Two stars of Abbott Elementary voiced concern Saturday about what the pending Paramount-Warner Bros. merger could mean for workers across the entertainment industry.
Sheryl Lee Ralph and Janelle James spoke at the AAFCA TV Honors, held at City Club in Los Angeles. The event honored Abbott Elementary alongside Paradise, Spider-Noir and Love Story, and recognized actors including Tracy Morgan, Sterling K. Brown, Lamorne Morris and Erika Alexander.
Ralph, who plays Barbara Howard on the ABC comedy, did not hold back on the subject of industry consolidation. "Any time there is a consolidation, something shrinks, and right now we're seeing such attrition when it comes to the entertainment industry," she told Variety. "I don't want to see too much more shrinking. We've lost too many people. We've lost too many people outside of this state going to other places."
James, who plays Principal Ava on the show, took a more measured position. "I really have no idea what it means. I know I still got a job. Hopefully, it results in people continuing to keep their jobs," she said. "I take it as something I don't need to worry about."
Ralph also spoke about the importance of keeping production in Los Angeles. The show films on the Warner Bros. lot and employs hundreds of young extras each season in addition to its regular cast and crew. "Hollywood, California, is the birthplace of show business, and too many other cities, states around the country and world are claiming it as theirs," Ralph said. "I want it to come back. I want it to stay right here. I want us to come back to the development of real stories, real series, and I would like box office to mean something again soon."
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also appeared at the event. She spoke about steps her office has taken to make the city more competitive for productions. "We're looking at how we reduced the costs on set by reducing the number of city staff," Bass said. "So what I would like to ask you all to do is to tell me, tell our office what more Los Angeles can do, specifically, so that we can continue to flourish."
Ralph pointed to the young extras on Abbott Elementary as a sign of what the industry's future could look like, if the conditions are right. "I have said this to people in the past, but I know for a fact in 10 years, there are going to be kids that were extras or under five in the cast that I'm going to see making films, making movies, creating their own series from YouTube to network to streaming," she said. "I'm gonna see it because I'm listening to them when they talk on set. There's some really smart kids on our show. And it's happening."
Abbott Elementary is set to begin production on Season 6 in the coming weeks.
