Quinta Brunson on Good Hang with Amy Poehler

Welcome to another episode of Good Hang.

I'm so excited about our guest today. It

is the incredible Quinta Brunson, who is

not only funny and smart and gracious

and a seemingly great boss, but is a

mogul. Is kind of a just an incredible

driving force in an industry and kind in

many ways saving it from extinction. Not

not no no no no no no pressure. But

anyway, um I'm so excited to have a

Quinta here to talk about all of those

things and to hang and we always uh like

to do uh something at the beginning of

of our shows where we gather people

together that know Quinta, that have

worked with her, that um know stuff

about her that we would never know and

ask them how they feel about her and

what they think I should ask her.

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[Music]

Let me just tell you who I have here um

with me. I have Kate Peterman. Kate's a

writer on Abbott Elementary. Hi Kate.

Hi. Zach Evans, also writer, creative

director in LA. um founder of Create

Repeat, an online community for

creatives and also a Buzzfeed alum with

Quinta. Hi, Zach. We have Ash Perez. Hi,

Ash. Ash also a Buzzfeed, I guess, like

we you could say a Buzzfeed alum, right?

Buzzfeeder. Buzzfeeder. Okay, welcome.

And then we have the big boss, Andrew

Goautier. French name. Congratulations,

Andrew. You were the head of BuzzFeed

video when Quinta and all and and Zach

and a lot of you were and Kate and and

Ashley were all making content um

together. This is not a deposition.

Nothing you say will be used.

But welcome to Good Hang. How's everyone

doing? Feel a bit like I'm I'm in a

performance review with Andrew, but

besides that, great. Andrew, do you like

to do performance reviews? Speaking of

performance reviews, yeah. Um because I

think a lot of a lot of performance

reviews are just like criticisms and I

think I always tried and I think we

always tried at BuzzFeed to focus on

positives. You know, we wanted to like

be an incubator for talent. So it was,

you know, focusing on what people were

best at. Andrew, uh I can uh say that's

a lot of corporate speak you just threw

at me. You said incubator. You said

incubator. You said it. Let's go around

before we start and say some of our most

fun corporate slang. I'd like to circle

back and piggyback off of what Andrew

was just saying. I too. Yeah. Follow up

on that, Kate. Uh I would just like to

plus one all of your comments on that as

well. I just want to ping that plus one

real quick. Do you guys know the

comedian Lisa Beasley?

Um she does a corporate character that's

so funny. She does a um on Tik Tok she

does a character called corporate Aaron.

Yes. Oh yeah. She did it during co that

incredibly

long

nasly beginning of a meeting where she's

like it's 9:29 and I guess we'll get

started and she has like tons of vocal

fry and she's definitely trying to get

the meeting started and she's really

upset and she has a lot of stuff to get

through.

It's not easy. It's not easy. Anyway,

okay, Kate, why don't we start with you?

Um, tell um tell me um how you and

Quinta met. We met in college. I met

Quinta um when we both got on the same

improv team at Temple University, Fowl

Play, cuz our mascot was the Owls. I'd

love to hear that you did like I did

very nerdy improv stuff because Oh,

yeah. I think sometimes in comedy there

are two types of people. There are the

cool people

And then there are people that did

improv

and you write for Abbott. How long have

you been writing for the show and what's

that like? Uh since the first season. Um

it is sick cuz I remember being with

Quinta on her uh like balcony at this

old apartment and she was like she had

just gotten home from uh Philly and she

was like I was visiting my mom and I

just really want to do this show about

teachers. And this was like years before

Abbott actually happened. So, it's been

in like it's cool to see it go from that

idea and then um I was in the pilot with

her and getting there to film and seeing

her like walk around calling the shots

and just cuz I got there and I was like

it was my first ever time like whatever

and I so I was so nervous and trying to

be professional and then she just turns

the corner was just like KP and just

like nice and loud and I was like oh

this is so [ __ ] cool. I'm

interviewing Quinton today. Okay, I'm

going to ask her a bunch of, you know,

stuff that maybe we, you know, one would

expect me to ask, but is there anything

you think I should ask or or or any

anything you think she'd like to even

talk about or something you think people

would want to hear from her? Um, ask her

if she now knows if Bon Joy and John

Bonjovi are two different uh things. She

asked me in confidence, like in a little

whisper, she was like, "Are Bon Joy and

John Bonjovi the same guy?" like as if

she had to go talk to him and it was for

no reason and it's so funny to me. Okay,

that's a great one. Okay, Zach, moving

on. How do you and Quinta meet each

other? I met Quinta in 2014 at BuzzFeed.

I was an intern at the time. It was my

first job out of college and she had um

just got brought in to do a couple

comedy videos with um our friend Justin

Tan. Quinta to me has always been so

amazing at how um how forward thinking

she was. She was really adamant that the

internet was a stage for her to play in.

And you know, of course, we all grew up

wanting to be on SNL or and wanting to

go this traditional route, going the

standup route. And she did all those

things. And I truly believe she could

have done it any path, but she decided

to go this internet direction. And

truthfully, I don't think she gets

enough credit for being that first one

of the first people to make the leap

from being an internet personality to

being in the mainstream and dominating.

Thank you, Zach. That was awesome. Okay,

Ash. Yes. Tell me your origin story and

your question. Okay. My origin story

with Quinta is that we sat next to each

other at BuzzFeed and notoriously

probably unlike these people where uh

the Quinta's original thought was Kate

is tight, Quinta did not like me. My fun

fact of my whole life is that the

character of Janine is based off me or

loosely based off of me on Abbott. Um do

you have confirmation of that? Yeah,

it's it's she said it in interview. She

said it in Variety so I have it. She

said it in the writer room. Yep. Okay. I

have two questions. One is a serious one

and then one is going to make her grown

and she's going to know why I asked it,

which I'm so excited for. Um, so the

first one is just uh as an avid student

of comedy, what are the top three

sitcoms that influence your sense of

comedy? Like so much of my memories of

Quinta, we used to like she used to come

over my house and we used to watch old I

Love Lucy episodes and just like talk

about like what structured the comedy or

we would watch pilots to stuff and like

just like an actual student of comedy in

a way that I think is so valuable and

that people don't um necessarily know,

especially because she got her start on

the internet. She has a deep deep

lexicon. So I would love to hear her

answer to that. And then uh do you think

you would have been as famous if you had

ordered a medium instead of a large? I

can't guarantee it's gonna make the cut,

but I I am curious to know the answer.

