It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Abbott Elementary are two TV series that seem opposites. Abbott Elementary mainly follows kind, caring teachers trying to do their best with limited resources and control. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is about degenerates. They are likable scum but pretty terrible humans. This makes the concept of these two worlds colliding hilarious.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Abbott Elementary don’t share much in common besides their locations. However, both series are run and backed by brilliant writers. We can trust that the show will find a way to stay true to the characters but not make it impossible to co-exist.
The It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Abbott Elementary crossover episode is one of the most anticipated TV events on the 2024-2025 TV schedule. Details about this crossover remain scarce but we know some details. Let us share.
When The It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Abbott Elementary Crossover Episode Will Air
In an interview with Variety, Abbott Elementary producers Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker revealed that the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia crossover happens in episode nine. Abbott Elementary Season 4 premiered on October 10th, but ABC hasn’t released the remaining episode schedule yet. If the series shows all-new episodes leading into the holiday season, there is a small chance the crossover could air before 2024 ends. If the show doesn’t take a break until around the holidays and then returns, the ninth episode may air in December.
However, there is also a major chance that the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia crossover episode will air on the 2025 TV schedule. Either way, we can’t wait to see it.
The Crossover Has Already Begun Filming
At the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con, Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson teased a crossover episode. This immediately caused speculation with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia becoming the top candidate for the crossover event.
The cast confirmed the news when Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Brunson shared a photo on Instagram of them all on the set of Abbott Elementary. In an interview with The Wrap, Schumacker confirmed they were still filming the guest appearances.
Which Characters Are Confirmed To Appear In The Episode
When discussing filming, the Abbott Elementary executive producers Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker confirmed that the entire gang, which includes Danny DeVito, Charlie Day, Rob McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson, and Glenn Howerton, will appear in this crossover episode. The producers talked about trying to coordinate everyone’s schedule.
Olson just wrapped filming on the new ABC hit series High Potential. Therefore, she may now have some time to film her Abbott Elementary scenes, but she is likely still busy doing promotional work for High Potential. Howerton is currently filming Netflix’s Sirens.
Therefore, the Abbott Elementary team may face difficulties coordinating with his schedule. However, Halpern and Schumacker mentioned in the Variety interview that the whole episode revolves around this crossover. Plus, all five characters have an important storyline. Schumacker shared plans to include all of the gang in the plots.
We got the whole gang, the ‘A’ story, ‘B’ story, ‘C,’ ‘D,’ it’s all them.
The Variety interview was published on October 9th and noted that Olson and Howerton planned to shoot scenes the following week.
Charlie Plays A Major Role In The Abbott Elementary Crossover
Charlie makes the most sense in the Abbott Elementary world. Not just because he’s illiterate and could probably benefit from some help from these teachers, but also because he seems like the character who could fit in that world the best. Charlie has a bit of a wholesomeness that may work in Abbott Elementary. Yes, he has also done despicable things but some of the best It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia episodes showcase him being the least terrible of the gang.
According to Schumacker, Charlie is important to the story. However, he keeps details on how and why under wraps, but I can make some speculations.
Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis) and Charlie seem like characters who would naturally get along. I wouldn’t be surprised if the characters have a history based on both of their janitorial work. Charlie being focal to the storyline makes sense given the whole aura of his character.
Rob McElhenney And Charlie Day Joined The Writers Room For This Crossover
According to Variety, McElhenney and Day came to the Abbott Elementary writers' room to work on the broad storyline ideas for the episode. Halpern said that they then communicated through emails to work on the rest. In the Wrap interview with Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker, Halpern went into more detail on the energy of the writer’s room with McElhenney, Day, and the Abbott writers collaborating.
Rob and Charlie came into the writers’ room and they were there with us for a day, really working on it with the whole writing staff … and it was such a nice experience going back and forth with them. All of their wants were for us to make the episode we wanted to make and, conversely, for them, we wanted their episode to be the episode they wanted to make.”
I Am Curious About How The Styles Of Humor Will Marry
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has a much darker tone than Abbott Elementary. In fact, children often get hurt in the presence of the gang. Therefore, it’s unsurprising that some fans wondered about “the rules” of this crossover. Schumacker reassured fans of both series that the conflicting tones weren’t a problem.
They were super game for everything. All those concerns that we had about the tones of the shows butting against each other were alleviated the second we started filming with Charlie.
Schumacker also added that the Sunny characters wouldn’t confuse fans of just Abbott Elementary but would please fans of Sunny who would get the lore and references. For non-Sunny fans, it would just seem like any guest appearance. The marrying of tones is the most fascinating part of this crossover and I am really excited to see how they make it work.
I Wonder If The Characters From Abbott Elementary Will Appear On It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia?
A truly great crossover event involves both characters appearing on each other’s shows. I don’t just want to see It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia characters on Abbott Elementary, I want to see the reverse as well. The Abbott Elementary producers didn’t confirm if we’ll see Jacob (Chris Perfetti), Janine (Quinta Brunson), Gregory (Tyler James Williams), Ava (Janelle James), and the rest of the Abbott cast on Sunny.
However, Halpern and Schumacker said they aren’t allowed to answer yet if the Abbott Elementary cast will make an It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia appearance. During the Variety interview, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia hadn’t even begun shooting the 17th season. Therefore, there is a chance the crossover episode hasn’t been fully developed for the FXX series.
So for now, we're left to hope that characters from Abbott Elementary will find their way down to Paddy’s Pub.
I Wonder How Will They Set Up This Crossover Episode
Philadelphia is a big city. Therefore, it’s not like Paddy’s Pub and Abbott Elementary are in the same neighborhood, so it’s hard to imagine what could happen to bring these worlds together. My current running theory is that Charlie and Mr. Johnson somehow know each other or Charlie tries to work or apprentice for Mr. Johnson as a new Abbott Elementary school janitor.
We all know the gang can’t let Charlie do something without them, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they just start invading the school for no real reason. However the setup happens, I am very excited to see it all play out.
I love Abbott Elementary and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia so this is a very exciting crossover.