Barbara Howard: Last News

Jennifer Garner’s first starring role in a TV series, as a butt-kicking spy on 2001’s “Alias,” made her an international star and launched a movie career that includes “13 Going on 30” and “Electra.” And Sheryl Lee Ralph has spent decades building a formidable list of acting credits on TV — from the ’80s soap “Search for Tomorrow” to “Moesha” — but she’s finally getting her due as the motherly teacher Barbara Howard in “Abbott Elementary.” Garner, whose family members count themselves “Abbott” fans, recently returned to the small screen as a stepmother, Hannah, dealing with the disappearance of her husband in Apple TV+’s “The Last Thing He Told Me.” Days after Garner’s birthday, the two discuss their favorite topics: motherhood, generous co-stars and dessert.

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events.

It’s become an annual tradition for ABC‘s flagship comedy series Abbott Elementary to lead the network’s renewals with an early pickup. It has happened again, with the show, created by and starring Quinta Brunson, getting a Season 5 renewal, the first ABC series to secure its spot on the 2025-26 schedule. Instead of the cast, the school comedy let school children reveal the news in a video, which you can watch below.

Abbott Elementary is officially coming back with another season.

EXCLUSIVE: Matthew Law (Star Wars: Ahsoka) has joined the recurring cast of ABC‘s Abbott Elementary for Season 4, currently airing weekly on Wednesday nights. He will debut as O’Shon, the school district IT rep, in tonight’s episode titled “Class Pet.”

An audience with Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph, a fan favorite as no-nonsense teacher Barbara Howard on Abbott Elementary, makes for an exhilarating education.

Abbott Elementary is one of the breakout US sitcoms of the decade.Created by Quinta Brunson, who also stars as teacher Janine Teagues, the mockumentary sitcom is set in an underfunded public school in Philadelphia, where a documentary crew is recording the lives of teachers who are trying their best against the odds.Along with Brunson, the show stars Tyler James Williams as teacher Gregory, Janelle James as principal Ava Coleman, Lisa Ann Walter as second-grade teacher Melissa Schemmenti, Sheryl Lee Ralph as kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard, and Chris Perfetti as history teacher Jacob Hill.The show has won four Emmys since it began in 2021, including Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series for Brunson.The show was renewed for a fourth season back in February, shortly after the third season debuted in the US and following the Hollywood strikes.At the time of writing (July 10), an exact date hasn’t been released.The show, however, will be back as part of the 2024-2025 broadcast schedule at ABC, so it’s expected to return (in the US, at least) later this year.

Abbott Elementary concludes its third season with a climactic payoff between Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams).Created by Brunson, the mockumentary sitcom is set in an underfunded public school in Philadelphia, where a documentary crew is recording the lives of teachers who are trying their best against the odds.Other cast members include Janelle James as principal Ava Coleman, Lisa Ann Walter as second-grade teacher Melissa Schemmenti, Sheryl Lee Ralph as kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard, and Chris Perfetti as history teacher Jacob Hill.The show has won four Emmys since it began in 2021, including Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series for Brunson.In the season three finale, titled Party, Abbott Elementary significantly pushed forward the will-they-or-won’t-they relationship dynamic between Janine and Gregory.After the party at Janine’s ends, Gregory, who initially leaves, returns to her doorway after everyone else has left. The pair then passionately kiss, before Gregory shuts the door on the camera, and subsequently the blinds on the window, as the episode ends.While this isn’t the first time they have kissed, following the drunken encounter in season two episode Teacher Conference, this feels like a key turning point.

Tony Hale and Sheryl Lee Ralph have been tapped to announce the nominees for the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards. The live ceremony is slated for Wednesday, July 17, at 8:30 a.m. PDT/11:30 a.m. EDT. It will stream live from Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre on Emmys.com/nominations.

Tony Hale and Sheryl Lee Ralph have been tapped to announce the nominees for the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards. The live ceremony is slated for Wednesday, July 17, at 8:30 a.m. PDT/11:30 a.m. EDT. It will stream live from Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre on Emmys.com/nominations.

