It’s official: “Abbott Elementary” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” are indeed plotting a crossover episode, as has been hinted at in recent, cryptic social media posts by “Abbott” star/creator Quinta Brunson and “Sunny” star/co-creator Rob McElhenney.
McElhenney revealed the news in a social media post, including a photo of him, “Sunny’s” Charlie Day and Brunson outside the Warner Bros. lot studio for “Abbott”:
Also on IG stories, McElhenney posted another shot, which added “Sunny’s” Danny DeVito and “Abbott’s” Tyler James Williams and William Stanford Davis to the mix:
McElhenney had previously teased on social media that a “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 had been coy about it at first, but earlier this summer, Brunson hinted to Variety’s “Awards Circuit Podcast that something was indeed in the works. Without specifying it, she had said a big crossover was happening — and when Variety suggested “Sunny,” she didn’t say no. “Deals are made. I want you guys to know that. I’ll say I’m really excited for it,” she said. “You want to find fun ways to shake things up without abandoning what you what you built. And I’m excited for this crossover of which I will not name with the other project.
“I’m excited to just shake things up in this way,” she added. “I love TV, everyone knows that, but I love TV moments, and I miss those big TV moments. I remember how exciting they were. Anything I can do with ‘Abbott’ to help keep that culture alive of fun TV, I will do. So I think this is going to be fun TV.”
The idea first hatched in February, when McElhenney referenced the famed “Willy’s Chocolate Experience” disaster of an event in Glasgow. “A lot of you are saying this feels like an episode of Sunny, but to me it feels more like an @alwayssunnt @AbbotElemABC crossover episode,” he wrote on X. Later, on Instagram, Brunson took a screenshot of McElhenney’s post and added, “Just say the word @robmcelhenney. I love you guys.”
By this summer’s San Diego Comic-Con, obviously something was already in play, as Brunson teased that there would be an upcoming crossover:
Following the onstage surprise, Brunson and the cast visited Variety’s Comic-Con Studio where we made a few educated guesses about which show they’d crossover with: Fox’s “The Simpsons,” FX’s “The Bear,” ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” or FX’s “Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
“I think that those are all ridiculous, crazy things to say,” Brunson replied, smiling, but keeping a straight face, as not to give anything away. “I don’t know. I don’t know what it is. Even if you guessed it right, I wouldn’t tell you,” she added, as star Janelle James chimed in, “Nice try, though.”
“Abbott Elementary” returns for its Season 4 next week, on 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 Season 17’s eight episodes later this fall.
(Angelique Jackson contributed to this report.)
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