Mother’s Day has come early for a particular teacher at Abbott Elementary. Variety exclusively reports Taraji P. Henson will guest star as Vanetta, Janine Teagues’s mother, on the Emmy-winning ABC comedy. The episode entitled “Mom” will premiere this season on April 12. The series’ Twitter account announced the news yesterday.

about that episode titled “mom” you saw earlier…@tarajiphenson pic.twitter.com/k8Xlgr0yeH

— Abbott Elementary (@AbbottElemABC) April 1, 2023

Henson is a three-time Emmy nominee who won a Golden Globes, Critics Choice, and three BET Awards for her portrayal of Cookie Lyon on the hit Fox musical drama, Empire, according to Variety. Her other TV credits include CBS’ Person of Interest, The Divison, and Boston Legal. Henson’s film accolades include What Women Want, Talk to Me, The Family That Preys, and No Good Deed. Her breakthrough role came as Shug in 2005’s Oscar-winning Hustle & Flow. She also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for The Curious Life of Benjamin Button. 

According to Variety, the news about Henson’s casting was revealed during Saturday’s PaleyFest in Los Angeles where Abbott had a panel featuring some of the main cast. Those in attendance included Lisa Ann Walters (The Parent Trap) who plays Melissa Schemmenti; Tyler James Williams (Everybody Hates Chris) who plays first-year teacher, Gregory Eddie; William Stanford Davis (Swagger) who plays the school custodian, Mr. Johnson; and, kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard, played by Sheryl Lee Ralph (Moesha). The foursome was accompanied by Janelle James (The Final Straw) and Chris Perfetti via Zoom, who plays Principal Ava Coleman and teacher Jacob Hill (The Surrogate), respectively.

Although we haven’t met her yet, we have learned quite a bit about Vanetta and her relationship with Janine, played by series creator, writer, and co-executive producer, Quinta Brunson (A Black Lady Sketch Show). From previous episodes, audiences know Janine and her mother have somewhat of an estranged relationship. We often saw Janine confide in Mrs. Howard, using her as a workplace mother, when her mom failed to call or visit.

Viewers got another piece of the puzzle when Janine’s sister, Ayesha, played by The Bear’s Ayo Edibiri, guest-starred on episode eighteen, “Teacher Appreciation Day.” Janine and Ayesha’s disagreement seemed to stem from their mother’s view of both of them. Ayesha left Philadelphia as she saw she could never measure up to Janine in Vanetta’s eyes. From Janine’s vantage point, she felt abandoned by Ayesha having to take care of their mom by herself.

The news of Henson joining this season arrives on another winning weekend for Brunson, as she hosted Saturday Night Live yesterday evening. Catch a new episode of Abbott Elementary on Wednesday, April 5 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.