Emmy Awards 2026: FYC - Randall Einhorn - Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for 'Abbott Elementary' (Ballgame)

Written by Sarah Abraham

There are difficult episodes to direct, and then there is "Ballgame." 

For one unheard-of episode of Abbott Elementary, director Randall Einhorn took the beloved Philadelphia teachers of the fictional school out of their familiar setting and dropped them into one of the most unpredictable environments imaginable: a real Philadelphia Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park. 

Not a recreated stadium on the Warner Brothers lot. Not a collection of green screens. 

A real Major League Baseball game. 

"Ballgame" follows the Abbott crew as they attend the Phillies’ Teachers Appreciation Night, allowing the beloved series to expand its intimate, mockumentary-style comedy into an enormous live environment without ever losing the character-driven specificity that makes Abbott Elementary so endearing. The episode was filmed at Citizens Bank Park during a live baseball game, creating a directing challenge unlike anything the show had attempted before. 

Even trickier, baseball decided to make filming even more complicated. 

Phillies player Kyle Schwarber — who appears in the episode as himself — proceeded to hit four home runs during the game while filming was occurring. Suddenly, Einhorn and the cast weren’t simply shaping a pre-written comedy scene. They had to embrace the exciting reality happening around them. The actors could respond to the game in real time while remaining in character, creating a mixture of spontaneous, "yes, and…" moments that would not have happened on a soundstage. 

That is where Einhorn’s directing style becomes remarkable. 

The achievement of "Ballgame" isn’t just that Abbott Elementary managed to film at a Phillies game. It is that Einhorn elevates the enormity of the environment to feel completely natural to the show. He maintains the series intimacy while working on a scale so much larger than the manufactured school halls. The camera has to capture the cast’s reactions, the spectacle of the ballpark, the energy of the crowd, and the uncontrollable action on the field — all while preserving the rhythm of a half-hour comedy. 

What results from this is one of the best episodes of the entire series, showing the Abbott crew finding a new playground and again highlighting the charm of Philadelphia — the hometown of showrunner Quinta Brunson. 

That tonal balance is the key to Einhorn’s work that has been on display throughout the series. His direction understands that comedy comes from watching these incredibly written characters behave like themselves, regardless of what is surrounding them. In "Ballgame," they just happen to be around 30,000 baseball fans (including Brunson’s own family sitting one row ahead of them), at a Major League game at one of the most popular home stadiums. 

Due to these real circumstances, the episode possesses something that cannot be manufactured: genuine spontaneity. The actors’ reactions to the game are to what was actually unfolding in front of them. Einhorn creates enough freedom for those moments to breathe while still keeping the episode coherent. That requires an enormous amount of trust, preparation, and precision. 

It is also a perfect evolution of Abbott Elementary’s visual language. The series has always used its mockumentary format to make small moments feel immediate — the glance toward the camera, the awkward pause, the reaction someone hopes nobody notices. 'Ballgame" takes that same philosophy and places it inside a public spectacle. Somehow, the camera can move from the scale of an entire baseball stadium right back into the tiny reactions of our favorite teachers. 

"Ballgame" demonstrates what comedy directing can accomplish when a production embraces unpredictability rather than trying to right it. Einhorn doesn’t merely stage jokes. He creates an environment in which character, performance, circumstance, and real-world improvisation can collide — and then knows exactly when to capture said moment. That contrast is the episode’s greatest directing achievement, and is precisely why Randall Einhorn deserves serious consideration for the Emmy. 

The final-round voting will end on August 26th at 10 p.m. The Creative Arts Emmy Awards will take place on September 5th and 6th, followed by the Primetime telecast on September 14th at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.