Fans of ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” were given the opportunity to tune into an exclusive Zoom call that provided insight into the show, the actors’ experience and much more.

On Feb. 22 the Museum of Broadcast Communications held a virtual event hosting two stars of the popular sitcom. The show follows the lives of several teachers working at the fictional Philadelphia school, Abbott Elementary.

The event, hosted by Emmy Award-winning ABC 7 Chicago reporter Hosea Sanders, featured two of the show’s main cast members, Lisa Ann Walter and Sheryl Lee Ralph. The actresses discussed what it has been like to be a part of the successful ABC show.

“It’s been an acting dream,” Walter said. “It’s just beyond anything I could have hoped for. I’m happier on this show than I have ever been doing anything in my career. I just pinch myself every day.”

The ABC sitcom has received wide critical acclaim and currently has a 100% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Sanders asked the actresses what they think makes a hit show.

“I would say it’s the way the show hits the heart of the audience,” Ralph said. “It has everything to do with the alchemy that comes together when you put that producer together, that director together, that cast together and that script together.”

The cast members also spoke on their influences for playing realistic elementary school teachers.

“I come from a family of lifelong learners, lifelong teachers [and] people who have dedicated themselves to their community [and] to their classrooms,” Ralph said. “I know these characters very well.”

But the actors say they noticed some differences between their experiences in school compared to the new generation of elementary school students.

“When we were shooting the pilot, there was a scene where the kids had to fight. … These kids were like, ‘There’s no fighting. Who goes to school to fight?’ … [Walter] and I looked at each other like, ‘whoa, wait what?’” Ralph said.

Fellow cast member Chris Perfetti later joined the virtual event as a surprise guest.

Perfetti opened up about the pressure of working on the show, saying, “The experience of being on set is already an extremely anxiety-provoking thing. But, I go to work with the best in the business. I go to work with real professionals, who it’s very easy to learn from.”

Despite the cast’s honest performances, some of the show had to be faked. Specifically, their work with live animals.

“I’m so sorry to disappoint you, but the snakes on our show were CGI,” Perfetti said. “They were digital. … No baby snakes were harmed.”

However, not all of their animal work was faked.

“The chicks were real and very cute,” Perfetti clarified.

Above all else, the cast feels incredibly grateful to be working on the show.

“Sometimes I am so full of emotion when I talk about the show, I could just cry,” Ralph said.

That emotion is a product of their appreciation for the show’s inspiration.

“You never know, as a sixth-grader or as a teacher, which sixth-grader you are going to inspire to write a TV show someday,” Walter said. “I think that is the most telling message to our fans. … We honor our teachers. If you have a teacher that you love, you don’t have to write a TV show about them. Reach out, contact them and tell them that you appreciate them.”