Television’s oddest and most exciting crossover arrives on January 8 when Mac (Rob McElhenney), Dee (Kaitlin Olson), Charlie (Charlie Day), Dennis (Glenn Howerton), and Frank (Danny DeVito) visit Abbott Elementary as “Volunteers.” But for viewers of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the quartet’s existence everywhere always brings trouble as they get into various shady dealings and plotting. Their time seems to have run out, according to a new teaser released by ABC. While Abbott Elementary‘s characters might try to be personable in a school environment, they are as wild as their counterparts from Sunny. And none is as wild as Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis). As The Gang’s appearance throws everyone at the school, Mr. Johnson thinks … nay … knows, there is something nefarious about these people, and he will solve the mystery if it’s the last thing he does. The official episode logline reads:
“Ava announces the school district is sending a group of volunteers to help out at Abbott; however, when they arrive, things don’t go as planned.”
A Mystery Brews in the ‘Abbott Elementary’ and ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ Crossover
The cryptic teaser above features Mr. Johnson predominantly in voice-over as he pieces together a mystery regarding the new school visitors. There is something “sus” about these volunteers, and he notes his observations to his investigation board. If Charlie were to find this board, he would solve the mystery in a jiffy if it didn’t implicate him. The man is famous for having one of the biggest boards in history, and it has since become a meme. “Super sus,” Mr Johnson labels the four of them. “No one gets past me,” he exclaims as he gets down to work, finding evidence and piecing together clues.
It is unclear what Mr. Johnson suspects is wrong with these visitors, but based on the pieces on his board, they might be lizard people, vampires, baby oil offenders, or something else entirely. The thrill is in exposing these creatures for what they are. Mr. Johnson can be very convincing, and who’s willing to bet that he can convince Charlie he’s a lizard person? But if one thing is clear, there is a secret figure who is an integral part of this mystery. “Who is Pepe Silvia?” he poses.
The Abbott Elementary and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia crossover brings together a robust cast of comedic geniuses. “It’s one of those episodes that it feels like it should be illegal to be able to be this funny. We already average a joke [every] three seconds or something like that. This is just going up that count even more,” teased series star James Tyler Williams.
Tune in to ABC on Wednesday, January 8, to get your funny bone overstimulated when “Volunteers” airs at 8:30 pm ET. Catch up on past episodes of Abbott Elementary on Hulu.
