Entertainment TV Scripted TV Shows Sheryl Lee Ralph Recalls Filming Abbott Elementary's Halloween Episode in 107-Degree Heat (Exclusive) The actress says she was "enveloped in fur" while filming the upcoming special, telling PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly at the 2024 Emmys it was "hot, hot, hot" By Chris Barilla Chris Barilla Chris Barilla is a Staff Editor at PEOPLE. He has been working at PEOPLE since 2023. His work has previously appeared on Distractify, The Blast and Entertainment Daily. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 15, 2024 07:58PM EDT Comments Sheryl Lee Ralph is giving fans the inside scoop on Abbott Elementary's highly anticipated Halloween special. Speaking with PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly at the 76th annual Primetime Emmy Awards Red Carpet Live show, the actress — who plays Barbra Howard on the hit sitcom — notes that despite the episode giving a fall vibe, the weather while filming was quite the opposite. "Let me just say, it was hot, hot, hot," Ralph, 67, recalls, "It was 107 degrees and I was enveloped in fur." Despite the uncomfortable working conditions, the star admits that the product of their work amounted to "such a funny episode." Quinta Brunson Says Abbott Elementary Crossover with Mystery Show will 'Change Television as We Know It' Sheryl Lee Ralph attends the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on Sept. 15 in Los Angeles, California. Amy Sussman/Getty The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! "We're probably six episodes in, and I cannot tell you just how funny they are. Our writers are amazing, and our director-producer, Randall Einhorn, who is also nominated this year, everybody just does such an incredible job on the show. I'm very happy." The Halloween special isn't all that Abbott Elementary fans have to look forward to coming up, as Ralph told PEOPLE’s Breanne L. Heldman during a Sept. 12 panel that the show's other upcoming highly-awaited moment, a crossover episode with a yet-to-be-named mystery show, "is going to be killer" as well. "And I'm not going to say another word about it," she teased. Chris Perfetti Feels 'Very Attached' to His Abbott Elementary Costars: 'These People Are My Family Now' (Exclusive) Sheryl Lee Ralph in 'Abbott Elementary'. ABC/Gilles Mingasson Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Ralph further notes to PEOPLE at the Emmys red carpet that she and her castmates struggle to not break character while filming the show's hilarious scenes. "There's sometimes moments that one of us do something, we cannot hold it in," she says. "And we just have to let it out. And we hoped that we held it in long enough so that we don't have to re do it but very often everybody will crack up." "I hold it in the most, though," she quips. Season 4 of Abbott Elementary will premiere on Oct. 9, 2024, at 9:30 pm EST on ABC. See PEOPLE's full coverage of the 76th annual Primetime Emmy Awards as they're broadcasting live on ABC from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.