Spoilers for the Abbott Elementary and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia crossover are ahead! If you haven’t watched the first half of this event yet, you can stream the Abbott episode with a Hulu subscription.
The 2025 TV schedule really started off perfectly with a hilarious crossover of Abbott Elementary and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. However, while most characters from both shows got storylines that hilariously showed the juxtaposition between the Philly-set comedies, one character basically wasn’t in the episode at all. And that was Glenn Howerton’s Dennis. So, when the Sunny half of this crossover airs, I’m really hoping that they focus on his camera-avoidant character.
Let’s review, shall we, in the Abbott Elementary episode “Volunteers,” The Gang showed up to complete their mandated community service hours. Dee helped Janine and tried to take her boyfriend Gregory. Mac became Ava’s self-proclaimed “VP” and tried to woo her into signing off on their hours. Charlie learned how to read with the help of Barbara, Melissa and Jacob. Oh, and Frank – who was not in scenes with kids – got caught in a cage while arguing with Gregory and Mr. Johnson about how to take care of the raccoons in the garden. Notably, the only Sunny character without a substantial subplot was Glenn Howerton’s Dennis.
When he found out about the cameras that filmed all of Abbott Elementary’s happenings, he immediately declined to be part of the documentary. Then, throughout the episode, you could see him occasionally evading the cameras and running away.
It was a funny gag in the episode, however, it got me wondering about part two of this crossover. I want to know what he got up to outside the view of the school’s cameras, and considering It’s Always Sunny isn’t a mockumentary, I’m hopeful that that’s exactly what they’ll show.
Maybe, he overtakes one camera and makes his own documentary about the day or we may just follow him as he goes about his service hours and causes chaos behind the scenes. Either way, I'd be invested!
I think it’s very possible his adventures will be the main plot of this next episode too. That's because when Quinta Brunson, Abbott’s creator and star, was on Late Night with Seth Meyers she explained that the second half of this crossover would take place during the same time as the first half:
If you watch Always Sunny, there is an episode that is the other end of them showing up to Abbott. So you are getting two sides of a story.
So, when we get the R-rated side of this hilarious crossover, I bet it will focus mostly on Dennis. I’d love to see him popping in and out of the various classrooms and being a bad influence on the kids.
Maybe, he helps Dee with her plan to steal Janine’s man. Maybe, he somehow manages to get Frank stuck in that cage. Maybe, he gets into a fight with Morton. The possibilities are endless, because we actually have no idea what he was up to during this episode of Abbott, and I desperately need answers ASAP.
However, we might not get said answers ASAP, because we have no clue when the second half of this crossover will air. It’s Always Sunny Season 17 has not set a premiere date. However, it is expected to come in 2025.
Therefore, eventually, we will see the other half of this marvelous crossover. Until then, I’ll be theorizing about the trouble Dennis got into off-camera and hoping those hijinks are shown on-camera during the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Abbott Elementary crossover that will air on FXX.
