This is Fresh Air, I'm Terry Gross, the new hit sitcom,

Abbott Elementary, about the teachers in a majority black under-resourced elementary school,

was created by my guest, Quinta Brunson, who also stars on the show.

Before getting her own show, she was known for her viral short videos and series on the internet,

like, The Girl Who's Never Been On A Nice Date.

She was a producer and actor for Buzzfeed Video and was a cast member on the first season of a Black Lady sketch show.

In Abbott Elementary, she plays a second grade teacher in a Philadelphia school.

She's pretty new at the job and has remained fired up by idealism, but is still pretty naive.

The series is a mockumentary.

In this scene from episode one, she's in front of the camera describing herself.

What she says is interspersed with a scene from her classroom.

She's given her students to the count of three to do what she's told them to do.

She's already up to eight when this scene begins.

I'm Janine Teig.

I've been teaching second grade here at Abbott Elementary for a year now.

Eight, nine.

As a product of the Philadelphia school system, I'm proud to say I survived and now teach here today.

All right, guys, so there have been three presidents since this one, okay?

It's an old book.

So here's where I taped in the others.

I'd say the main problem in the school district is, yeah, no money.

The city says there isn't any, but they're doing a multi-million dollar renovation

...