April 16, 2025
FXX/YouTube
Season 17 of 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' will premiere July 9 on FXX with the second part of a crossover with ABC sitcom 'Abbott Elementary, which aired the first part in January.
Part 2 of the crossover between "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "Abbott Elementary" is due out in July, and this time it will unfold from the perspective of the degenerate gang from Paddy's Pub.
By the looks of a teaser trailer released Wednesday, the gang will set out to recruit students at the fictional Philly school to start a boy band. The episode will be the premiere of the show's upcoming 17th season, airing July 9 at 9 p.m. on FXX and streaming the next day on Hulu.
In Part 1 of the crossover, which aired on "Abbott Elementary" in January, the gang visited the school as volunteers performing community service to resolve a criminal matter. The show's mockumentary-style cameras followed their antics as they wreaked havoc at the school, along with some touching moments like Charlie being taught how to read after years of illiteracy on "It's Always Sunny."
In interviews after the episode aired, "It's Always Sunny" star and co-creator Rob McElhenney said the second part will put Quinta Brunson and the "Abbott Elementary" cast in a different light — "cursing and being deplorable" — to fit the vibe of the more provocative sitcom.
"We had to play nice on their show, and we got them to play bad on ours," McElhenney said during an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."
McElhenney and Brunson came up with the crossover concept when they met at the Emmy Awards last year. They put together a plan that would allow the characters to match the respective shows' tones, adding intrigue for audiences that might not otherwise overlap. The premiere of the first part of the crossover became the most watched episode during Season 4 of "Abbott Elementary," reaching 3.76 million viewers in the 18-49 demographic.
Entering its 17th season, "It's Always Sunny" holds the distinction of the longest-running live-action American sitcom in TV history. The new season, dubbed "The Gang Embraces the Corporate Era," will premiere with two episodes. A description of the season hints at the gang selling out and stabbing each other's backs in various ill-advised ways.
“They’ll exploit cross-network promotion to increase market share; they’ll scapegoat one of their own to avoid a PR backlash; they’ll risk everything for a handshake with the Saudis; they’ll bend the laws with side hustles to pad their pockets; and they’ll change everything about themselves to appeal to a broader audience,” FXX said of the gang's mischief this season.
