Abbott Elementary govt producer Patrick Schumaker reveals that one character nearly had a shared backstory with a It's at all times sunny in Philadelphia mainstay. The ABC sitcom specializing in the trials and tribulations of lecturers at a Philadelphia public faculty started airing its fourth season in October 2024 and returned from a quick hiatus with the primary a part of a crossover with It's at all times sunny. In "Volunteers", Abbott welcomes the principle characters of It's at all times sunny in Philadelphia to the varsity as instructing assistants to pay a group service payment.
After the screening of "Volunteers", Schumaker revealed to the IndieWire that earlier concepts for the It's at all times sunny in Philadelphia crossover featured a shared historical past between two most important characters. Johnson (William Stanford Davis) and Frank Reynolds (Danny DeVito) have been initially supposed to have a connection which dates again to their faculty days, the place the duo would have been rivals to win Shadynasty's affection. Shadynasty first appeared in It's at all times sunny Season 7 as an ex-girlfriend of Frank within the Sixties. Schumaker mentioned:
At one level we bought a complete backstory between Frank and Mr. Johnson that they knew one another. It was that they studied collectively in highschool. They dated the identical lady who was a canon character on 'Sunny,' this Shadynasty character. That ended up disappearing due to, 'Hey, we will't inform this story. Perhaps we'll save that for an additional time. 21 and a half minutes shouldn't be numerous time to inform a narrative.
We have been very cautious, however we nonetheless managed to incorporate some issues that have been maybe a little bit excessive for a typical 'Abbott' episode. The story of Johnson, Gregory and Frank, for instance, isn't one thing you'd see in a typical 'Abbott' episode, with Frank being caught within the lure coated in urine-soaked fur. We managed to do that flippantly.
What the story of Abbott Elementary and It's All the time Sunny's Reduce may have meant for each collection
Every collection has contradictory timelines
Whereas it may have offered numerous humor, the 2 reveals' established continuity for Mr. Johnson and Frank most likely wouldn't have allowed this storyline to work. Abbott Elementary offered a number of hilarious and fully unconnected particulars about Mr. Johnson's origins, and so they point out He's not precisely the identical age as Frank. This implies Johnson most likely wouldn't have been in class when Frank's romance with Shadynasty started within the '60s, earlier than his descent into a lifetime of shady enterprise and prison exercise.
As such, the implementation of Johnson and Frank's shared historical past with Shadynasty would have meant that one character's life would have obtained a significant retcon. Nevertheless, as the concept is an extremely early idea, the main points may have been refined to go well with each characters' pasts, whether or not or not it's a change in time or character. Nevertheless, with Schumaker stating that the concept was put aside, the concept shouldn't be canon to both present presently. Even so, it reveals how deeply the writers of each Abbott Elementary and It's at all times sunny have been dedicated to connecting their reveals.
Our Tackle Abbott Elementary and It's All the time Sunny's Reduce Backstory
Nice care was taken to mix the 2 applications
Though this offered the Abbott Elementary episode with a enjoyable connection to It's at all times sunny in Philadelphiaprevious, it's plain that the choice would have left the latter's followers scratching their heads. It's a reference that may solely please those that know It's at all times sunny. As such, it's finest that the primary crossover episode chooses to concentrate on Mr. Johnson and Frank's battle with the raccoons over a shared historical past.
Plus, it's clear that the creatives on each collection took care to make sure that the crossover stayed true to every character regardless of the drastically totally different tones of each reveals. This included centering Charlie's (Charlie Day) arc on his incapacity to learn and Dennis' (Glen Howerton) unwillingness to seem in documentary format, making it unlikely that any contradictions would make it by way of the writing course of. Nevertheless, with Abbott Elementarythe movie crew lacking from the second crossover that may air on It's at all times sunny in Philadelphia season 17, there may nonetheless be a chance to see the characters in a brand new mild.
Supply: IndieWire