“Abbott Elementary” is one of the more popular TV shows on the ABC network, receiving seven Emmy nominations in July. Channing Dungey, Warner Bros. TV Group chairman, says Quinta Brunson can create memorable characters.

“I would love to say that I had the full handle on Quinta’s secret sauce,” said Dungey. “What I will say is that she has a sort of innate ability to create characters that are fully three-dimensional, that are accessible and relatable, and at the same time, really pinpoint what’s funny.”

Brunson has had an exciting rise from producing videos for Instagram and BuzzFeed to moving on to “iZombie,” “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” and “Miracle Workers” and finally hitting it big with “Abbott Elementary.”

Dungey added, “Quinta is a doer. She was working in every form and every medium that she could. She was working as a writer. She was doing sketch comedy. She was doing acting roles in other people’s projects. So this is very much is the product of all of her hard work and effort. She’s definitely somebody who has put in the 10,000 hours, as they say.”

He revealed that the ability to be a good storyteller draws the audience into a show and believes that is why Brunson felt so strongly when pitching the TV show.

“This underscores the fact that it’s not about the platform. It’s about storytelling. Sure I acknowledge the fact that many of the audiences have found the show on Hulu, and that’s fine,” he continued. “But I think part of the reason that this had such reach from the beginning is that it was on a broadcast network. It was something that Quinta felt really passionately about when she was pitching the show. She wanted this to be a show that was free to everyone.”

The African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) held the 4th Annual AAFCA Awards on Saturday (Aug. 20), where they honored the cast from the mockumentary sitcom television series. The series won best TV comedy, and Brunson won for breakout star.