This week’s Abbott Elementary episode, also one of the most anticipated of the season, finally had the It’s Always Sunny gang check in as volunteers to help out at the school. With that, Abbott’s staff and the new aids were paired off in a couple of hilarious ways; one notable pairing involved It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Frank (Danny DeVito) and Abbott Elementary's Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis).
Although viewers couldn’t get enough of the weirdly humorous banter between the older duo, it appears that there was meant to be even more to their storyline in the crossover episode. Abbott's executive producers, Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker, revealed to Entertainment Weekly that the episode was initially supposed to feature an elaborate backstory between the two characters, but they had to cut it for time. Schumacker shared:
"We did at one point have a whole backstory between Frank and Mr. Johnson that they did know each other. It was that they went to high school together. They dated the same woman who was a canonical character in Sunny, this character dynasty. That ended up falling away just as a function of, 'Hey, we can't tell that story. Maybe let's save it for another time.' 21 and a half minutes is not a lot of time to tell a story."
Besides Frank and Mr. Johnson, the other similarly humorous pairings in the Abbott/Sunny episode were Mac (Rob McElhenney) becoming an assistant to Ava (Janelle James), Dee (Kaitlin Olson) making an impression on Janine (Quinta Brunson) until she tried to seduce Gregory (Tyler James Williams), and lastly, Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) trying to teach Charlie (Charlie Day) to read.
Wednesday’s crossover episode won’t be the last of the Abbott/Sunny meet-up, as there will be another in the upcoming season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, as previously teased by McElhenney. Giving an update on the upcoming crossover, Schumacker revealed that it has already been written and filmed, adding:
“I was present for quite a bit of it, and it's very cool. The ideal viewing experience will eventually be watching these two episodes back to back, even though I don't know if they've even solidified their date yet, but eventually, they're going to end up on Hulu together, and it'll be very easy to access both of them back to back. They do very much play off of each other.”
The Abbott Elementary and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia crossover episode aired on Wednesday, January 8, on ABC. You can stream it on Hulu.
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A workplace comedy centered around a group of dedicated teachers - and an oblivious principal - in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life.
Release Date December 7, 2021
Seasons 4
English (US) ·