‘Abbott Elementary’: Gregory Hating Food Is Based on a Real Person
Many Abbott Elementary fans have come to know and love Tyler James Williams’ Gregory Eddie. The substitute-turned-full-time teacher takes himself a bit too seriously at times in season 1, but he quickly finds his way at Willard R. Abbott Public School. Part of what makes Gregory a memorable character is his quirks, such as — insert gasp here — not liking pizza. In a recent interview, the executive producers of the ABC sitcom broke down Greg’s “weird idiosyncrasies” and how they based the character on a real person.
‘Abbott Elementary’ Season 1 reveals that Gregory is a picky eater and doesn’t like pizza
Abbott Elementary Season 1 Episode 9, “Step Class,” includes a subplot where Gregory’s coworkers learn he dislikes pizza. Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter), Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph), and Jacob (Chris Perfetti) enjoy pizza in the breakroom and notice that Greg doesn’t take a slice. When pressed about it, the substitute says he prefers “Baltimore pizza” because that’s where he’s from.
The next day, the teachers decide to bring pizza from their favorite shops. Gregory sits this out, but Jacob reveals he drove to Baltimore to pick up an “extra crunchy and wet” pizza, just as Gregory claims to like it. Then, Gregory shocks everyone with the news that he doesn’t like pizza at all. In fact, he sticks to “four or five things” that he likes to eat every day. His coworkers are astounded, which frustrates Gregory.
“See? This is why I don’t ever tell anybody, OK? ‘Cause everyone always freaks out and acts like it’s a personal attack. It’s not my fault. I was born this way,” he says.
The ‘Abbott Elementary’ EPs revealed the inspiration behind Gregory and his ‘weird idiosyncrasies’
In a recent interview with The Wrap, Abbott executive producers Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker revealed that Gregory’s pickiness with food was inspired by another producer: Brian Rubenstein.
“One of the writers hates food, basically, and that became Gregory. We had taken it straight from Brian’s life and we put it into the character Gregory and when we turned in the outline to the studio, all the writers are on the call of the outline with the network,” Halpern said. “Everyone at the studio was like, ‘God, this makes this guy so unlikeable. If he doesn’t like food, how is he going to be the romantic lead? Who would ever like this person?’ And we’re all looking at Brian.”
Gregory’s disdain for pizza may be shocking, but it’s just one of the things that make him stand out. The EPs revealed that they wanted to take a different approach to the character as a romantic lead.
“We had always talked about how we didn’t want Gregory to just be Jim from The Office. We want Gregory to be this low-key weirdo who you get to like the more you get to know him,” Halpern added. “He does have all these weird idiosyncrasies. He’s not like your classic leading man. And guess what, Janine [Teagues, played by Quinta Brunson] is f***ing weird too!”
Will Gregory’s and Janine’s ‘weird’ habits bring them together in season 2?
Many fans rooted for Gregory and Janine to get together in season 1. They’ve already demonstrated chemistry, and apparently, they’re both weirdos. So, will these weirdos make a perfect match in season 2?
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Quinta Brunson cast doubts on their romance in the new season, but it may be possible in the future. She pointed out that Janine just ended a 10-year relationship in the season 1 finale and needs time to work on herself.
“For the first time, she is a single adult, and now she has space to discover what that means. So I don’t feel like she’s going to hop into anything immediately with Gregory,” Brunson said. “Gregory is also, he just made the decision to stay at Abbott to be a full-time teacher. He has that to worry about — what that means for him, what that looks like, making that kind of commitment.”
Abbott Elementary Season 2 premieres on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