Well, her first one of her first viral

videos ever for He Got Money was her um

she orders a popcorn. Oh, the popcorn

and the Skittles. A large and so become

very much like and that was I would say

one of her very first like memes along

with he got money. So great. Okay,

thanks Ash and Andrew. Maybe this is

corny, but I would actually be

interested in what, you know, 2014

Quinta would think about Quinta now. You

know, if you went back in time a dozen

years ago while she was at BuzzFeed,

like how would she react? All right.

Well, thank you so much for your time.

It was really nice to see all of you

again and to meet some of you for the

first time. Thank you, Amy. Bye. Thank

you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for

your time.

Okay, Quinta Brunson is here. Quinta,

I'm so grateful you're here. Thank you

for doing this. I'm grateful you are

here and that you were born and that you

exist. I'm grateful that you were born.

What day were you born? I was born

December 21st, 1989.

Capricorn,

Sagittarius. Oh [ __ ] I'm d I'm directly

on the cusp. Directly on it. So, you're

you're not wrong cuz some books do say

Capricorn and then so much on the I'm

right at like 11:38 or something. I

asked my mom. She was like, "I don't

know what time you were born." I was

like, "Okay, sorry for asking." But, um,

she said it was between like 11:30 and

12. So, directly on the cusp, which is

good because I think if I was full-blown

Sagittarius, I would have been a

stripper. I think if I was full-blown,

nothing wrong with it, but I'm just

saying that I would have been a

stripper. And then if I were a

Capricorn, I would have been Elon Musk.

would have been really like I feel like

there is a total mogul vibe that I get

from you. I know. I'm not going to

capitalize on it. Don't want to be a

mogul. Okay. Okay. Let's talk about this

because you kind of are already. So,

it's

you're not. What do you think classifies

a mogul? Well, this is a really good

question. I feel like you are the

captain of a huge ship. Mhm. One ship

though. That's true. But, you know,

that's just because you're acting when

once you stop once you get off set and

have to do those hours, you're going to

be the captain of like four ships. We've

talked about this, Amy. I want to I just

want to do my thing. I just so relate to

this grind that you're on. And also,

Quinta here to say

like it is phenomenal what you are

doing.

That show is number one saving and has

saved sitcoms.

Thank you. It has it. It is It is proof.

It is what everybody points to. Yeah, I

do. Yep. As a as a as a you know, as a

speck, as a as a comp for how comedy can

still work on broadcast TV and there's

not many left. No, I hope that changes.

I do. And I do admire the

other sitcoms that are that are out

there maintaining. They don't

grasp the same kind of attention that

Abbott does. But I do think there

are other, you know, producers and

showrunners out there attempting to do

good work specifically on network

television. And um there's a a show

Ghost on CBS has a bigger audience than

we do. It just doesn't garner the same

attention. So, I just always try to

acknowledge that there are other shows

trying, but I do also understand that

Abbott occupies a very unique and

specific space. So, you know, it's funny

cuz we're four seasons in now, and I

really want like counterparts, you know?

I want I want um

I I live for a renaissance. I don't

enjoy the the feeling of uh St. Dennis

is a show on NBC and I feel like that

but so much of this and maybe I don't

know if it was like that back then but

so much of it is about timing and when

and presentation and and so much goes

into making something an overall success

now that I would I don't call myself

lucky because I think about all the

things that go into it but I do think it

you have to think about so many

different factors to make your show a

success at all now. Totally. And I know

you're a big student of the sitcom. Like

you're a big comedy student in general.

What were the what were the shows that

you cared about growing up? What were

the sitcoms that you think about and

what were the ones you thought about

when you were making Abbott? Coach was a

show that was very formative for me. I

forgot. My mom and I, we loved Coach and

it just reminded me how much Coach was

on in my household. That was like if

that was on, we were stopping and we

were watching. I'm not sure if it was on

Nick at Night yet, but that was a big

show for me. Uh, Mary Tyler Moore. Um,

King of Queens, very big for me. I just

I don't know why, but one of the biggest

influences in my life. I I still love

that show to this day. Um, 30 Rock,

huge. I know you're a big 30 Rock fan. I

know that about you. It's so ridiculous.

Um, little show called Parks and Wreck.

Um, The Office, of course.

Martin, Living Single, Curb Your

Enthusiasm. I don't know if that counts

because it's not network, but um Always

Sunny, same kind of bucket as Curb.

Um I'm forgetting things. Well, I'm sure

you're asked this question, but what do

you think? I always thought that for me,

what drew me to a sitcom was the fact

that I could I could picture in my mind

what the characters were doing when I

wasn't watching them. Yep. And that's

exactly what happens on Abbott.

Definitely, that's a big part of it. And

I think it's important if I can see the

end of their journeys in the sitcom. And

I don't know, that doesn't mean I know

when it's going to come, but I see maybe

that's just important for writing. You

know, you see a destination for your

characters but

um very important to me when it comes to

making a sitcom. when I visit sitcoms

like parks or or the office and I think

about where those characters began and

where they end that is what kind of

inspired me to tell that story about a

different set of characters. I also

think

like worlds you can that really have a

dayby-day engine, you know, like

it's there's something there's some

silly thing. I would say friends was

huge for me too because it was when I

started to really grasp on to plot lines

that were so you know Monica lost her

earring. I think that was like big for

me for some reason when when it's like

you can make a whole plot about but

that's like a dayto-day of a friend

group and that's what happens in Abbott

just day-to-day issues that we turn into

hilarious conundrums and situations. I

read something that really struck me,

felt so familiar when you were talking

about Janine, your character on the

show, that you wanted her and her look

to

feel appropriate with her job and her

town, which um and I I felt that because

I remember when we were first starting

to build Leslie Nope's character, like I

really wanted her hair to be very blonde

and because

because she's getting her hair done in

Indiana. No offense to the great stylist

in Indiana. I bet there are many now.

