The premiere of the second season of Abbott Elementary was full of fuss, personal problems and surprises. One of the surprises was the debut of the extremely popular Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty. Although the action of the teacher-oriented comedy takes place in the City of Brotherly Love, the appearance of the NHL’s favorite mascot came as a surprise to the audience. With great attention to Gritty after the episode, the mascot gave a rare interview in which they cast a cheerful shadow on Dwayne Johnson.
Gritti’s witty joke was made in a rare interview they gave to Variety after their cameo role in Abbott Elementary. While the beloved mascot was silly and exciting on and off screen, it didn’t seem like he was here for actors who complain about playing themselves. Gritti felt relieved that ABC had asked them to play themselves instead of forcing an actor like Rock to try to play the Philadelphia icon by explaining it:
Shots fired! Who would have thought that Gritty was a Dwayne Johnson hater, or at least didn’t like stunt casting? They don’t want celebrities to take good roles from hardworking mascots. In addition, if the show wants a real Gritty, they may well play themselves depending on their busy schedule. However, I thought it was a bit mean to hit the Jumanji star.
Could you imagine Gritty appearing in the premiere episode just to show that Dwayne Johnson is behind the NHL’s favorite orange mascot? I mean, Johnson hasn’t appeared in unexpected episodes of a TV show before. Since switching from wrestling to acting, the 50-year-old actor has played himself in everything from Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place to Family Guy. Thus, he is not averse to making a small cameo or playing an exaggerated version of himself. Hopefully, Gritti’s cameo will be the first in the series.
Gritti’s presence at the season two premiere was the cherry on top of outstanding workplace comedy. The series marks two Emmy wins for series creator Quinta Brunson and Mrs. Barbara Howard Sheryl Lee Ralph herself. The audience was still celebrating Ralph’s incredible Emmy speech, and also rallied around Brunson after Jimmy Kimmel’s stage joke during her speech, although she quickly put an end to the drama. With its big wins, huge audience, solid cast and epic cameos, Abbott Elementary can stand out from other classic sitcoms.
To see if other Philadelphia icons will appear in the bigger and better season 2, be sure to watch Abbott Elementary every Wednesday at 9 p.m. EST on ABC. If you miss any new releases, you can always watch them later with a Hulu subscription. As at Abbott Elementary last week, the 2022-2023 TV season will host a host of other new and returning TV premieres.
