Tyler James Williams‘ outlook on Gregory and Janine’s romantic journey on Abbott Elementary has Us believing in true love again.
During an exclusive interview in the newest issue of Us Weekly, Williams, 31, teased how the kiss between Gregory and Janine (Quinta Brunson) shifts the dynamic between our favorite Abbott Elementary couple.
“I can tell you right now, we changed the way we did everything. We changed the way we did literally everything,” Williams said about how he and Brunson, 34, discussed playing Gregory and Janine on season 4 of the hit ABC sitcom. “Each year we have to approach them and their dynamic differently — specifically the way they interact. We had a lot of conversations before the season started and then after the season first started as we were sharpening and narrowing things down.”
Williams and Brunson wanted to get things just right after so much onscreen build-up. “How do they interact with each other now? How do they interact with each other physically? How do they interact with each other emotionally?” he recalled asking his scene partner. “There’s different ways in which they’re going to talk to each other. This will feel like an evolution of Janine and Gregory, similarly to how they have the previous seasons.”
The costars worked “really hard to make sure” there is a visible shift between Gregory and Janine.
“[It is] new and fresh and different from what the previous seasons were. This season should feel tonally different for them,” he hinted. “[When season 4 starts], this will be the first time that Gregory is in the school having fully disclosed and tried to explore what happened with Janine. Obviously it’s a workplace and it’s going to make things a little complicated. The biggest thing that I can tease is how do you interact with a coworker that you have now expressed feelings for and definitely had some sort of physical interaction with? That’s really his biggest challenge this year.”
Williams is excited for viewers to see where the story goes from here, saying, “What we have seen up until this point was a mutual admiration for each other. Regardless of where it goes, it’s about how much they really respect and care for each other. That’s the key.”
Abbott Elementary, which debuted in 2021, follows teachers at a fictional Philadelphia public school. After two long seasons of buildup, Gregory finally confessed that he’s had feelings for Janine. She admitted she felt the same but decided to focus on herself for a while. Season 3 showed the pair trying to just be friends, which ended in a kiss heard around the world.
“We have people in our writers’ room who are deeply invested in Janine and Gregory as people, as individuals and as a couple. They address them as if they exist,” Williams noted. “When you have people who’ve given this much care to it up — from an actor’s point of view — I’m not concerned about what’s going to be written for Janine and Gregory because we all approach them with the utmost and understanding. We just have to find the most interesting road for them to travel that is unique and carves out our own lane.”
Williams praised the writers for knowing when to take big swings.
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“In that last scene in the finale where Jacob is telling Gregory to go back, I was going back and forth with the writers, like, ‘I’m losing justification. I’m losing the ability to justify why he’s not in that room anymore,’” he recalled. “That’s the perfect timing. When you’re in the skin of the character and you can no longer come up with a reason why he’s not there, then it’s time.”
While reflecting on Gregory’s journey, Williams pointed to certain scenes he wanted to properly depict, adding, “In the finale we have that moment where they’re sitting on the bed and they’re talking. It was really important to me that we saw not just Janine having a beautiful moment, but Gregory having a beautiful moment. I really want to romanticize the falling in love part — not just for her — but for him. That’s something that we don’t see a lot of. A lot of men are afraid of displaying those things and showing that they are in love with this moment just as much.”
As soon as fans were introduced to Janine and Gregory when the series premiered in 2021, the fictional couple was compared to other iconic TV sitcom pairings. The creative team behind Abbott Elementary took that in stride by evolving Janine and Gregory’s relationship into something unique and beloved.
“The really difficult part is you have to long-form the story without it feeling contrived. [Ross and Rachel from Friends] did the perfect job of that. Comedy sitcom couples will look at their playbook and go, ‘How did you do this? How can I reinvent this wheel?’ But the same thing with Jim and Pam [from The Office],” Williams explained to Us. “The aspect that I love with documentaries — that you don’t really get as much with your traditional sitcom — is this idea of stolen moments. Things that you weren’t supposed to see that got caught.”
Williams specifically reflected on the magic of Janine and Gregory’s season 3 kiss, adding, “We really got a chance to make the audience feel like they’re not supposed to be here — although they want to see everything that they can. There’s something super special about that.”
During his conversation with Us about bringing Janine and Gregory’s story to life, Williams recalled the different ways he had to dodge questions about their future together. Williams notably said in multiple interviews that perhaps Janine and Gregory should remain friends, which was all a ruse.
“I was doing an interview that aired the same night we shot the finale kiss. Quinta sent me a text that said, ‘You are unhinged,’” he quipped. “I do still hold to that argument though that it is really important to show these kinds of platonic love relationships. That’s what we did in seasons 1 through 3. However, the story must progress. It must go somewhere. This next phase however this looks is going to be equally as important. But I’ve also said this, ‘Don’t ask me questions I can’t answer. Then I’ll lie.’ What else am I supposed to do?”
Abbott Elementary returns to ABC on Wednesday, October 9, at 9:30 p.m. ET. For more on season 4 of Abbott Elementary — from the entire cast — pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.