But, you know, like she's not going to

get low lightss at the best salon. She's

trying what she can do. She's like she's

not quite getting it right. Yeah. And

it's that's beautiful though. That's so

human. And you're doing that. You've

talked about that with Janine. How how

are you doing it with Janine? Janine

started in a place where I think a lot

more about Janine than I think shows up

on screen, which honestly is what you

want. I don't need the audience to think

about her as much as I do. But I knew

from the beginning this is a girl who

had a weird relationship with her

mother. Maybe her mother didn't teach

her how to like take care of her hair or

even her dress comes from I want to be

the opposite of my mother because I

don't think my mother's a good person.

So, I should dress like a good person,

which is the opposite of how she

dresses, which is kind of But Janine

doesn't believe it's lavendly or bad.

Janine looks in the mirror and goes,

"This is a good outfit.

You did it,

girl. You did it, girl. You did it. You

did it. She does that trick where she

turns to the and she takes one accessory

off to

I feel like she goes, "You look exactly

like Holly Berry." And like it's like,

"No, you don't." But she believes she

does. And I think that's sweet. I think

when the character believes so

deeply that the show doesn't care what

the audience thinks. That was a

challenge with Janine because I'll be

real with you. You know, she's a black

character. Black audiences have so few

still um representative characters on

screen and black womanhood alone is so

touchy. So when a lot of women were

seeing Janine not present as they wanted

her to, that became tough and I

understand it. But I think it's

important for us to have characters who

are more realistic than they are the

absolute best representation of us. I

think it creates layers for us, not only

on TV, but in the public eye. When I was

thinking about her, I wasn't really

thinking about representation, but she

became representation. I don't know if

you dealt with that with like I think

it's always the interesting struggle

about playing comedic characters is you

want them to be flawed and have stuff to

learn and the minute people uh either

yourself or other people start to get in

your head about what they should be

representing. What it often does is

limit the way honestly that men get to

play characters which is they get to

play these like really flawed people

with a lot and I think it's often the

burden um that women are made to carry

which is we're supposed to be a lot of

things at once which few people are. So

it's it's kind of it's hard to do both.

It's hard to play somebody funny who's

also like really got it together. Yeah.

and is very, you know, like uh at the on

chapter 10 when you meet them. Yes. And

I think Janine, it was like one of the

most exciting things about that show was

you could see, oh, we're really going to

go on this ride with her. Like, we're on

this ride with her. Yeah. And it's

sometimes I think the the it's hard to

get people on the ride because they

don't know they're on the ride. And I I

think you Abbott really started where I

was like, "This is going to be a ride."

And I I feel like that goes into

thinking about things. This is going to

go for seasons. I want to tell stories

here. We got to start. We got to start

somewhere. We cannot end, you know,

where we want to get to in season 10.

And I think when audience members don't

know they're on a ride, it can be very

frustrating for them. And maybe this

wasn't always the case before the

internet, but now I don't know if you

dealt with this on parks. I have had

people come up to me on the street and

go, "I don't like what you're doing.

with Gregory's

character and

Yeah. And you're like, "Oh, thank you so

much for caring. It's you're you're

caring all over me. Thank you so much."

What? Uh, it's insane. It's become a

real direct like And oh, and then that

person went I I messaged you on

Instagram about it.

Well, I tried to get in touch with you

and I wanted you to know that I like

what you're doing with Gregory's

character. She's really coming to me in

a club, mind you. Like very much like,

"Oh, I'm so glad I'm seeing you. I sent

you an Instagram message. I like how you

pretended you didn't see it, but now I

got you in person. I don't like what

you're do." I was just like, isn't

aren't those times times where you wish

you were like the enigmatic um film

actress who people feel nervous to

approach? I do. I do. I very much do

because television people feel like

really really you're part of their

family. You're part of their family and

we love that. Well, you have this

incredible

um uh claim like I don't think it's it's

um spoken of enough that you took

advantage of the window

kind of you know you're 10 years after I

was coming up which was basically that

there was this Buzzfeed video window

where people were producing stuff online

early online Buzzfeed was interesting

because it was so international that you

were aware that like, oh man, like

people in Japan are watching our stuff.

We're being dubbed in different

languages. So, you were aware of that.

But for me, I was never very proud of my

online presence. I felt like as someone

who came from improv and sketch, I was

still performing at IO every night. And

then I realized that my improv group, we

realized people were coming to see our

group because of my online presence. And

we were more used to, all right, guys,

we got 10 people in the crowd tonight.

Let's go crazy. That's three more than

last week. We're killing it. No parents.

No, it's so good. And then all of a

sudden, we have a packed IO for when

we're like, "What is going on?" But

they're coming because they're actually

paying attention when I post. Uh I have

a show at IO tonight. And like people

were coming. So what are these people

doing here? And they're like, "You said

you had a show." I was like, "Oh, you

get so used to know." I don't know. But

you were part of like the heyday of UCB.

But I'm just saying like in my world, it

was like if you got eight people in the

audience, it was like, oh, a hundred.

That was our always trying to get PE.