Katcy Stephan Sheryl Lee Ralph has signed with CAA for representation. An Emmy, Critics Choice and Independent Spirit Award winner, Ralph is currently seen starring in ABC’s hit comedy series “Abbott Elementary” opposite Quinta Brunson.

Abbott Elementary isn’t going anywhere.

EXCLUSIVE: Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary), Timothy V. Murphy (Appaloosa) and Bruce Greenwood (The Fall of the House of Usher) have boarded The Fabulous Four, a new comedy from Bleecker Street, which has entered production in Georgia under an Interim Agreement from SAG-AFTRA.

There’s nowhere else to go but up for multi-hyphenate Sheryl Lee Ralph. During Ralph’s 46-year career, she’s been a trailblazing force. Since her debut in Sidney Poitier’s A Piece of the Action or her lauded turn in Dreamgirls on Broadway in 1981, which landed her a Tony nomination, Ralph’s been making a major impression. These days, she’s back to school on ABC’s mockumentary Abbott Elementary. Her role as the wise and wise-cracking teacher Barbara Howard earned Ralph her first Emmy win, making her the second Black woman to win for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She discusses the joy of playing Barbara Howard and their personal connection.

Ready for her school picture! Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson brought her A-game to the 2023 Met Gala.

Who could forget Sheryl Lee Ralph’s Emmy acceptance speech last year, where she sang a rousing celebration of her womanhood and artistry, followed by these words: “To anyone who has ever had a dream and thought your dream wasn’t, wouldn’t, couldn’t, come true, I am here to tell you this is what believing looks like, this is what striving looks like, and don’t you ever, ever give up on you.”

Sweet baby Jesus! Sheryl Lee Ralph has received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Barbara Howard on ABC’s Abbott Elementary — but that wasn’t always the role she wanted to play.  

Selome Hailu Lisa Ann Walter is busy cooking dinner as we talk on the phone. “Hang on one second — I wanna flip my rigatoni into the pot, and I don’t wanna talk over it!” the “Abbott Elementary” actor laughs in the middle of answering a question. “I’m having people over from the cast tomorrow, and some of the crew. Quinta, if she gets back in time from New York, will come over, and I promised her meatballs. Baked pasta, meatballs and sausage.” Titled “The Principal’s Office,” Season 2 Episode 4 of “Abbott Elementary” sees her character, Melissa Schemmenti, invite Janine (series creator Quinta Brunson) over for a cooking lesson. Together, they cook an Italian meal, and Walter is aware of the irony that she’s in an interview about the episode while doing the same. Moments like this have actually caused her to adjust her approach as an actor.

A royal connection. Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph revealed an interesting link to the late Queen Elizabeth II from her past.

(CNN)Jackée Harry was just one of the people who celebrated Sheryl Lee Ralph's first-ever Emmy win on Monday.But the "227" star added a bit of context about Ralph, who won for her role on the comedy series "Abbott Elementary," which made it even more celebratory.Harry tweeted a photo of herself with the Emmy she won in 1987."Winning my Emmy was a career highlight, but it was also a lonely experience," Harry wrote. "For 35 years I've been the only black woman to win Outstanding Supporting Actresses in a Comedy Series.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large When Sheryl Lee Ralph first read Quinta Brunson’s pilot script to “Abbott Elementary,” she knew exactly which character she wanted to play: Ava Coleman, the inappropriate principal who only seems to have her own best interests at heart. But Brunson had another idea. “She was just short of [saying,]  ‘Oh, hell no!’” Ralph says. “She said, ‘We need a queen for Barbara Howard. And you are that queen!’ And I was just like, ‘Baby, if you put it that way, How do I say no? What else do I need to know about that? I’m going to be the queen. I love it. Yes, I’m ready.’” Janelle James wound up being cast as Ava, and landed an Emmy nomination this year for the role. But tapping Ralph to play Barbara, the no-nonsense, seen-it-all veteran teacher in “Abbott Elementary,” also turned out to be the right move. On Monday night, Ralph was rewarded with an Emmy for outstanding actress in a comedy series.