Creator of ABC's 'Abbott Elementary' returns home for 6abc Dunkin' Thanksgiving Day Parade

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The stars of the 6abc Dunkin' Thanksgiving Day Parade are arriving in Philadelphia as they prepare to join us for the festivities.

On Wednesday, Alicia Vitarelli caught up with a West Philly native who is in town for the big event, and she's pinching herself.

Quinta Brunson may live in Los Angeles now, but she is a hometown girl at heart.

Brunson is gearing up for a huge debut here on 6abc, as the creator and star of 'Abbott Elementary'.

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Being in our parade also checks off a line on her bucket list.

"I'm over the moon," Brunson said. "I wake up at 7 a.m. on the West Coast to watch the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade. When they asked me to do it, I said yes immediately, without question. My PR team said, 'You usually don't say yes to stuff that fast.' I said, 'No, this is different. This is big. This is fame.'"

Brunson's show 'Abbott Elementary' is about a public school here in West Philadelphia.

It's based on her mother, a teacher here for 40 years.

You can also expect to see a familiar face.

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"We have Jim Gardner in the show," Brunson says. "He's fantastic. It was so sweet. I almost passed out when he did it. I was starstruck. I've met a lot of people, but I have been watching him since I was a child. My entire home watches and trusts that man."

'Abbott Elementary' debuts December 7 here on 6abc.

Join the Action News team starting Thanksgiving morning at 8:30 a.m. wherever you watch and stream 6abc.