But you were kind of ahead of your time

because there was this feeling to your

point like where that content didn't

count. Like it almost felt Yeah. like a

a side gig while you were trying to get

the gig. But now, however many years

later, you look at it now and it's like

the way that everybody is discovered. I

came to just appreciate it as another

stage. If if

you can get on a stage and do standup,

get on an improv stage and do improv,

why can't you make a video to garner an

a isn't that what we want to do as

performers anyway? Totally. And also,

it's it's a way to just practice

writing. Absolutely. Absolutely. That's

what it really did for me. Um, I had

taken writing courses. I had studied

comedic writing, but I do think writing

for BuzzFeed was the best way to learn

how to do it for massive audiences,

which is a skill that I still see

writers peers

um, h they don't they don't technically

teach you that in school. Yeah. Um, I

think it's something you learn by doing.

I think you're right. And I think what

improv and sketch teaches you is just

like picking your battles. Like you find

people that write stuff and they don't

want to change it and they want to kind

of lock it in. And there's the one thing

with sketch and improv is your ideas,

they just are thrown away over and over

and over again. And you get this muscle

totally that you haven't had your last

good idea.

Yes. Absolutely. which is so freeing.

Yeah. It makes you a more collaborative

person and makes for better work. And um

I think so BuzzFeed definitely did that.

We made which was insane. We would make

like three videos a week that were going

to be shared and seen by like millions

and millions of people and if if one

bombed it was like I'm already on my

next video. I'm going to you know I'm

already I'm I've moved on. You're like I

don't know what you're talking about.

Yeah. Literally, I can't remember half

that half the things I made there, which

is both good and bad, but I feel like

you probably can't remember half the

sketches you you did for Oh, god. No.

Yeah. Well, speaking of Buzzfeed. Oh,

no.

I lost my glasses. Oh, are you just

getting glasses? Oh, I got scared. I was

under Check out my new glasses from

Buzzfeed. Oh, actually, I'm going to

take a lip a lip balm break if you want

to take one, too. Quint and I brought

our lip balm lip balm and water and cut

it cut it close. And I'd love just to

take Oh, this is my camera. Mhm. Get in

there. Hold on. Yours looks better cuz

it has a little wand. Mine is my grubby

little finger. But No, it's cute. That's

how the girl puts it on in the Sephora

commercial. She does it with her finger.

Yeah. What else you going to do with it?

Um I just love once again to ask Lanz uh

if they ever want to sponsor. Y'all

sponsor Amy. This is a lip sleeping

mask. For now, I'll turn it to the side

so you I won't um sully your brand. But

um I want you to know that I've stuck my

disgusting finger in that pot many times

and it's always And not just at night,

right? That's not just lip sleeping

mask. It's not just for night. Not just

for night time. Um okay. So we do this

fun surprise thing where before I talk

to you, I get on a Zoom with some people

that know you.

Whoa. Yeah. And and just to talk about

um you and and really to like get some

perspective on what uh uh I think I

should ask. So earlier today I was talk

I was on a Zoom with Kate. No way. Did

Kate freak out? She's the best. She

loves you so much. Did she pretend she

was very cool? Everyone was very cool.

That is so funny. Oh my god. Okay. I was

on the Zoom with So it was like it was

like a Buzzfeed reunion. It was Kate. It

was Ash. No. Zack. Which one? Evans.

Stop. These are people who probably were

freaking out. Amy, they seemed very

cool. They seemed cool because they

probably got it together first. But you

need to know that this probably And then

your old boss, Andrew. Andrew Goautier.

Oh, French last name. He's so hot, guys.

Not a I don't work for him anymore. I

can say that. He's a sweet man. And they

Oh, so we were talking about It was

really cute. And we It's kind of like

talking well behind someone's back is

the goal. And um they were so happy to

do it. And we were just kind of talking

about um that time there and your time

there. And it was really cute because

they everyone was,

you know, kind of going back to when

exactly what you were saying when

producing a lot of stuff and trying to

everyone was trying to figure out where

to live and it's a very tender time and

the people that were there and a lot of

you know like Kate especially are people

that you still work with and who kind of

Kate told this amazing story about like

the one of the first days on set and how

she can remember you saying I want to I

think I want to do this show you know

about teachers like and then you know

smash cut to crazy the it happening.

Yeah. I have such a random weird so

someone this is so bad someone tried to

sue me to say they me WB ABC and say

that that they came up with um Abbott

and my memory is [ __ ] There's something

to know about me. Same really bad. I

think it's cuz we have to learn lines. I

think so too. Kate's memory

is locked the [ __ ] in. And Kate was

like, "No, no, no, no, no. I will go

into that courtroom for you." Because

she was there the the moment I had the I

knew that it wasn't true, but I had

nothing to back it up. And it's okay.

That's why we have lawyer. I was never

going to have to back it up anyway, but

I'm just like, damn, I cannot remember.

Kate like remembers time, date, where,

when. Incredible. Incredible. So, she's

she's my best friend, but she's also

just incredible for stuff like that. She

has the memory that I don't have, which

I need a lot. You I think we share this

in common, too. Your female friendships

are super important to you. Super

important. Like why? What do they do for

you? Oh, that's a good question. Um

Oh, man. That's such a good question. I

I I don't know what they do for me spec

Well, you just said something that I

feel like, if I may, I feel like a lot

of women in my life would testify for

me. Yes. They really do. Yes. They

experience life with me and they we all

kind of remember for each other. For

each other. Yeah. And maybe Kate and I

particularly have been through so much

together as friends, as women, as comedy

writers. Kate wanted me to ask you this.

Hey Kisha, uh KP, um are you aware now

that Bonjovi and John Bonjovi? Shut up,

Kate. Shut up. Don't go through Amy to

do that. That's not nice, Kate. That's

not okay, Kate. But can we are you aware

that

See, I don't know white people. I know

you. I know Tina Fay. I know that's it.

I know white people in comedy. Okay.

You don't need to know that. You don't

need to know the one black girl. I just

like don't know some people. I don't I

understand the name Phil Collins. I

don't know what Phil Collins look like.

I I I don't know that he's different

from Sorry to That man. That Kiki

moment. Unbelievable. Was so on point.

