Sheryl Lee Ralph on the ‘Abbott Elementary’ Character She Originally Wanted to Play, and the Director’s Note That Led Her to an Emmy

When Sheryl Lee Ralph first read Quinta Brunson’s pilot script to “Abbott Elementary,” she knew exactly which character she wanted to play: Ava Coleman, the inappropriate principal who only seems to have her own best interests at heart. But Brunson had another idea. “She was just short of [saying,]  ‘Oh, hell no!’” Ralph says. “She […]