Lisa Ann Walter of ‘Abbott Elementary’ came from behind to win Celebrity Jeopardy
The ladies of ‘Abbott Elementary’ are on fire.
The category: Strong, smart, funny women.
The clue: In January alone, the highlights for this group of women included an Emmy, a Celebrity Jeopardy! championship, and writing and performing a poem for the inauguration of the first female mayor of Philadelphia.
The answer: Who are the ladies of Abbott Elementary?
On Tuesday, Lisa Ann Walter, who plays schoolteacher and South Philly native Melissa Schemmenti on the hit ABC show about a public school in Philly, came from behind to win it all in the Celebrity Jeopardy! finals. Along the way, she even got a Philly question correct, rightfully snapping it up from her opponents — humorist and journalist Mo Rocca and sports TV host Katie Nolan — before they could buzz in.
Walter, who trailed by several thousand dollars going into final Jeopardy!, where the category was “Literary Clichés,” bet almost everything and was the only one to correctly answer “The butler did it.”
Another win for the ‘Abbott’ stars
But it seems to me it’s the women of Abbott Elementary who are doing it this month — winning awards, winning quiz shows, and winning over the hearts of Philadelphians (the last, perhaps, being the most difficult achievement). They’ve been slaying this young year so far, and the Feb. 7 third season premiere of Abbott is still two weeks away.
While Philly is rightfully proud of Joel Embiid for becoming the ninth player in NBA history to score at least 70 points in a game on Monday and of Jason Kelce for continuing to be Jason Kelce, we should be proud of the women from Abbott too.
On Jan. 2, Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph, who plays teacher Barbara Howard on the show and calls both Philly and L.A. home, wowed the crowd at Mayor Cherelle Parker’s inauguration at the Met in North Philly with a powerful poem she penned herself about the city’s first female mayor.
It read, in part:
In heritage rich, where painful shadows persist
She is painting futures with a color named “resist.”
A canvas to be transformed by her guiding hand
A portrait of hope, a woman determined to take a stand.
On Jan. 15, West Philly native and Abbott creator and star Quinta Brunson, who won an Emmy in 2022 for outstanding writing in a comedy series, won the 75th Primetime Emmy award for lead actress in a comedy series for her portrayal of Philly teacher Janine Teagues. She is only the second Black woman to win the award and the first in more than four decades.
Brunson was moved to tears as she accepted her Emmy from legendary comedian Carol Burnett.
“Wow, thank you so much. I don’t even know why I’m so emotional, I think like, the Carol Burnett of it all,” she said in her acceptance speech. “I love making Abbott Elementary so much and I am so happy to be able to live my dream and act out comedy.”
Walter was also visibly moved Tuesday when she was crowned a Celebrity Jeopardy! champion by host Ken Jennings and won $1 million for her charity, the Entertainment Community Fund, which provides a safety net for entertainment professionals.
She beat out opponents in two other rounds to make it to the finals and said she was playing for family pride.
Though not a Philly native or resident (even though she does play an excellent one on TV), Walter earned some Philly street/suburban cred when she correctly answered the clue: “Located twelve miles outside of it, Villanova offers a course on the ‘History of’ this Pennsylvania city” with “What is Philadelphia.”
Speaking of Philadelphia and Jeopardy!, the region’s received a lot of love on the show lately, with clues and answers that mention the Market-Frankford El, Wawa, and the Wanamaker organ.
Personally, I’m hoping — like with Abbott Elementary — we’ve got a writer on the inside that keeps this Philly love going. I have a lot easier time answering questions about Philadelphia than I do about organic chemistry anagrams.
And I hope that one day Abbott Elementary gets its own category on Jeopardy! Until then, I’m happy to celebrate the successes of the strong, smart, and funny women making a show about the city I love with a lot of love behind it.