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

While the first half of Abbott Elementary season 4’s disappointing ratings prove that the mockumentary needs to drum up some publicity. Despite stellar reviews, the workplace sitcom is struggling to stand out among ABC’s scripted offerings from the 2024/2025 season.

This is where Abbott Elementary’s It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia crossover comes in. The event, which Abbott Elementary creator and star Quinta Brunson promised would be “Historic,” sees the gang from the long-running FX sitcom It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia volunteer at the eponymous school as part of their court-mandated community service. Season 4, episode 9, “Volunteers,” began with the faculty welcoming their new volunteers but, before long, Dee, Charlie, Mac, and Frank were causing all manner of chaos in the school. However, eagle-eyed viewers will note one series regular was missing from that lineup.

Why Dennis Barely Appeared In Abbott Elementary’s It’s Always Sunny Crossover

The It’s Always Sunny Star Refused To Be Filmed

Glenn Howerton’s Dennis barely appeared in Abbott Elementary’s crossover with It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, even though he is one of the latter show’s main characters. This was effectively explained away in-universe when Howerton’s character immediately noticed the documentary team filming Abbott Elementary and decided that he would not give his consent to appear on camera. In reality, Howerton had little time to appear in the episode as he was simultaneously filming the Netflix series Sirens during production. Abbott Elementary’s executive producer Patrick Schumacker told Entertainment Weekly, "We had him for half a day, so we had to build that in."

Fortunately, Abbott Elementary’s mockumentary setup meant that this twist felt entirely believable. While all the It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia gang are amoral, Dennis is arguably the most outright villainous of the rotten lot. As such, it makes perfect sense for his paranoid, suspicious character to want nothing to do with the documentary crew. This is not even the first time that Abbott Elementary season 4 used its mockumentary setup to establish a storyline. Earlier in the season, a parent instigated a fight with Gregory after he was offended by the teacher's straight-to-camera asides.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Season 17 Will Show Dennis' Side Of The Story

It’s Always Sunny’s Abbott Elementary Crossover Arrives In Season 17

What makes this absence clever is the fact that Dennis’s limited role in “Volunteers" sets him up for a much bigger role in It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia season 17's half of the crossover. As one of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia's showrunners, Rob McElhenney, told The Los Angeles Times, “When you see the 'Sunny' episode, you’ll realize why we did that with Dennis.” This approach is ingenious for two reasons. For one thing, it means that It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s half of the crossover event won’t merely be a retread of the events of “Volunteers,” albeit from a new perspective.

Although it would be fun to see It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia re-stage the episode’s story, complete with the FX show’s looser censorship and more R-rated humor, this would still feel repetitive. Instead, Dennis’s role in I’s Abbott Elementary crossover will feel entirely new and fresh. Furthermore, “Volunteers” was already jam-packed with four storylines. There simply would not have been any screen time for Dennis if the episode had included him, since Abbott Elementary needed to focus on Dee trying to steal Gregory from Janine, Ava and Mac’s plot, and Melissa and Barbara teaching Charlie to read.

What Its Abbott Elementary Crossover Means For It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Season 17 Story

Dennis’s Antics Will Shape It’s Always Sunny’s Half of the Crossover

Close

Throw in the rivalry between Mr. Johnson and Frank as they argued over how to rid Abbott of possums and the episode was almost overfilled before Dennis was even mentioned. Dennis’s nastiness is central to Always Sunny In Philadelphia and, when ’s Abbott Elementary crossover was first announced, he was the biggest concern. Dennis was always going to be the hardest character to integrate into the lighter, warmer show.

The darker FX show can now explain what Dennis was up to throughout “Volunteers” without completely altering the tone of Abbott Elementary.

As such, it makes perfect sense for It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s half of the crossover to center Dennis while Abbott Elementary subtly sidelined him. The darker FX show can now explain what Dennis was up to throughout “Volunteers” without completely altering the tone of Abbott Elementary, which is fundamentally a less cynical series. As such, the creators of Abbott Elementary and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia managed to make the most of their crossover by wisely saving Dennis’s story for the second episode in their shared line-up.

Abbott Elementary airs Wednesdays at 8:30pm on ABC.

Sources: Entertainment Weekly

The Los Angeles Times,

Abbott Elementary

TV-PG

Comedy

Mockumentary

9/10

90

8.5/10

Release Date

December 7, 2021

9/10

90

8.5/10

Network

ABC

Cast

Quinta Brunson, Tyler James Williams, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, Janelle James, 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

4

Streaming Service(s)

MAX

Where To Watch

Hulu

Powered by

Expand Collapse