Though we may only be getting two episodes in the long-publicized “Abbott Elementary/”It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” crossover, one of which aired Wednesday night on ABC, there are a bounty of ideas that spring to mind when thinking about how the characters from each show might interact. In fact, even some of the stories the “Abbott” writers worked out had to be cut from Wednesday night’s episode due to time constraints. Speaking in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, “Abbott” producers Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumaker shared one of the highlights that unfortunately didn’t make it to people’s screens at home.
“We did at one point have a whole backstory between Frank and Mr. Johnson that they did know each other. It was that they went to high school together,” said Schumaker. “They dated the same woman who was a canonical character in ‘Sunny,’ this character Shadynasty. That ended up falling away just as a function of, ‘Hey, we can’t tell that story. Maybe let’s save it for another time.’ 21 and a half minutes is not a lot of time to tell a story.”
For those unfamiliar with the details of “Always Sunny,” in Season 7, Episode 5 of the series, titled “Frank’s Brother,” DeVito’s character Frank reflects on his youth in the 1960s and how he fell in love with a girl named Shadynasty at a jazz club. After Frank and his brother open their own joint, a series of mishaps lead to Shadynasty falling for both men at different points, separating the two for years. While it would’ve been funny to see Mr. Johnson involved, expanding the love triangle into a love square, Halpern and Schumaker were just happy to get away with the plot line they ended up giving DeVito and Davis instead.
“We were pretty judicious, but we still were able to put in some things that were maybe a little bit more out there for a typical ‘Abbott’ episode,” Schumaker said. “Mr. Johnson, Gregory, and Frank’s story, for instance, is not something that you would see on a typical episode of ‘Abbott’ with Frank getting caught in the trap covered in piss-soaked pelts. We were able to do it lightly.”
In describing how “Always Sunny” will pick up the baton for their crossover ep, Halpern went on to share how it will fill in the gaps present in the “Abbott,” like what exactly was Dennis doing behind the camera the whole time?
“Their episode is what’s happening in between our episode in the scenes that we’re not showing,” said Halpern. “You’re seeing what they’re doing. It’s really clever the way that they piece together their episode. It’s really ambitious.”
While no date has been set, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” is expected to return for Season 17 (!) at some point in the first quarter of the year and its part of the “Abbott” crossover event will serve as the premiere episode. Though they’re happy with how this experience turned out, Halpern and Schumaker are content with keeping to their own show and have no plans for any further crossovers in the future. That being said, they certainly could come up with some more ideas.
“Maybe Ava will go on location at the White Lotus,” said Halpern, capping off the interview.
New episodes of “Abbott Elementary” air Wednesdays at 8:30pm ET on ABC.
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