, 'I think this is good enough.' And just having the confidence and the trust in your room, that they're not going to roll their eyes when you bring something up, it is super integral to the process. Justin and Pat run the room in such a loving and kind way that we really don't have a lot of those moments of friction based on thinking that we can do better, because I think that we all are very proud of the product that we put out. And that product is a result of us really digging into certain moments or certain bumps and figuring out what the way forward is.

Sadie: Do you have a writing routine at all?

Brittani: Oh, absolutely not, I don't have a routine at all. [laughs] I write best when I can just only focus on that. And so, what I tried to do is just set myself up for success, where it's just like, I'll have a day where it's no meetings, no outside distractions, and there's leftovers in the fridge, all I have to do is warm up food, rather than figuring out how I'm going to feed myself and just bang stuff out. Because it's all percolating in my head. And it's just a matter of just transferring it down, which sometimes [laughs] takes longer than others to work myself up to do it. But it's definitely not something that I do every day. I don't open a script every day.

I think that earlier on in my career there, it was more of a practice, it was like, ‘I'm going to write something every day, even if that's just a couple of jokes on Twitter, or in a journal or just a funny email to a friend.’ It just was honing in on my sense of humor, I guess, in every avenue possible. And, you know, I think there's still tightening to do. What I think is funny changes, who I am as a person changes, my position in the world is constantly changing. And then I think that changes your comedy. I think all of that informs the sort of things that you talk about or make fun of.

Sadie: Which is important. You need growth to develop your voice. You don’t want to be writing the same joke over and over again.

Brittani: Yeah, I think, to me, it is always a good sign when I'm looking at something that I wrote not so long ago. And I'm just like embarrassed by something in it. [laughs] I'm like, ‘OK, cool. I am still growing as a person. I would never write that today.’ So that's good to know that the train is still moving.

Sadie: I’m sure there’s many a writer that’s had those moments when they go back to an old script. ‘I can't believe I wrote that. I had people read that. I was so serious about this thing.’ Then you start apologizing to everyone for having read it. [laughs]

Brittani: [laughs] Yeah, writing is fascinating. Because I think truly, you will never write the exact same scene the next day. Like, if I write a scene today, it's not going to be the exact same scene that I will write tomorrow. And that's such a fascinating part of the craft, to me, is you are capturing exactly who you are every single time that you write something down. Just in that moment. [laughs]

Sadie: It's like a living life journal. I’m curious, how did you know you had found your voice as a writer?

Brittani: I think it was when I was getting asked to do punch up on scripts. And knowing, 'Oh, only I would write this joke.' And at the same time, perform the task of writing the joke, that quote-unquote, should be there, you know, what I mean? Where it's like that thing, where it's like we all as comedy writers immediately know, this is the area where this joke should be. And I'm able to perform that skill of pulling from the bucket we all want to pull from and also pulling from my own personal bucket that only I can come up with.

So now...even if I'm watching an episode, or I'm punching up jokes, I'm able to say, ‘I know that that's my joke.’ And I can trace back my own like brain tunnel [laughs] to know where it came from. Because I think a lot of joke writing is just sort of creating these grooves in your brain that get to jokes, and just knowing like, ‘OK, I'm just gonna walk down this path, and I know that I'm gonna get to something funny.’ I can feel that something has a piece of me in it. And I hope that's able to be picked up on by people that are familiar with my work and can watch stuff and sort of know, like, ‘OK, that might be a Brittani joke.’

Sadie: What kind of characters or stories are you drawn to and exploring through your writing?

Brittani: I'm drawn to stories where people are working towards a common goal. And I think that can take a lot of different forms. But I think that is the underpinning of a lot of shows is like, we're trying to solve this problem, or we're all looking for love, or we're all figuring out how we grieve. And then digging into the character stuff there. Because I think that a lot of the comedy that I like is character-driven, and just seeing all of the different ways that people handle the same problem to me is really fascinating, because I think that the more specific you get, the funnier you are, to me; but it's also in the specificity that you realize that we're sort of all having the exact same experience [laughs] Everyone's problems are very singular to them, and also the exact same thing that millions and millions of people have gone through before them and will go through in the future. And a lot of comedy I think is being able to help people pull away from their own problems and go like, ‘OK, I understand that this isn't just happening to me. This has happened to a lot of other people and a lot of other people who've gone through it and I'm gonna get through it.’ Finding the moments of levity within those struggles.

Sadie: Any advice for those who want to break into TV comedy writing?

Brittani: I think knowing which of your samples is the sample, because sometimes you run into people that say they want to be writers, and they don't have any samples, which is of course, like a nightmare scenario. [laughs] But for people that even only have one sample, I think that you just have to practice and that's how you get better - just by writing different types of samples and seeing what people respond to. Because I think it's not ever going to be you saying, ‘This is the one. I know this is it.’ It's going to be the feedback that you get from people that are like, ‘I'm really drawn to this one.’

That's how I discovered what my sample to send out was - I just wrote like three or four. And then eventually, people kept responding to one stronger than they'd responded to the others and was like, ‘OK, that's the one that I should have people look at.’ And doing that, showcasing your voice more than you're trying to match whatever you think that person likes, because I think people will be like, ‘Oh, this person works in animation,’ or ‘this person does dramedy’ - you can't let what other people are doing dictate what you want people to know and see about you. You just got to show them your best work.

Sadie: What sample of yours was getting the attention and it was kind of unexpected out of the few you had sent out?

Brittani: I think it was the one because it was the one where I didn't listen to anybody else, and I just wrote what I wanted to write. [laughs] Some of my other samples were like, ‘You want to get their attention in the first five pages, and you want to do something shocking,’ and stuff like that. And that was very false to who I am as a writer. The feature that I wrote, the first scene is like people arguing about whether a Starbucks had books in it or not. And people talk about that scene all the time. That's not a scene that I think anyone that I was looking for advice from would have told me to write. That's just like the thing that I found funny.

And so, it was the thing that best showcased what it is that I have to say and want to say. And that has to take precedent. And there are a lot of people who will tell you that it shouldn't take precedent, and I think that you should ignore them. [laughs]

Abbott Elementary is available to watch on Hulu.