October 15, 2025
Provided Image/ABC Entertainment
On 'Abbott Elementary' on Wednesday, the sitcom will show scenes filmed Aug. 28 at Citizens Bank Park, the same day Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber had a historic game and hit four home runs. Above, Quinta Brunson and other cast members meet with Schwarber and the Phillie Phanatic on the field after the game.
The stars aligned in August when the cast of "Abbott Elementary" went to Citizens Bank Park to film scenes for the show during a Phillies game. Kyle Schwarber blasted four home runs that night – becoming just the 21st player to do so in MLB history – on the way to a 19-4 win over the Atlanta Braves.
Fans of the Emmy-winning ABC sitcom, now in its fifth season, can see how Quinta Brunson and company incorporated the surreal experience into tonight's episode, which airs at 8:30 p.m.
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The plan to film at Citizens Bank Park on Aug. 28 was set in motion by MLB Studios, which had reached out to Warner Brothers and the Phillies for permission to bring film crews to the ballpark. Schwarber had already been scheduled to make a cameo, but no one could have guessed that he was on the verge of a career night at the plate.
"The baseball gods were smiling on us," Nick Trotta, MLB's vice president of global media programming and licensing, told MLB.com. "After the second homer, I joked with the writer, 'This has to be part of the episode, because he's gonna hit a third one.' And then he hits a third one and a fourth one. So while the show is completely fictional, Kyle Schwarber's historic four-homer game is now part of Abbott's cinematic universe."
'Abbott Elementary' stars Quinta Brunson, Matthew Law, Lisa Ann Walter and Tyler James Williams are shown with fans in the stands at Citizens Bank Park during the Phillies game against the Atlanta Braves on Aug. 28, 2025.
During the game, the main cast of "Abbott" was seated in Section 114 and shown on the Jumbotron. Signs posted outside that section notified fans that they might appear on camera during the filming.
"During the game is where we caught some real extra bonus energy. Seeing our cast feed off what's happening on the field, seeing Kyle Schwarber hit four home runs ... oh my God, that was crazy," Einhorn told MLB.com. "You can't script that type of energy, and it really came across on the screen."
The premise of Wednesday's episode is that the Abbott Elementary staff go to the Phillies game for Teacher Appreciation Night. The episode will include in-game footage of Schwarber's home runs and Phillies public address announcer Dan Baker pumping up the crowd.
'Abbott Elementary' star Sheryl Lee Ralph is shown above at the Phillies game on Aug. 29, when the ABC sitcom filmed scenes at Citizens Bank Park.
Einhorn recalled encouraging Schwarber to be himself on camera and not worry about acting. He said the show was striving to capture an authentic ballpark experience that differs from many other film projects set at professional sporting events but often shot at alternate athletic facilities.
When the game ended, the "Abbott" cast took the field to film an apparent scene with Schwarber and get some photos with the Phillie Phanatic.
Brunson, the star and showrunner, gushed about the experience in an Instagram post after the game and called it "one of our most incredible shoots."
The Phillies season came to a disappointing end last week with an extra-inning loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLDS. But for Phillies fans and Schwarber, who's entering free agency this offseason, tonight's episode of "Abbott" will always be a testament to the energy at Citizens Bank Park.
"Quinta and the team definitely brought me some luck that night," Schwarber told MLB.com.
