Leading up to the fifth season premiere of the 4-time Emmy-winning ABC series Abbott Elementary, I spoke to comedy queen and millennial favorite Lisa Ann Walter, who plays Melissa Schemmenti, for an exclusive conversation. It was recently announced that Luke Tennie, a rising star from the Apple TV+ hit series Shrinking, will be joining the show as a teacher for season 5. Walter recounted, “In [Tennie’s] second week there, he said, ‘When I wasn’t on this show, I used to wonder what it’s like over there because it seemed like magic. Next week, Walter will be performing a series of stand-up comedy shows at The Comedy Vault in Batavia, IL. Season 5 of Abbott Elementary premieres on Wednesday, October 1, at 8:30 PM ET / 7:30 PM CT on ABC and continues weekly, with new episodes available to stream on Hulu the following day.