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Janelle James portrays the free-spirited and dramatic Ava Coleman in the hit ABC sitcom, Abbott Elementary. The series, shot in a mockumentary style, follows the daily lives of teachers at Philadelphia's fictional Willard R. Abbott Elementary School. James plays the school principal Ava Coleman on Abbott Elementary. However in a recent episode titled Audit, Ava was fired as the principal for taking bribes from golf course developers.
While speaking about her character being written off the famed comedy series, James told Variety:
“I was told about it a week before. [Creator] Quinta [Brunson] told me, because she wouldn’t do me like that to find out during the table read. I think that’s when you’re actually being fired, is when you find out at the table read, or so I’ve heard. So yeah, she told me a week before. I was like, do I still get paid? And she said yeah. I was excited, because I trust her and I trust the writers. I knew it would be for a reason and that it would lead to exciting developments.”
Janelle James has been nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for her performance as the eccentric yet uplifting Ava Coleman. The ABC series has an ensemble cast of Quinta Brunson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, William Stanford Davis, Tyler James Williams, Chris Perfetti and Lisa Ann Walter among others. Abbott Elementary is created by Brunson for ABC.
Ava Coleman in Abbott Elementary
Ava Coleman is the inept principal of the Philadelphia public school, Willard R. Abbott Elementary School. She would often misuse her position and even pick on the teachers. However, her character arc continued to evolve through the seasons, and she got invested in her job and became a compassionate person.
In Episode 18 of Season 4, titled Audit, auditors from the school district visit Abbott Elementary when they come to know that the school could be accepting bribes from the local golf course developers. Ava teams up with the teachers to keep everything under the wraps. Unfortunately, they get caught. Ava decides to take the fall, which instigates the district authorities to fire her from her job.
Future of Janelle James as Ava Coleman on Abbott Elementary
Fans took to social media to express their shock at the possibility of James’ character being written off the show.
A fan wrote on X:
“no way they got me ugly crying by firing ava, abbott elementary writers did us ugly after the karaoke ep”
Patrick Schumacker, co-showrunner of the series assured that not all is over. Per TheWrap, he said:
“The story is not over — You will see Janelle in subsequent episodes… But it is kind of a longer play. It’s not something that’s going to resolve itself super quickly.”
James shared that the character is definitely moving on and probably doing well. On whether she will be back at Abbott Elementary school, she said:
“… I will be around in some capacity. But will I be back to the school? Who knows?”
Abbott Elementary airs on Wednesday at 8.30 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and will be available on Hulu the next day.
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