AceShowbiz - Quinta Brunson says her first television role on "New Girl" was "the biggest deal" to her. The "Abbott Elementary" creator and star found it so meaningful to be on the Fox sitcom about a group of friends, featuring Zooey Deschanel, Jake Johnson, Hannah Simone, Max Greenfield and Lamorne Morris, sharing a loft in Los Angeles because she "loved" it in 2018.

The 32-year-old actress and writer told PEOPLE, "My first official acting job was on the show 'New Girl'. I was in an episode where the two characters, Jess and Nick, get engaged. I played the waitress at the restaurant where Nick is trying to get a reservation. That was the biggest deal to me because I loved 'New Girl'."

Quinta attributed her guest spot to the show's creator Elizabeth Meriwether who she met with "about developing something, but I hadn't really got a formal acting job yet" before going to put her in the "small role." She said, "She was like, 'I feel like this is so small. Do you want to do this?' I was like, 'I don't care. I love this show.' It was the final season. I didn't care how small it was. I wanted to do it. It was exciting because I was just such a huge fan of that show."

The "A Black Lady Sketch Show" star says her ABC Emmy-nominated sitcom, which centres on an elementary school in Philadelphia and will return for a 22 episode second series next month starring Janelle James, Tyler James Williams, Chris Perfetti and Sheryl Lee Ralph. and its success has displayed what she is "capable of."

Quinta said, "It's changed in that I am kind of forced to realize what I'm capable of, which sounds weird. [And] to reckon with, okay, I guess if I do dream something, there's a chance I might accomplish it. I was like, I should have good dreams because they might come true so I should really focus on making them positive."