That is how I move through life if

they're not in comedy truly. Yeah. I

don't know. I actually think that's also

a wonderful way like a almost a a gentle

form of rebellion which is I have to say

my generation was told that we had to

know a lot of these people and now we

don't really need to know them. It's

okay. It's okay. And and also you were

working in in in pop culture too. I mean

SNL is still essentially working in pop

culture. You have to know I don't have a

reason to know who I'm not crazy. It's

crazy to be in a band called John. Is he

John Bon Joy? Is the Bon See, she

doesn't know. I couldn't tell. Uh, and

it's crazy cuz now I'm going to blow

your mind even more. His original name,

come on. Was John

Bonio and then he changed he he the band

name was BonJovi, a shortened version of

his real name. So then he started going

by John Bonjovi, but true fans know that

it was Bonjiovi.

You know, everything you just said

sounds crazy, right? And the thing is

I'm supposed to know this, but then I'm

supposed to deal with people who can't

tell me and Kiki Palmer apart

or or say my name or or can't I just

can't if you know about Bonji Vio and

I'm too difficult. It's two syllables.

Quinta, same person. I don't understand.

Anyway, so that was that was so and I

don't you know what else is crazy? John

Wait, I lost my point, but I was going

to say something about John Bon Joy. Joy

band. I'm trying to think of a band name

like who could I compare it to that had

a band that was named after their last

name? Oh, well, there's another bunch of

white boys. Remember Hansen?

I understood that.

I I understand that. You know who I got

mixed up for the longest time? Not

anymore.

But there was no reason for me as a

young girl in Philadelphia to understand

the difference between Sandra Bulock and

Julia Roberts. There was no reason for

me to know the difference. You might

have a little bit of face blindness. I

do. I do. I do have that. And they know.

I know Sandra knows now cuz that's my

girl. Of course I can tell you guys

apart now. But when growing up Sure. No

reason for me to know that. Sure. And

when people are like, "You don't know."

No, I don't.

I like that. I'm glad that you Yeah, you

absolutely do not need to know. Yeah, I

can't believe Kate. Okay. Okay. Ash, I

Ash Ash, three sitcoms who have

influenced you. We talked about that.

And then Andrew asked um um what would

2014 Quinta think of Quinta now? Oh,

Andrew. I know. Such a and and such a

managerial question, too. Oh, Andrew.

Andrew is so lovely. Um I think

2014 me would be like exactly

period because I was a very determined

knew where I was going girl I do not

like to do that thing where people

pretend I'm like I had no idea like this

could happen to me like no I made every

single move in my life so that this

could happen to me including leaving

Philadelphia I knew specific things had

to happen and even the way I came into

BuzzFeed I had vision I like I I see

where this place is going. I see what I

can do here. I see how not only it can

help me, but how I can help it. And I

think it's a means to something much

larger. So 2014 me didn't exactly know

this, but I think that's the beauty of

vision. You you can feel see something.

You're working in accordance with

something. And I'm a big believer in

that. I think you know what I love that

you're doing too and from from here on

out I guess we would call it like the

shalom

um in terms of like I want to be the

greatest but but what but what I that

kid go ahead. Yeah. What did you think

of that moment? I loved it or no what I

thought was so interesting about that

moment whether whisper because he can

hear us. Whether it was coordinated or

not I thought him mentioning Viola Davis

in his speech I was like that is [ __ ]

smart 100%. whether it's coordinated or

he really really meant it. Very smart to

do. Smart kid. That um that that alone

had me. Me too. Had me. And

and in a way that I don't care if it was

like I'm going to say this because or I

genuinely really mean it because even if

you were going to say it because Yeah.

Just say it because because mention

Viola Davis 100%.

It was at the very least it was the

example of someone paying attention. And

I think I I think that you know not to

gender it, it happens to men too, but

women are especially uh required uh to

um be very surprised by their success

and really be they're asked all the

time, can you believe it? Can you

believe it? Like how does it feel? And

you and I, I think, share the similar

thing, which is it feels good. I've been

working really hard. I imagined it would

happen for me. I've been there along the

way. I've watched it slowly grow. It

hasn't been overnight. And it was, you

know, and yes, of course, luck, and yes,

of course, privilege, and yes, of

course, time, all of that stuff. And

also, I believed it could happen. And so

now there's sometimes an expectation or

people want the kind of anenu vibe

of how did I get here? Oh my god, the

lights, the camera, I just tripped and

then I was here. I can't believe it. Oh

my it's I'm not doing that. One thing I

love about I've always appreciated about

you is you you also do that without

sacrificing your sense of like whimsy.

You have you I don't know. you just you

still have fun and you don't apologize

for that either. And I think that's

really cool when I went to see you and

Tina um at the in Vegas and that was so

fun cuz actually Ash and Kate came with

me and I told you that was like our

Super Bowl. But you tried you you did

what I would it's storytelling standup

and seeing

you do new things. I was like like yes

yes yes you are not apologizing for the

fact that you have this show or all the

things that you've done but you also are

having enough fun with trying new things

and you just have fun like you have a

smile on your face. You're not like I

mean this is kind of honestly why I'm

doing this is because it's kind of like

I want to talk to people. I have a good

time. I listen to a ton of podcasts.

Yeah. I don't think that because you get

to a certain level of something that

you're supposed to get really tight and

get worried about trying new things.

You're supposed to do the opposite

because you're feeling like you're lucky

enough to be confident. You're lucky

enough to have some currency or some

people who believe in you. So that's

when you're supposed to keep staying

flexible, trying and failing over and

over again. And I think you you are

similar like we learned it early. We

learned it with improv and sketch.

