Angelique Jackson It’s Monday afternoon and Quinta Brunson, creator, writer and star of “Abbott Elementary,” is about an hour away from walking into 30 Rockefeller Plaza for her first meeting with the writers of “Saturday Night Live.” She’s been a fan of “SNL” since childhood, watching the series with her family growing up in Philadelphia. Now, on Saturday night, she’ll make her Studio 8H debut with some of those friends and family — many of whom are based on the east coast — in the audience to cheer her on. “It’s surreal. I’m just taking it day by day — like I normally do because everything is so surreal nowadays — but this one’s really exciting,” Brunson tells Variety, calling from New York City. “‘SNL’ is the reason I even started pursuing comedy as a career, to be asked to host is just unreal. I can’t believe that I’m here and that it’s actually happening. It’s one of those ‘pinch yourself’ moments, for sure.”