'Abbott Elementary' Sets Crossover Episode With 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'
It's official: “Abbott Elementary” and “It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia” are indeed planning a crossover episode, as hinted at in recent, cryptic social media posts by “Abbott” star/creator Quinta Brunson and “Sunny” star/creator Rob. McElhaney.
McElhaney revealed the news in a social media post, which included a photo of “Sunny's” Charlie Day and Brunson outside the Warner Bros. studio lot for “Abbott”:
Also on IG Stories, McElhenney posted another shot, adding “Sunny's” Danny DeVito and “Abbott's” Tyler James Williams and William Stanford Davis to the mix:
McElhaney previously teased on social media that an “Abbott”/”Sunny” crossover would make sense, given that both shows are set in Philadelphia. And although “Abbott” is produced by Warner Bros. TV, the show airs on Disney's ABC, while “Sunny” airs on Disney's FX network, so such a crossover seemed in the realm of possibility.
Brunson was quiet about it at first, but earlier this summer, Brunson hinted on Variety's “Awards Circuit podcast” that something is indeed in the works. Without specifying it, he said a major crossover is happening — and when diversity “Sunny” suggested, he said no. “The deal is done. I want you guys to know that. I would say I'm really excited about it,” she said. “You want to find fun ways to shake things up without abandoning what you've built. And I'm excited for this crossover that I won't name with another project.
“I'm excited to shake things up this way,” he added. “I love TV, everybody knows, but I love TV moments, and I miss those big TV moments. I remember how exciting they were. What I can do with 'Abbott' is to keep that culture alive in funny TV. , I will. So I think it's going to be fun TV.”
The idea was first conceived in February, when McElhaney mentioned the famous “Willie's Chocolate Experience” disaster at an event in Glasgow. “Many of you are saying this looks like an episode of Sunny, but to me it looks like an @alwayssunnt @AbbotElemABC crossover episode,” she wrote on X. Later, on Instagram, Brunson took a screenshot of McElhenney's post and added, “Just @ Say the word robmcelhenney. I love you.”
By this summer's San Diego Comic-Con, something was clearly already in play, as Brunson teased that there would be an upcoming crossover:
After the surprise performance on stage, Brunson and the cast visited diversityIts Comic-Con studio where we made some educated guesses about which show they'll crossover with: Fox's “The Simpsons,” FX's “The Bear,” ABC's “Grey's Anatomy” or FX's “Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
“I think those are all ridiculous, crazy things to say,” Brunson replied with a smile, but kept a straight face to not give anything away. “I don't know. I don't know what it is. Even if you guessed it right, I'm not going to tell you,” he added, in the words of star Janelle James, “Nice try though.”
“Abbott Elementary” returns for its Season 4 next week, Oct. 9 at 9:30 p.m., on ABC. “It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia” is currently in the writers' room, with an eye toward shooting eight episodes of Season 17 later this fall.
(Angelique Jackson contributed to this report.)
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