Quinta Brunson Explains the Relationship Between Both Parts of the ‘Abbott Elementary’/‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ Crossover

In the upcoming two-part crossover between Abbott Elementary and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the writing teams from each sitcom will tell their own side of the same story — we’re gonna figure out exactly who deserves that scratch-off.

We’re less than two months out from the mid-season premiere of Abbott Elementary, a very special episode that series creator and star Quinta Brunson has been teasing since early October when she, her cast and the Always Sunny gang posted some promising on-set pictures from a crosstown crossover. As we learned weeks later, the Abbott Elementary/It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia group project will be a two-parter, as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia will follow up the Abbott Elementary half of the collab with their own episode later in 2025 when It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 17 airs.

During a discussion with her writers for Vulture Fest, Brunson revealed the exact nature of the collaboration, saying that, when it’s Always Sunny’s turn with the crossover, Rob McElhenney and his team will tell “their version” of the Abbott episode that’s set to air on January 8th. Our fingers are crossed for a Rashomon-style second half — or, at least, a “Who Got Dee Pregnant?” type beat.

“(What) I think people don’t realize is our episode will air in January, so it’ll be an Abbott Elementary episode, but the first episode of Always Sunny will air — I don’t know when their episode’s going to air, but probably in June,” Brunson said of the crossover. “Their episode will be their version of what happened in this storyline.”

Members of the Abbott Elementary cast have already expressed their slight shock in the tonal shift when they returned the favor to Always Sunny and ventured from West Philly to the south side and saw the chaos of Paddy’s Pub for themselves. The incredible Sheryl Lee Ralph, who plays the traditional, conservative Ms. Barbara Howard on Abbott Elementary, said that she had “no idea” that the Paddy’s Pub Gang was that depraved, exclaiming in a recent interview, “The cast! They’re criminals! They do so many shady things! I had no idea!”

We can only imagine how shady the Always Sunny side of the crossover will be compared to the invitingly well-lit tone of Abbott Elementary, and we fully expect for even more shocking surprises when it’s Always Sunny’s turn with the story. And, when we get the darker side of the crossover coin in Always Sunny Season 17, remember to be grateful for the corporate overlords. “I guess I have to say thank you to corporate synergy?” Brunson said of the crossover. “That’s the only reason we get to do this, is because FX is also owned by Disney. If it weren’t for that, it wouldn’t happen.”

So, when Abbott Elementary fans who, like Ralph, had never seen an episode of Always Sunny before the crossover tune in to FX sometime in the summer, they should address their letters of outrage directly to Disney.