You're just supposed to keep trying

things. You keep you're supposed to keep

trying. I think I have seen a lot of

other women who are in similar positions

become harsh over time because

so if you're going to be that confident

now you almost have to take up a harsh

demeanor or something. That's right. So

you have to like That's right. be

masculine. Like if you're going to say

I'm good at it and I know it, then you

better be masculine, too. Don't you dare

smile ever again since you know you're

so good. But it's um it's it's some it's

weird. Like I and I'm I'm really

interested in watching women push back

out loud. Not just talking about it, but

actually doing it. Which is why I say I

like to see you like smile so much. Cuz

to me that is the act of doing it and

like have fun in front of people's

faces. It's weird. It's almost like that

kind of makes people angrier than

anything else. When I am like having

pure unadulterated fun, I feel a a small

sense of like how dare you. Oh, it's a

revolutionary act as a woman to have

fun. And the other thing is I that I

would say about you that I said behind

your back is Quinta plays loose. Oh, and

what I mean by that as a good athlete,

you're to me you're like a good athlete.

Amy, don't talk sports to me right now.

I'll fall in love. I love sports. I

mean, this is a podcast. We should

probably only be talking about sports.

You want this thing to do well, but you

play so loose because you are so good at

what you do and you are in charge. But

you would like you have the you just

have that ease and you have it when you

when you act, you have it when you're in

giving a speech. I mean, your Emmy

speeches when you win are so good

because they are exactly what you say.

You are in the moment. You're not You're

not going who me? I didn't even know.

It's like this is a correct choice. You

chose you just go thank you for choosing

the winner that I am the winner. That's

the correct. But you're also super

gracious to everyone who is in your

category. You give um you know you put

things in context which few people do.

Oh, thanks Amy. And it's really relaxing

to watch you.

Thank you. You're welcome. I love sports

so much. And I love sports, too. My

honor to be called the Josh Allen of

I I don't know who that is. No, he he he

he's the um he's the quarterback for um

the um not the Giants. Sorry, not the

Jets. The Bills. Sorry. Thank you. Oh,

the Bills. Oh, he's so nice. He's dating

Haley Seinfeld. I never even knew that

information. I know that he's dating

Haley and he and he did a very sweet

thing where he knew every all the young

children that he visited at a recent

hospital. He knew all their names that I

don't know his stats. Um you know there

he he's controversial but as a player

yeah people like think he's I'm not

going to whatever but he's got he has a

beard. This is what I think about sports

players. No one I don't need don't tell

me I don't need to talk to them. I don't

need to know about their personal lives.

I'm trying to do this with the Eagles

now. Do not look at them. They don't

perceive them. They do football well.

Don't come over here. Okay. I'm the

exact opposite. I don't care so much

about the football, but I want to know.

You want to know everything. How's it

going with mom? See, you know, like I

want to know. I want to know. That's a

problem. People What do you do in the

offseason going into Josh Allen's life?

No, let's talk about what he does with

the past with the football on the field.

That's what's important to me. I hear

you. But anyway, but that's like the

Olympics though. when the when the when

the thing starts, when the um when the

whatever they're competing in starts,

I'm like, but I like all the stuff when

they're back in their hometown. I feel I

mean, I guess it is important. I just I

guess I'm only talking about the Eagles.

I just don't want people to ask.

Congratulations on your on your win, by

the way. That must have been exciting.

It was so much has happened to me in the

past 10 years, but I would say top five

is the Eagles winning the Super Bowl.

Wow. Yeah, I know. I'm feeling so good.

Quinta, is there anything I mean we have

to just I guess promote Abbott which

please watch Abbott Elementary. It's on

um ABC which is a network we all know

where it is. It's so on Hulu and I know

during co Mhm. I had so many people come

up and say that that parks got them

through and I know the same for Abbott.

Totally.

I just I took that at the time as this

bigger feeling that comedy is like is a

comfort and there's some kind of giant

warm feeling I get from being a part of

anything that special. Did you get the

same experience people say that to you?

And it is a mark that you get to

leave with the world not on the world

but with the world which is so special.

There was a girl that came up to my

co-stars on the street, Cheryl and Lisa.

I can't stop them from walking around on

the streets. I try I can't do anything

about it. Um I they we just filmed in

Philly and you know I had I had one

thing I was just like guys maybe don't

walk around here cuz very recognizable.

Maybe just take it easy. No, they go to

get their nails done. They're walking to

different stores.

I can't control them. Anyway, so but a

girl walked up to them and and Cheryl

took a video of this girl talking about

how in our show because Philadelphia has

a huge Muslim population,

we try to represent the city as much as

we can and we had an episode that

featured a young Muslim girl and in her

hijab and this girl was crying, came up

to Cheryl talking about how much that

meant to her. It's like the opposite

effect of someone being like, I don't

like what you're doing with Gregory.

It's someone being like, you you don't

like get like she said she was already a

fan of the show. That wasn't going

anywhere. But then to see that like

shifted her [ __ ] And I think that is

like the power of a sitcom. We're making

you laugh and then we're making you cry

and we're in your house with you either

in the binge format or once a week. And

it's that laugh that's special because I

can be in the house with the drama all

the live long day, but I'm like scared

of people after I watch them on a drama

for too long. Like, oh god, you scared

the hell out of me. Even though they're

very nice people, it's like y'all are

scary, but the laugh is like you cannot

you cannot

I think it's holy. I think it's holy. I

think so, too. I don't want to be corny,

but I mean, I love being corny, so I

think it's straight up holy. Maybe I'm

about to be in my corny area. Come on

in. Come on over. I'm in it. And it's

great. And you can just say things like

laughter is holy. And everyone goes,

"Oh, oh, that's but you know, Ann

Lamont, you know, Ann Lamont, the great

writer, she she says that laughter is

carbonated holiness, which is like kind

of how it feels for me." Like when la

when laughter actually happened, it

feels like you're getting some some kind

of spiritual thing is happening. It's so

spiritual. I agree. Why is that corny?

It's so the same to every I it's it's

the same everywhere. It's in the same It

was a Mean Girls line about math being

the same in every um country, but

laughter is that to me except for French

people. I don't I don't get I'm so proud

of Abbott making French people laugh.

