Leading up to the fifth season premiere of the 4-time Emmy-winning ABC series Abbott Elementary, I spoke to comedy queen and millennial favorite Lisa Ann Walter, who plays Melissa Schemmenti, for an exclusive conversation.
Known and beloved for her iconic role as Chessy in Lindsay Lohan’s The Parent Trap (1998), it is no surprise that audiences are just as obsessed with Lisa Ann as the scheming, sarcastic, second-grade teacher on Abbott. The entire main cast which also includes Creator Quinta Brunson, Janelle James, Tyler James Williams, Sheryl Lee Ralph, William Stanford Davis, and Chris Perfetti, has created the perfect escape where we can not only laugh every week but also gain a beautiful appreciation for the realities of public school teachers and the city of Philadelphia. It was recently announced that Luke Tennie, a rising star from the Apple TV+ hit series Shrinking, will be joining the show as a teacher for season 5.
Walter recounted, “In [Tennie’s] second week there, he said, ‘When I wasn’t on this show, I used to wonder what it’s like over there because it seemed like magic. And then I got here and it’s because you people are magical,’ and I almost started crying. I’ve been a guest on lots of sets and people don’t invite you to sit with the main cast and start talking to you and asking you about your life and your family and your career. We’re a welcoming group of people.”
We also chatted about the unexpected and delightful friendship that has developed between Walter’s character and Jacob (Perfetti) after they became roommates in season three, and Walter teased that there’s a great storyline between the two of them coming up in the season 5 episode that takes place at a Phillies game. She commented, “The balance is really interesting on those characters because he’s so earnest and he tries so hard and he wants to do the right thing all the time. And Melissa has gone past the point where she’s simply annoyed by him, into where it’s more maternal where she wants to take care of him but also is annoyed by him many times over. Now she’s like I can give you a hard time but nobody else better.”
When she’s not on set filming season 5, Walter can be found racing down to the Dancing with the Stars studio to support her best friend and The Parent Trap costar Elaine Hendrix, who’s currently competing in season 34. She would love to compete on the show herself one day, having previously created and produced the 2009 reality series Dance Your Ass Off. But for now, she wants to make sure to get the word out for everyone to vote for Elaine, who is making her triumphant return to dance after an accident kept her away for many years.
Next week, Walter will be performing a series of stand-up comedy shows at The Comedy Vault in Batavia, IL. There are still a few tickets left for the October 3 and 4 performances.
Tune into our full conversation in the video above.
Season 5 of Abbott Elementary premieres on Wednesday, October 1, at 8:30 PM ET / 7:30 PM CT on ABC and continues weekly, with new episodes available to stream on Hulu the following day.
