Was Mac Hitting on Ava in the ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’/‘Abbott Elementary’ Crossover Trailer?

On It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Ronald “Mac” McDonald has been out and proud as a gay man since the iconic Season 12 episode “Hero or Hate Crime?” but Ava Coleman might still get a taste of this spicy white.

We’re less than a week away from the premiere of the first of two crossover specials between Abbott Elementary and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and every new glimpse we get into the crosstown collab leaves us with more pressing questions. We still don’t know how exactly the Paddy’s Pub gang even got into Willard R. Abbott Elementary School given their collective extensive criminal history, and we worry that the kind hearts of the Abbott Elementary main cast might not be able to withstand the usual consequences of Mac, Dennis, Charlie, Dee and Frank leaving the confines of Paddy’s Pub for any reason whatsoever.

Earlier this week, fans of Philadelphian sitcoms saw the first footage ever released from the Abbott Elementary half of the crossover, and a suggestive line delivery from Rob McElhenney has us wondering whether that entire interpretive dance was one big lie:

Another interesting tidbit from the trailer that’s worth noting: Frank and Mr. Johnson's mutual dislike seems a little too deep to be a fresh rivalry, so it’s possible that the respective Trash Men have a history that’s as sordid as Frank’s relationship with every It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia side character who comes back from his past.

While that might be reading too far into subtext that may not be intended, there’s no mistaking that Mac’s “Let me know if there’s anything you need, and I mean, anything,” is too suggestive to be some editing trick that makes the trailer punchier and more intriguing to prospective viewers. Clearly, Mac is appealing to Ava’s appetite for muscular men, but it remains to be seen whether that’s out of a reignited shred of heterosexual attraction or part of a larger scheme where his job is to try and “take her into the back and bang her,” as is the Always Sunny style.

Based on Janelle James’ expression in the following shot, Mac’s seduction attempt doesn’t appear to be working, and that’s no surprise. After all, Ava dated Allen Iverson, and if The Answer wasn’t the one, then Ronald McDonald doesn’t have a shot.