Even if we never got to see that Office crossover with It’s Always Sunny that Steve Carrel proposed all those years ago, the next best thing is heading for the 2025 TV schedule in the form of the Philly gang mashing it up with Abbott Elementary characters. The instantly hype-inducing episode is set to hit ABC in early January, and we thankfully have a far better idea of what kinds of hilarity will ensue now that the network has unveiled the first look trailer.
As someone who ranked Always Sunny quite highly on CinemaBlend’s list of the 100 Best Sitcoms Ever, and who also never misses an episode of Abbott Elementary, I was one of the many fans who went gaga for the initial announcement, even without knowing a single detail. But now we know all kinds of fun facts about the crossover ep, titled “Volunteers,” such as the District being to blame (or thank?) for sending Mac, Dee, Dennis, Charlie and Frank to the grade school, clearly without knowing that these people should be as far away from kids as possible.
Check out the first-look video below, and then join me in championing some of the character pairings seen both in the footage and in the still images ABC released.
I love that there's not a lot of pomp and circumstance behind the fact that some of cable TV's biggest reprobates are heading to broadcast TV for the first time to presumably wreak havoc at Abbott. And for documentary cameras, no less, which means we'll probably get to hear Dennis problematically asking the camera operators how they get footage from the characters' bedrooms.
But let's put some focus on the character interactions that we DO see in the trailer and in ABC's pics. The most hilarious thing to me by far is the idea of Rob McElhenney's Mac giving his sweetest-of-sweet-eyes to Janelle James' Ava. Though she's only seem giving him a deadass stare back as he attempts flirtatious maneuvers, the still seen above proves that she'll smile at least once during their interactions, even if it ends up being from something she said herself. There are vibes there, people!
Next up, I can already imagine how much I will want to see entire runtimes devoted to Danny DeVito's Frank rambling endlessly opposite William Stanford Davis' Mr. Johnson. It seems like their initial interactions will be rather querulous, with Frank calling the school custodian "the sheriff of trash." I kinda feel like Frank and Mr. Johnson both have the same ability to tap into magical realities that both keep them sane and allow their most eccentric behaviors to thrive.
And then we have Charlie, who actually seems like he'll be the most invested in the episode's narrative, despite not getting any killer laugh lines in the trailer. Charlie Day seems to be shown with more Abbott Elementary actors than any of his Always Sunny co-stars, and we can look forward to seeing the actor's dimwitted character Charlie sharing the screen with just about all of the school crew, including Chris Perfetti's Jacob, Sheryl Lee Ralph's Barbara, and Lisa Ann Walter's Melissa.
As seen above, he also looks like he might be confused by the schoolwork that the elementary kids are doing, so we probably shouldn't expect him to impress anyone too much. I mean, unless he's being enrolled in the class itself.
Not a whole lot of memorable screentime is given to Kaitlin Olson's Sweet Dee, though I'm intrigued by her getting up close and uncomfortable with Gregory. Olsonis pulling double duties on ABC, as she also has her trope-bucking procedural dramedy High Potential returning for the back half of Season 1, which amusingly filmed very close to where she's been filming the upcoming Season 17 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
While we also don't see much from Glenn Howerton's Dennis, let's not forget that he's the most monstrous and least kid-friendly of the quintet. And let's also not forget that Howerton spent a few seasons as a teacher himself as the star of the comedy AP Bio.
Even if it won't serve as a proper Christmas present, we can all enjoy the gift of crossover excellence when Abbott Elementary welcomes It's Always Sunny's stars for the episode airing on Wednesday, January 8, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Fans can catch up on all past episodes of both sitcoms with a Hulu subscription.
