‘Abbott Elementary’ Sneak Peek: Janine Is Going on a Solo Girl’s Trip (Exclusive)

Janine Teagues has big plans for Memorial Day Weekend and nothing is going to ruin them! So she thinks.

ET has an exclusive sneak peek at tonight’s Abbott Elementary, in which our favorite group of teachers share their plans for the upcoming three-day weekend. Jacob (Chris Perfetti) will be helping his boyfriend, Zack, clean out his shoe closet since they are “drowning in swooshes,” while Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) shares that she is going with her husband, Gerald, to a soft jazz cafe for some musical appreciation. Ava (Janelle James) will be busy with her fellow doomsday preppers to assemble hurricane kits filled with “two kinds of rum and an assortment of island flavors,” while Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) boohoos the three-day weekend that is just delaying “the inevitable.”

Janine (Quinta Brunson) reveals she has exciting plans for a solo “girl trip” to Ocean City — Maryland not Jersey — which is met with the surprise approval of everyone. 

“Just me and the stamps on my passport. Metaphorically, I don’t have one of those,” she notes, warning her co-workers not to insult her with false pity. But in a surprise turn, no one takes the chance to make fun of her for not having friends — instead, Barbara and Ava cheer her on.

“Don’t make fun of yourself, it makes it less fun when I do it,” Ava tells her. “OK, solo vacation!”

Unbeknownst to poor Janine, her plans for a girl trip will be derailed when her mother, Vanetta (Taraji P. Henson), shows up unannounced and asks for help.

Henson is the latest of the Teague family to make her appearance — The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri previously appeared on the ABC sitcom as Janine’s sister, Ayesha. Janine’s previous insights into her family and her sister’s visit all point to some tension between the sisters and their mother, although specifics haven’t been given yet. Tonight’s episode, aptly titled “Mom,” will surely give more detail into Janine’s obvious mommy issues.

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‘Abbott Elementary’: See Taraji P. Henson’s Debut as Quinta Brunson’s TV Mom

On last Thursday’s episode of The View, the Oscar-nominated actress recalled speaking with Brunson about appearing on the beloved show after the pair met on the set of a different project.

“I love it. I was a fan. Actually, I requested to be on the show,” Henson shared. “Quinta and I were competing on Jimmy Fallon’s That’s My Jam, and I was singing her praises and telling her how proud of her I was. I was like, ‘Girl, you know, any time you need me, call me.’ And she called! I was like, ‘Absolutely, I’ll do it.'”

“That cast is incredibly talented, the writing is very witty, it’s smart, it’s funny, and I have an affinity for teachers. I was a substitute teacher before my career,” Henson continued. “I love that show in a whole other way.”

Henson recalled having “so much fun” filming her part as the mother of Brunson’s Janine.

Henson’s casting was announced during the show’s panel at the Paley Center for Media’s annual PaleyFest L.A. event. The Abbott Elementary social media accounts later confirmed the casting news by sharing a behind-the-scenes photo of Henson and Brunson on set.

While Henson will only star in one episode of season 2, there’s still hope she could make an appearance in the previously announced third season. The series has been on an award-winning kick and recently won big at the 2023 SAG Awards, winning Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series — the first network comedy to do so since Modern Family in 2013.

Brunson opened up about the momentous win with ET backstage, sharing that receiving the award from the Screen Actors Guild “just hits different.”

“These are our peers, these are people who do the same work that we do as actors. For them to think that we’re deserving of this award, it just hits different, it really does,” she noted.

Abbott Elementary’s “Mom” episode airs Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.

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