January 31, 2025
Provided image/Disney; Gilles Mingasson
'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' will air its half of the 'Abbott Elementary' crossover in June, co-creator Rob McElhenney says. Above, McElhenney, left, appears on 'Abbott Elementary' in January.
The teachers of "Abbott Elementary" and degenerates of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" will reunite in June, when the second part of the sitcoms' crossover premieres.
"Always Sunny" star and co-creator Rob McElhenney told The Wrap that the episode would debut "sometime" that month, possibly as early as the Season 17 premiere. The FX show hopes to time its half of the saga as close as possible to the "Abbott Elementary" episode, which aired Jan. 8.
"It's the same story just seen through the prism of the 'Sunny' characters and the found footage that they weren't allowed to use while making the show," he added.
That found footage will reveal what Dennis (Glenn Howerton), who repeatedly dodged the mockumentary crew on "Abbott Elementary," was doing behind the scenes. The initial crossover episode brought the "Always Sunny" gang into the halls of Abbott Elementary as volunteers — earning community service to resolve a criminal dispute, not out of the goodness of their hearts.
There were expected clashes. Dee (Kaitlin Olson) tried to steal Gregory (Tyler James Williams) from Jeanine (Quinta Brunson), while the resident king of filth Frank (Danny DeVito) made an instant enemy of the school's janitor Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis). But there was also a surprisingly heartwarming moment when the teachers taught Charlie (Charlie Day) how to read. Mac (McElhenney) spent most of the episode doing favors for the principal (Janelle James) in hopes of ending their community service early.
McElhenney hinted that the "Abbott" cast will shed their family-friendly image for the upcoming sequel. During his Wednesday appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," he confirmed that audiences would see the teachers, as Kimmel put it, "cursing and being deplorable."
"We had to play nice on their show, and we got them to play bad on ours," McElhenney said.
Follow Kristin & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @kristin_hunt
| @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice
Have a news tip? Let us know.
