‘Abbott Elementary’ Season 2: EPs Tease a Hilarious Scene Where Barbara Thinks Orlando Bloom Is Black

It’s almost time to head back to the classroom. ABC’s Abbott Elementary returns for season 2 on Sept. 21, and the show is already promising to deliver plenty of laughs. In a recent interview, Abbott’s executive producers teased the kinds of plotlines fans can expect in the new episodes. Apparently, Abbott Elementary Season 2 includes a hilarious moment where Sheryl Lee Ralph’s Barbara Howard mixes up the skin colors of celebrities.

‘Abbott Elementary’ returns with season 2 next week

Abbott Elementary Season 2 will see Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson) and her colleagues return for another year at their beloved elementary school. Last season primarily stayed within the school’s walls. However, season 2 will venture off school grounds to show the teachers’ personal lives.

“This season, now we get to go maybe to some of the character’s houses, go out with them at night and stuff like that,” Brunson, who created the series, told Deadline earlier this summer. “And I’m just pumped about that because that’s really exciting for us as writers to venture out with our characters.”

ABC has already revealed the synopses for the first two episodes. In the premiere, “Development Day,” the teachers focus on preparing for the upcoming school year during development week. Meanwhile, episode 2, “Wrong Delivery,” sees Janine try to spiff up Abbott Elementary so it looks “just as good as a new charter school.”

The ‘Abbott Elementary’ EPs felt inspired by a hilarious moment with Sheryl Lee Ralph for a Barbara scene

Many fans of Abbott Elementary are excited to learn more about Barbara Howard in season 2. The beloved kindergarten teacher has been at Abbott Elementary for years. She’s always there to offer advice to younger educators like Janine.

Barbara is certainly wise beyond her years, but she’s apparently not so up-to-date on her pop culture. In a recent interview with The Wrap, Abbott executive producers Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker described an upcoming scene that exposes Barbara’s lack of celebrity knowledge. According to Halpern, the scene came straight from a real-life situation with Sheryl Lee Ralph.

“We realized that Shirley Lee Ralph had Orlando Jones and Orlando Bloom mixed up in her head,” the EP said. “She was talking about how proud she was of all that Orlando Bloom had accomplished as a Black actor, so we realized she thought Orlando Bloom was Black and that Darren Starr was also Black, neither of whom are Black.”

Halpern added that the writers decided to bring that moment to Abbott Elementary.

“And so we wrote that into her character Barbara for the second season,” he added. “There’s a cold open where we deal with Barbara being confused as to who is a Black celebrity and who is a white celebrity.”

The EPs shared what else to expect this season

Barbara’s celebrity mix-up is just one example of the funny ways fans will learn more about the characters in Abbott Elementary Season 2, Halpern said. Meanwhile, Schumacker said season 2 will “open in an unexpected place.”

“We open season 2 in an unexpected place and an episode that shows a part of teaching that hasn’t been explored yet. Without going into details, it’s like what happens when the teachers are preparing for the year to start,” the EP said. “But that’s something that we were really interested in because I think it was illuminating [for] a lot of people, myself included.”

Abbott Elementary Season 2 premieres on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.