Quinta Brunson Scolds Rob McElhenney in Promo for ‘Abbott Elementary’-‘It’s Always Sunny’ Crossover (EXCLUSIVE)

As a movie reviewer with an extensive background in sitcoms and a soft spot for both “Abbott Elementary” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, I must say that the upcoming crossover episode of these two beloved series has me absolutely thrilled! The prospect of Quinta Brunson and Rob McElhenney squaring off in a playful feud, with the rest of their respective casts joining in, is just too tantalizing to resist.

Initially, Rob McElhenney revealed on social media that a much-discussed crossover between “Abbott Elementary” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” was being planned. In the first sneak peek for this episode (you can watch it below), “Abbott” actress and creator, Quinta Brunson, is seen giving McElhenney a hard time.

On Wednesday, January 8th at 8:30 PM Eastern Time, the much-anticipated fourth episode of “Abbott Elementary” will air as its midseason premiere. This particular episode was directed by Executive Producer Randall Einhorn and penned by Garrett Werner, but we’re keeping the plot details a secret for now.

McElhenney remarks in the upcoming show, due to air on ABC Wednesday, ‘It seems we’ve been hiding this for ages.’ Brunson replies, ‘Ages? Because you… publicly shared a picture hinting at our crossover episode.’

Indeed, it was McElhenney who first made it official via his social media account, posting photos of him and “Abbott” star Quinta Brunson, along with Tyler James Williams and William Stanford Davis from “Abbott” and “Sunny’s” Charlie Day and Danny DeVito outside the Warner Bros. lot studio for “Abbott.”

“Oh, was I not supposed to do that?” McElhenney sheepishly adds in the new promo.

Last October, I had the pleasure of listening to executive producers Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker discuss some intriguing themes and narratives from this current season, even touching upon the crossover with “Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” all during a chat with EbMaster.

Halpern and Schumacker announced that the complete cast of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” will feature in episode 409, with the plot spanning the entire 30-minute runtime. As Schumacker stated earlier, the main storyline (the ‘A’ story), as well as the secondary (‘B’, ‘C’, and ‘D’ stories), will all focus on the characters. This implies that Glenn Howerton, who was filming “Sirens” for Netflix in the fall, and Kaitlin Olson, currently starring in ABC’s “High Potential,” will also be part of the episode.

“Charlie Day’s character has a pretty significant storyline in our episode,” he added. “It was kind of a joke at first, that the two shows should cross over. On paper, it feels like they’d be a real tonal mishmash. But then Rob and Charlie came to our writers room and we hashed out some real broad stroke ideas. From there, we emailed back and forth beat sheets and then an outline. They were super game for everything. All those concerns that we had about the tones of the shows butting against each other were alleviated the second we started filming with Charlie.”

It was logical for Einhorn to take charge of this episode since he’s worked on both “Abbott” and “Sunny,” serving as a shared connection between the two shows.

Halpern and Schumacker acknowledged that Brunson initially conceived the crossover concept, following a meeting with McElhenney at an occasion. They subsequently discussed and shared their thoughts on it, ultimately transforming the idea into reality.

In the meantime, it’s important to note that this is the first installment of the “Abbott” and “Sunny” crossover series. Later on, in 2025 when “Sunny” resumes, characters from “Abbott” will make an appearance. Here’s a sneak peek at tonight’s preview:

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2024-12-11 22:16