SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not seen “Step Class,” Episode 9 of “Abbott Elementary.”
Janelle James punctuates everything she says with a long, loud laugh.
She knows she’s funny. Her career trajectory proves it: Her standup career has earned her spots in Netflix specials including “The Comedy Lineup” and “The Standups,” and she’s written on the acclaimed TV series “Central Park” and “Black Monday,” also playing small acting roles in each. In 2020, she made Variety’s list of 10 Comics to Watch, saying, “I’m a woman, when else do I get a room full of people to listen to me? I get to do that all the time and charge people money for it. It’s like I’m a motivational speaker without all the bullshit. Without all the cheerfulness.”
Her most recent gig is her role as the unabashedly selfish principal Ava Coleman in “Abbott…