There's almost nothing I'm more proud

of. By the way, I just was saying this

to my friends the other day in our group

chat. I was like, the fact that like

French people, they love Abbott. They

watch it and they like it. It's like

weirdly one of our biggest markets. I'm

so proud of me. Those are the things

that make me proud of me that French

people are like, "We I enjoyed the

show." That is the

French proud of it because French people

are so embarrassing and I don't think

people talk about it enough. I find

French people are in what ways? They

French people got two strikes and

they're just

In what ways? Yeah, the way they how

French they act all the time. The way

they walk, the way that they talk, the

way they used to be a really Amy has a

Kendrick like feeling towards the

French. Well, the um No, I I'm probably

feeling like I'm not as cool as them and

so I'm I'm acting out because Fred

Armison and I used to do a bit where we

wanted to do a sketch called French

Teenagers and it was just like really

cool French teenagers like like with

leather jackets like doing back flips

and smoking cigarettes. Totally. I love

that. French French people are cool, but

they're embarrassing, too. They're

embarrassing. I got to meet him for the

first time. What a nice man. You've

never met Fred? Never. That was also

what was cool about the SNL50 was like

people I never met before. And he was

talking to um Tim um Tim Meadows. Tim

Meadows. And so I was going to say hi to

Tim, but I did not know he was talking

to Fred Armison. And I did the thing

that I hate where I just assumed that

which is so bad to say, but I was like,

"Oh, he's probably talking to a writer.

I won't interrupt, but I'm just going to

say hi to Tim." And I was like, "Hello,

Tim." And Fred goes, "Hi." I was like,

"Holy [ __ ] I thought you were a writer.

That came out wrong. My bad. What's

going on, man?" It was so But he was so

sweet and kind. He was a nice man. He

was a nice man. Zach Alfanak is nice

man. Oh, he's the nicest guy and so

funny. You like Payton Manning? Love I

He's a good time, too. Payton loves He's

just like He's so funny. Naturally

funny. He's so funny. He's so, you know,

and I'm sure you've worked with this

already. Like at SNL, there's athletes

that come come through and they're like,

I'm really funny. And you're like, okay.

Okay. Um, but Payton is genuinely

genuinely funny. Really a really nice

man. He became my MVP of the weekend.

Not going to lie. Do you carry you

around like a football? No. It's just

that as soon as I walked in and I saw

such so many wonderful people that I do

know, but when I walked in, I had a

coffee in my hand. He was like, "Hey,

where'd you get that coffee?" And I was

like, "Uh, sorry, man. and I bought it

from the hotel. I knew it might be a

little crazier. He's like, "I should

have did that." And it was just so

human. And and then I got to talk about

football with him at the park. It was

just like super sweet. Do you do what

sometimes happens with guys like that

where they're so giant and you're

little? I'm little too where sometimes I

find myself just kind of like touching

them. Yeah. Without knowing like, "Wow."

Like you're a tree. I also feel like we

aren't the same species. I don't feel as

though and I know we're both human. No,

you know, I know we're both human. I'm

saying, but you know how there's like,

oh, I'm a I am a domestic dog. You are a

wolf. Yes, exactly. You know, so maybe

it's the same species. And I feel I

think it's an instinctual thing where

like I was talking to Jason Mimoa and I

found myself putting my like hands on

like

like help like like a like a tin like

like a little Yeah. dead animal, I

guess, just trying to hang on and and to

touch it. Jordan, you know who Jordan

Mali is? He's a um football player. He

came to my set the other day. He's

massive. He's massive. Football players

are big. He's a big football player and

he's just huge. And I'm just looking up

and you just did you get your little

Your hands are just on his shoulders

like I'm so sorry. I don't mean to Why

am I touching you? But I know they I

feel like big men must get that more

than you think, which is people just

going, "Hey," and touching it. People

touch us a lot, too, though. Yeah, they

pat us. They go, "Hey, little buddy."

They do. They do. You get a little pat

on the head or you get a little um Have

you ever been picked up against your

will? Uh it is one of my least favorite

things. Least favorite things in the

world. Um people are laughing. Yeah. Why

are y'all laughing at me? I've gotten

picked up. It's a very It's a comedy

improv thing. You get picked up in

scenes and it it's I I don't know how to

explain it other than pure rage. It is

ins and it to have your feet lifted off

the ground against your will. If I'm

going on a roller coaster, I signed up

for that. If I'm doing something, you

know what I'm saying? But to just be

lifted off and me, I'm so sturdy. I

think I'm super like I'm 10 toes down

all the time. To be lifted off my tin

toes is so unless disoriented. Unless

it's the right person. It's the right

person. And then you're like, "Oh my

god." You're like, "What? How can you

lift me?" But it changes my whole my

whole purview. I think I'm so big and

I'm so strong. And someone lifts you up.

I'm like, "I'm a pet." I feel like, you

know, you pick your pet up and they

don't have any. That's what happens to

me. I Or you go or you say, "Put me

down. Put me down." But like like then

you feel very stressed when people are

like, "Why are men?" So I get it because

as a woman, I'm a little like iffy about

my height sometimes. So yeah, I mean

whatever. I get six foot men, but

nothing wrong with the, you know, I

think you identify as tall. That's what

I say. That's why getting picked up

throws me off so much because I do

identify as tall and that's a break in

reality for me. It is. I really feel

like it's my cat. My cat feels super

tough. He thinks he runs [ __ ] and then I

pick him up and he's like, "Whoa, whoa,

whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, don't be picking

me up. I run this house." No, you don't.

I can pick you up. So that's what that's

why it throws me off when someone picks

me up because I'm just like, "Oh, I

don't like it either." Well, you heard

it here first. Don't go up to Quinta and

pick her up and do not Yeah. give point

and give any thoughts and try to not um

say who uh she reminds you of. And No,

that was a you thing. That's a me thing.

