Abbott Elementary & It's Sunny In Philadelphia Crossover Recap: 8 Biggest Moments & Reveals

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Abbott Elementary season 4, episode 9, “Volunteers."

Now that Abbott Elementary’s long-awaited crossover with It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia has finally arrived, it is fair to say the pairing didn’t disappoint. Abbott Elementary’s cast of characters is reliably hilarious on their own, but that doesn’t mean that the series is averse to occasional stunt casting. Abbott Elementary season 4’s surprisingly low ratings prove that the series needs to do all it can to stand out in the crowded marketplace of network sitcoms, and the show’s deservedly stellar reviews evidently haven’t been enough to improve its lackluster numbers. Occasional gimmicks can be helpful in this regard.

Although Abbott Elementary season 3 featured fewer episodes than seasons 1 and 2, the outing still found time to offer A-list superstars like Bradley Cooper and Kevin Hart brief cameos as themselves. Although these roles added little to their respective episodes, occurring in a cold open and a mid-credits scene respectively, they did boost the show’s profile. Fortunately, creator and star Quinta Brunson came up with a better way to elevate Abbott Elementary’s profile when she announced that season 4 would include a "Historic" crossover episode. Abbott Elementary’s season 4 crossover with It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia was highly anticipated.

8 Abbott Elementary Lost To The Golf Course Developers

Ava Couldn’t Get Them To Replace The Gym’s Scoreboard

Season 4, episode 9, “Volunteers,” started strong by immediately reminding viewers of the sitcom’s stakes. Abbott Elementary’s season 4 golf course storyline reared its head once again as the scoreboard fell off the gym wall while Ava announced that volunteers were coming to help out at the eponymous school. Ava called the golf course developers in search of another bribe to keep quiet about their use of non-union labor, but she was dismayed to discover Abbott Elementary lost its leverage over the developers when their employees unionized. This left Ava with no way of paying for a new scoreboard.

7 Melissa Immediately Recognized The It’s Always Sunny Gang

The Gang Knew Melissa From A Fight At An Eagles Game

There was no time for Ava to be dismayed as her gang of volunteers soon arrived to introduce themselves. Dennis, Dee, Mac, Charlie, and Frank were the volunteers entrusted with helping out at Abbott Elementary, and the gang was on their best behavior at first. However, Dennis immediately objected to the presence of the documentary crew filming the series. He absented himself for the rest of the episode’s action as he didn’t consent to be filmed. This marked the second time Abbott Elementary season 4 mocked its mockumentary setup after an earlier episode saw a parent threaten Gregory over his to-camera asides.

Dennis was wise to hide from the watchful eye of Abbott Elementary’s documentary crew as Melissa immediately recognized his criminal pals. The group wasn’t sure where they knew her from at first, but when Melissa asked if they had ever been in a fight during an Eagles game, they all enthusiastically confirmed this. Melissa became fast friends with the gang, but it wasn’t until later in the episode that she realized she really knew them as the proprietors of Paddy’s Pub. By this stage, the gang had already managed to insinuate themselves into the school’s world with varying degrees of success.

6 Dee & Janine Formed A Bond

The Pair Shared The Same Alma Mater

Despite how confrontational Kaitlin Olson’s sociopathic character often is,It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s Dee won over the typically cautious Janine shockingly fast. The pair bonded over the fact that they attended the same college, reminiscing over shared memories of the institution and working together to make Janine’s classroom run smoothly. If this seemed too good to be true, that was because it was. However, when the group’s secret reason for volunteering at the school was finally found out, Janine was quick to vouch for them on the basis of Dee’s friendliness. This later proved to be a mistake.

5 The It’s Always Sunny Gang Were Secretly Doing Community Service

The Characters Were Being Punished For Unspecified Crimes

Although Abbott Elementary’s Melissa has never made a secret of her mob ties, she has at least stopped short of inviting actual criminals onto the school grounds. As such, the teachers were horrified to discover that It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s characters were doing community service by volunteering at Abbott. For their part, the gang couldn’t see what the big deal was and seemed to have barely hidden their dark secret at all. Dee, Mac, Charlie, Dennis, and Frank hadn’t mentioned the reason behind their volunteering, but they were quick to admit that they were criminals when the teachers asked.

Understandably, teachers like Barbara and Jacob were uncomfortable about allowing the gang to remain in the school. Even Melissa, who previously got on well with them, questioned the idea of keeping them around for the rest of the week. Of all people, it was Janine who stood up for the gang and insisted they had a right to help out. Her friendship with Dee was clearly the unspoken deciding factor, but this soon came back to bite her after the rest of the faculty mellowed out and accepted the gang’s continued presence.

