For fans of both It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and Abbott Elementary, this is probably their most highly anticipated week on the 2025 TV schedule. That's because the first of two crossover episodes between the beloved Philly-based comedies will premiere today (Jan. 8) on ABC. However, if you are still a bit puzzled as to how this crossover event came to be, you are not the only one.
Despite both shows being set in Philly, and both creators Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) and Rob McElhenney (It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia) being from the area, these two sitcoms could not be more different. Abbott is a family-friendly workplace mockumentary set in a school, whereas Sunny’s cast of characters own a dive bar and frequently commit petty crimes with R-rated dialogue. However, Quinta Brunson told the LA Times all it took was a brief interaction for an idea to pop into her head for a crossover:
We met at the Emmys. And Rob and the whole ‘Always Sunny’ team had just finished doing a presentation. The theme was TV shows throughout history. They went up there, which was honestly incredible to see. I think you guys made a joke about never having won an Emmy.
Believe it or not, it’s true. In fact, this was the first time the Sunny gang had ever been invited to attend the prestigious TV award show together, and it was to present an award, not for a nomination. However, having just wrapped the record-setting 17th season of It's Always Sunny, it’s pretty easy for the stars of the raunchy FX comedy to step into their characters, and in true Sunny fashion, they didn’t miss the chance to roast the Emmys for consistently snubbing their show.
Of course, playing right into the Sunny gang’s joke about shorter-running shows getting many more awards than theirs, fellow Philly native Quinta Brunson picked up a well-deserved best actress award for Abbott Elementary that night. She said seeing the Paddy’s Pub owners backstage after their presentation and her award was the moment the idea for a corssover really clicked:
Then I won an Emmy that night, which was really, really cool. And the first people I see backstage was them, and it couldn’t have been more fitting. The first person I saw was Bradley Cooper because he FaceTimed me, and that was right before we were going to film his episode, to say congratulations. Then I run into them, and so I was just having the most Philly [night]. It was so beautiful. I think the Eagles were playing at that time. It just was really gorgeous. Never met them before. Rob and Kaitlin [Olson, who is married to McElhenney and co-stars in ‘Sunny’] had told me that they watched ‘Abbott,’ which just made my heart very warm. I think we very quickly said it: ‘Our shows should cross over one day.’
Philly pride runs strong, even for celebrities. The Welcome to Wrexham creator and Bradley Cooper are not the only famous guest stars to pay tribute to their roots in an episode of Abbott. Eagles football players Jalen Hurts and Jason Kelce also made cameos in Season 3, as Abbott’s always one to cater to their PA fanbase.
As Sunny and Abbott are two of the last great sitcoms on network television, McElhenney said a crossover episode quickly became an inevitable event for both series:
We continued the conversation at the upfronts. Then it moved quickly past just an aside or a joke, and we started pitching back ideas right there.
I feel like establishing a crossover with the networks was the easy part. The difficulty comes in crafting a storyline in which petty criminals with no moral reasoning and an alcohol problem find themselves in an elementary school. As it happens, the crossover concept sees the Paddy’s Pub gang forced to complete community service hours at Abbott. Although, I would not trust certain Sunny characters around children, not to mention the good natured teachers of Abbott, as the gang is known to frequently set things on fire or screw people over.
That’s not to say I’m not excited to see these two casts interact with each other and see just what the two Philly natives cooked up. I actually can't wait for it! And thankfully, that wait is basically over, as the first crossover episode premieres today, Wednesday, January 8 at 9:30 ET on ABC, and can also be streamed the next day with a Hulu subscription.