That's me thing. You can say it. I'm not

That's just me. So, before we wrap up,

I'm doing something, you know, I'm

asking uh because again, this is we're

attempting to have a good hang here. And

um I'm asking people like what are you

what are you going to right now that's

making you laugh. You know what is the

thing that you go you look up or a place

you go or a person you talk to or a

thing that you know is kind of the way

that you escape. Um I'm I regret to say

that there's this these videos online.

Now I don't really watch Tik Tok really.

Why? I just don't I I never really So

there's these video I'm learning of this

cat and it's an and I don't like it

because it's AI. Okay, look. Look, this

isn't a shame based I mean there's no

shame here. I'm shaming me for it's an

AI cat. Hold on. I got to check this

out. And he like always is he starts his

day.

Okay. Already. Okay. Okay. He starts his

day. What's his name? H SS I N. I don't

know how to pronounce him. He is Okay.

from Mia. And he H ss I N. Cat. Yeah. Do

you see him? HS uh HSN. Okay. Let's see.

Oh, H S I N. Yeah. Cat. It's a breed of

cat. Can I Yeah, let's let's look at it.

No, you're gonna have to search for him

in Tik Tok. Okay, very good. Stand by.

Look him up.

Um, and he he always begins his day. Um,

he wakes up and he just he decides he

goes to the market and he buys some

vegetables and then he goes and finds

Are you looking at him?

No, it's not. No, hold on. No, that's

Oh, this cat. Yeah. Okay. So, we'll

we'll put him up here. But he's So, he

he he will find a friend like a chicken

or a rabbit. He's finding a chicken in

this one, is he? And so what he does and

he's also and then he cooks the chicken

and he so but he always he drugs them

first. He he invites them over for a

drink and then they drink it and they

pass out. He's drugging these friends.

Wait. Okay. This is a whole story. Yeah.

And he and then he cooks them and he

eats them and he then he even has a

little funeral for them after he cooks

them. It's like you killed him. And uh

he has his friend he has his friend the

lion who he calls over to eat cuz I

think the the lion is the only apex

predator in his life cuz he cooks and

eats. Sometimes he drops a bomb in the

ocean and then he kills a shark. He has

shark meat that day and the caption is

always like I was in the mood for

something different today or the

caption's like

uh met a friend today and you think it's

going to end well this time. Nope. He

cooks whatever. One time he met a

crocodile and I was like, "This is

seeming like a budding friendship."

Cooks a Now he's in jail. He's in jail.

He gets There are consequences, but his

friend the lion always bails him out.

Mhm. He Sometimes he whacks someone over

the head and then he eats them. And but

sometimes they get him back. Like this

fox whacked him over the head once. And

I was like, "Finally, this cat is

getting what he [ __ ] deserves. This

little [ __ ] maniac." But then he

calls the lion. The lion comes and

whacks the fox. They have they have Fox

for dinner that night.

And you watch it? I watch every single

one

because I don't look up anything else on

TikTok. My algorithm is just this cat.

And every time I'm like, I hope this

little bastard gets what he wants. But

then when he is in the hospital, I'm

very scared. I'm like, "Please go to the

hospital. Please let him leave." Yeah.

Cuz he really gets beat up sometimes.

I hate how much they're laughing. But

also, I know what you mean. I I as I'm

watching it, what is weird about it is

it's like the cat is like giving another

cat a bath. The cat the cat is a human.

Like it has human qualities but looks

like a cat and now is eating a chicken

that made that he made and it's a really

fat cat. Yeah. And so he changes sizes

too throughout scenes. And it's like why

in this scene are you bigger than the

lion? I'm interested in how he perceives

himself to other animals. And he he

saves a baby every once in a while cuz

he you see him saving a baby. He doesn't

eat the baby. He doesn't eat the baby.

The first time he saved a baby though. I

thought he was going to eat that baby,

but he's all and I think that's like him

being like, "See, I'm I'm cool." But no,

you are a psychopath. You are drugging

other animals and eating them. And um so

that's Yeah, that's how you escape.

Yes, that's how you escape from working

too hard. But I get why you like this

because it's story. It is like

and and it's AI so it gets it wrong a

lot and uh and it also makes me feel

good. I have a friend Ash actually told

me. Ash told me that Ash has a friend

that works in AI and they and that

person was like look the day AI really

figures it out the day everyone should

be really scared Alzheimer's will also

be solved. And I was like, "Oh, because

if AI can really get that close to how

our brains really function,

we will have then also had the keys to

figure out Alzheimer's." And so that

brings me comfort and it brings me fear

because I I like what you just said. I

mean, and also I like that that's the

kind of thing that an expert would say

on a podcast, but

and I'd be like, "What? I heard it from

a friend who from a friend who heard who

said that's hilarious. Okay, love you.

Thank you so much for doing this. You're

the best. Bye.

Thank you so much, Quinta Brunson. You

are amazing and so talented and it means

a lot that you came and you're the best,

Quinta. Um, and yeah, you know, this is

the end of the show where we go a little

deeper on something that um brings me

joy or changes changes my brain. And so,

uh, we mentioned Lisa Beasley at the

very top of the show when we were

talking, um, to some of Quinta's friends

who worked at BuzzFeed. And I just want

to mention her again. Lisa Beasley

Experience is where you can find Lisa B

experience is where you can find her.

And, um, she's just a hilarious

comedian, does a ton of characters, and

she did that really funny character,

Corporate Erin. Check that out if you

haven't seen it. It's just corporate

speak at its best and the maddening pace

in which people deliver

non-news in in work spaces. Um it's

really funny and so is she and um yeah

so if you have not seen her comedy check

it out and always check out the great

Quinta on Abbott and check us out always

here at Good Hang. Thanks for hanging.

Okay bye.

You've been listening to Good Hang. The

executive producers for this show are

Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss Berman, and

me, Amy Polar. The show is produced by

The Ringer and Paperkite. For The

Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Cat

Spelain, Kaia McMullen, and Alia

Xanerys. For Paperkite, production by

Sam Green, Joel Levelvel, and Jenna

Weiss Berman. Original music by Amy

Miles.

So really good.