4 Dee Developed Feelings For Gregory (& Attempted To Steal Him From Janine)

Janine And Deee Soon Feuded Over Her Attempts To Steal Gregory

Shortly after the staff found out about the gang’s origins, Dee fell for Gregory as soon as Janine’s love interest entered her classroom. Abbott Elementary season 4’s Christmas special already reaffirmed that the show’s central couple are as happy and stable as ever, but this remained a worrying development for Janine. When Dee began getting the children to make Valentine’s cards for Gregory from her, Janine politely clarified that she was dating Gregory. Dee was delighted for her, and saw no reason why she couldn’t continue to pursue Janine’s boyfriend. However, her entire demeanor flipped when Janine said they were monogamous.

Dee took this as an invitation to steal Gregory from his girlfriend, telling Janine to watch her back. This sent Janine into a panic as Dee set about winning over Gregory and Janine feared for her relationship. Of course, Gregory had no interest in Dee and was quick to reassure Janine that he only had eyes for her. Ever the sore loser, Dee took this as evidence that he was secretly gay and said that she felt bad for Janine during the episode’s mid-credits sequence. Of all Janine and Gregory’s hardships, this one was relatively easily overcome.

3 Barbara and Melissa Helped Charlie Learn How To Read

Mac Busied Himself With Cozying Up To Principal Ava

Meanwhile, Mac tried to get Ava to sign the gang’s release forms early by doing all manner of favors for the principal. This inevitably backfired and, after he got her car detailed, her wheels rotated, and picked up fresh coffee and cinnamon buns for her, Ava instead admitted that she was considering framing the gang for another crime to get their community service hours extended. Max was horrified but saw no way out of this conundrum until he and Ava walked in on Charlie being taught to read by Melissa and Barbara in a surprisingly sweet subplot.

While Charlie might be the most likable of the It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia gang, it is rare to see him enjoy an outright win. However, when Jacob began to raise concerns about his literacy, this inspired Melissa and Barbara to teach him some rudimentary reading skills. Although Charlie’s lack of literacy had been a running gag on It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia for years, the pair’s patience paid off when Charlie finally managed to read a book about birds in front of Barbara’s class in the school library. In the process, he also inadvertently solved Mac and Ava’s stalemate.

2 Frank and Mr. Johnson Feuded Over Racoon Control

Frank Tried Using Batteries As Compost

Meanwhile, in a B-story that was bizarre even by the cartoonish standards of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Frank and Mr. Johnson argued over how to rid Gregory’s garden of raccoons. The pests seemingly took over the garden during Winter Break, prompting Mr. Johnson to suggest that they place garlic and chill powder around the beds to deter raccoons. Frank vehemently disagreed, saying this would only make the compost “Delicious.” Instead, he demanded that the group needed to place pelts drenched in the urine of “Alpha predators” around the garden.

Gregory wisely allowed the two older men to fight this out among themselves, which eventually resulted in Frank getting stuck in one of the raccoon traps when he snuck in to eat the seasoned compost. Gregory’s Abbott Elementary season 4 stories have been lighter than last year’s prolonged time apart from Janine, but this was one of his silliest subplots ever. Frank and Mr. Johnson never came to an agreement, although the pair did both have to admit that the raccoon problem was seemingly solved judging by their absence.

1 The It’s Always Sunny Gang Helped Ava’s Funding Back From The Developers

Charlie’s Reading Allowed Ava And Mac To Find New Blackmail Material

As Mac tried everything to make Ava sign the gang’s release forms, Ava searched for a new way to extract money from the wealthy golf course developers. Eventually, the pair happened upon the solution to both of their problems when Charlie read a sentence about endangered bird species in Philadelphia. Mac faked some photographic evidence that supposedly proved the presence of an endangered bird species on the golf course’s proposed building site, and Ava called the developers to ask whether they wanted to pay up, or risk a visit from environmental regulators.

The golf course’s tired lawyer acquiesced to Ava’s request for a new scoreboard and Ava finally signed the gang’s slip when Mac admitted that he wrote thank you notes to all the teachers. Ava was horrified since, as she noted, she only ever offered her staff negative feedback and believed this was central to the school’s success. The pair’s working relationship came to an end as It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s gang finished their community service and Abbott Elementary’s heroes enjoyed their ill-gotten scoreboard.

Abbott Elementary

TV-PG

Comedy

Mockumentary

9/10

96

8.5/10

Release Date

December 7, 2021

Network

ABC

Cast

Quinta Brunson, Tyler James Williams, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, Janelle James, William Stanford Davis, Zack Fox, Courtney Taylor, Nikea Gamby-Turner, Josh Segarra, Mason Renfro, Jerry Minor, Larry Owens, Nate' Jones, Lela Hoffmeister, Vince Staples, Kimia Behpoornia, Dillion Blake Allen, Reggie Conquest, Kate Peterman, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Benjamin Norris, Aayden William, Ben Onyx Dowdy

Writers

Quinta Brunson

Creator(s)

Quinta Brunson

Seasons

5

Story By

Quinta Brunson

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu, MAX

Where To Watch

Hulu

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