Quinta Brunson Sued Over 'Abbott Elementary' One Day After Emmy Noms
Jul. 13 2022, Published 3:44 p.m. ET
Abbott Elementary creator/actress Quinta Brunson has been dragged to court only one day after receiving multiple Emmy nominations, RadarOnline.com has learned.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, an aspiring writer, actress and performer named Christine Davis has sued Brunson along with the ABC network who airs the hit sitcom.
In the suit, David accused the defendants of copyright infringement and claims Abbott is a rip-off of her show, This School Year.
“Without [Davis’] permission, license, authority, or consent, [Brunson & ABC] knowingly and illegal used [Davis’] works to create the Abbott Elementary television show.
Davis wrote the script in 2018 and registered it with the United States Copyright Office in March 2020 — a whole year before Brunson’s show debuted.
In court documents, Davis said her show is a television comedy set in a New York City public school. IN her show, the principal hires filmmakers to film a documentary of the school.
In her show, the principal was convinced everything is going well and that the show is well-controlled and that the “teachers and students will adhere to her agents.” However, the teachers, staff and students have their own agenda.
The main character is named Ms. David who is a “young, idealistic teacher hoping to get tenure but also trying to convince everyone that the school needs to be reformed.”
Abbott is a rockumentary style sitcom that focus on a Brunson playing a optimistic teacher that works at a public school with a team of jaded coworkers.
Davis said she took her script to two women named Shavon Sullivan Wright and Cherisse Parks at Blue Park Productions in July 2020. She said she had at least three meetings about her work.
She said they told her ABC and HULU were looking for black, female-led comedies. Davis said Wright and Parks took the show to HULU but no deal materialized.
Davis said ABC then started shooting Abbott in September 2020 with Brunson as the lead and listed as creator.
In the suit, the aspiring writer said Abbott copied the “look and feel of the inner-city school, the mockumentary style, unique plot synopsis, set design and unique characters from” her script.
“Additionally, the main characters are all stingingly and substantially similar. From the triad of young teachers whose roles are nearly identical,” the suit reads.
Davis’ suit demands Brunson and ABC turn over all profits they made from the show. The legal drama comes after Brunson earned Emmy nominations for acting, writing, and in the series category.