Abbott Elementary proves viral Internet stars can shine on TV

Wednesday’s episode of Abbott Elementary was delightful as usual, but for a certain type of plugged-in Online Fan there was a bonus: “Smoking” includes guest appearances from Sabrina Brier and Casey Frey, two beloved Internet personalities. Brier plays a substitute for Janine’s (Quinta Brunson) class, while Frey followed in Tariq’s (Zack Fox) footsteps as one of the rappers for F.A.D.E. (the show’s version of the anti-drug org D.A.R.E.). These roles were perfectly suited to the comic personas that Brier and Frey have cultivated online—but, of course, that’s Abbott’s modus operandi.

It’s not an easy feat to parlay viral fame into real success in the entertainment industry. This past week has seen a lot of debate on Twitter/X on the subject after Billie Eilish was reportedly caught questioning the presence of “TikTokers” at the People’s Choice Awards (via Business Insider). Many agreed with Eilish’s apparent skepticism, complaining about influencer behavior on the red carpet (such as one creator who asked America Ferrera whether she’d prefer a “gay son or thot daughter”). It revived an ongoing debate about what place “Internet Famous” folks deserve in the cultural landscape.

There are lots of examples of how “Internet Famous” sometimes fails to translate in traditional industry formats (viral YouTube characters like Fred and Miranda Sings both saw their own series canceled after one season). Yet coming up through Internet comedy is an increasingly valid way to cut one’s teeth in entertainment. That’s how Quinta Brunson came up, creating and starring in comedy videos first on her own and then via BuzzFeed Video. Years of honing her craft online led to writing and starring on real television shows like Black Lady Sketch Show, eventually creating the Emmy-award-winning mockumentary Abbott Elementary.

And Brunson has used Abbott as a way to pay it forward: it’s become a proving ground for Internet-first comics, to show they can thrive in a traditional format. Brier and Frey are the latest examples. Brier is a viral TikTok star for her characters like “The friend who gives ruthless advice” or “When you and your bestie will be debriefing later.” Frey, meanwhile, has been around since the days of Vine. Much beloved by his Internet niche, he’s perhaps best known for the comedy dancing video “Get tf out of my way type way.” Both of their Abbott characters were calibrated to the actors’ familiar strengths: Brier dropped Gen Z Internet lingo and threw out a signature “Oh!”, while Frey got to play an exaggerated and ridiculous white boy rapper-dancer. To the credit of the performers and the writers’ room alike, these characters fit seamlessly into Abbott’s world.

Brier and Frey are not the only viral stars to benefit from Brunson’s unique outreach program. You might’ve recognized TikTok comedian Taylor Owen (“If Real Life Was Succession”) in the first season episode “Wishlist.” Affable Philadelphia school district employee Benjamin Norris is now better known for Never Have I Ever, but he also got his start by creating his own web series, Live Your Lyfe (which Brunson appeared on, a decade ago). Vince Staples is a rapper, but before he was granted his own show or an Abbott Elementary guest role, his comedy talents were mostly online. And most notably, fan-favorite character Tariq is played by Zack Fox, who first gained prominence by being funny on Twitter.

Providing a pathway from the Internet to television seems to have become something of a minor mission statement for Abbott Elementary, not just on screen but behind the camera as well. Brunson has brought on board several of her old Buzzfeed colleagues (including Justin Tan, Zack Evans, Garrett Werner, and Kate Peterman) to write, direct, and appear in the show. Creating a platform for these non-traditional creatives is clearly important to Brunson, and probably for her co-creator Justin Halpern too—he also got his start on the Internet, with the early viral Twitter account “Shit My Dad Says.”

The viral-success-to-traditional-media pipeline existed before Abbott Elementary, and Hollywood will surely continue to attempt it long after. Online comics like Meg Stalter, Benny Drama, Caleb Hearon, and Grace Kuhlenschmidt are making names for themselves on television and in film. Canadian TikToker Boman Martinez-Reid landed a Crave Original comedy series based on his genre-skewing comic videos. And NBCUniversal launched a “Creator Accelerator” to develop original programming with a whole host of viral TikTok stars. There are lots of different and viable ways to go from Internet-famous to real-famous.

But the pipeline doesn’t always offer a smooth transition, and that’s what makes Abbott Elementary so unique. It’s a safe incubator for these stars to test out the talents that made them unique online in a new way. And it’s a welcome environment for the Internet-famous, in a culture that—as Billie Eilish made clear—does not always celebrate when “influencers” or “Internet creators” rise above their station. Brunson knows what it’s like to grind online and make it big. Now she’s granting opportunities to other creators who know what it’s like.