Posted in: ABC, FX, Hulu, TV | Tagged: abbott elementary, always sunny, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

Always Sunny/Abbott Elementary: Williams Offers Crossover Update

ABC's Abbott Elementary star Tyler James Williams offered an update on the upcoming crossover with FXX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

It was the news that changed the landscape of television moving forward in ways that scholars will still be debating centuries from now. Of course, we're talking about the upcoming crossover between FXX's Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Kaitlin Olson & Danny DeVito– starring It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Quinta Brunson's award-winning ABC series Abbott Elementary. After spending the past seven months picking up the clues, McElhenney and Brunson posted images of themselves earlier this month with Day, DeVito, Tyler James Williams, and William Stanford Davis to make it official. Speaking with TV Insider while the episode was still filming and noting that "it's uncanny how well it works," Williams offered some interesting insights and updates into how the #Phillyverse is coming together so far – here's a look at some of the highlights:

On Why Crossing Over Seemingly Different Shows Like "Always Sunny" & "Abbott Elementary" Works: "I know most people [think] these are two totally different shows, and they are, but there's something about two casts that have worked together for so long," Williams shared. "[We've] come together and can just find that comedic language together. It's really crazy how well the pairings work… There's some really interesting ones here. And that's what's been really fun."

On Working with the "Always Sunny" Team: "They've been nothing but warm and collaborative and funny as hell. It's one of those episodes that it feels like it should be illegal to be able to be this funny. We already average a joke [every] three seconds or something like that. This is just going up that count even more."

Williams Teases What Viewers Can Expect: "I'll say this: the worlds exist in the same universe. And there's definitely people in Abbott who have seen and possibly been to their bar."

Always Sunny/Abbot Elementary Crossover Timeline

Back in February, all the world was buzzing about that "Willy Wonka Experience" over in Glasgow, Scotland, which was supposed to be an immersive experience but turned out to be less a "land of pure imagination" and more like a ground zero for all of your worst nightmares. Well, McElhenney caught wind of the story and reposted it on Twitter/X, adding that "a lot of you are saying this feels like an episode of 'Sunny,' but to me, it feels more like an [Always Sunny/Abbott Elementary] crossover episode." It turned out that Brunson liked the crossover idea, too…

Well, Brunson didn't waste much time letting McElhenney know that they're game if The Gang is – posting a screencap of McElhenney's initial tweet/x on Instagram Stories while adding, "Just say the word @RobMcElhenney [with a salute emoji]. I love you guys." McElhenney made sure to head back to Instagram to let Brunson know that "the feeling is mutual":

That brought us to ABC's Abbott Elementary panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 (SDCC 2024) in July, where Brunson dropped an interesting tease about a big crossover that would be hitting screens soon. "We will be doing an interesting crossover this season. I'm not gonna tell you with who or with what or where or when or how. But just know, it's very exciting, and I think it will change television as we know it," Brunson offered – and with that, our dumpster fires of random speculation began raging – with Halpern and Schumacker dumping even more fuel on those fires.

During an interview with EW, the EPs were asked if there were any hints or clues about the crossover that they could share. "I will just say that when she came to us with it, I was like, 'How are we going to make this work?' I was really excited about it, but I was like, 'I do not know how this is going to work.' But I think we're close to figuring it out," Halpern responded. "Without giving anything away, we were able to spend some time in the writers' room with some of the creative forces behind the other show that will remain unnamed. And we're all getting on the same page about what this could be on both sides. But the idea is that there will be an 'Abbott' episode, and there will be an episode of the other show that incorporates the 'Abbott' characters," Schumacker added, noting that the "Abbott" episode would run "after" the end-of-the-year break – "Possibly the first episode back from the holidays."

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