[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Abbott Elementary, Season 4 Episode 9, “Volunteers.”]
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia finally met Abbott Elementary‘s faculty in the first half of a monumental TV event as the gang from Paddy’s Pub dropped in as volunteers at the titular school in the aptly named episode, “Volunteers.”
While the school’s principal Ava (Janelle James) promises she’s getting the teachers some much-needed extra help in the classroom, she doesn’t exactly reveal how. It turns out that the Always Sunny crew was in need of fulfilling some court-ordered volunteer hours, making them prime, but not perfect candidates for the gig.
As viewers see in the installment, every character is paired with another character from the opposite show, except for Dennis (Glenn Howerton) who refuses to be filmed by Ava’s camera crew. But for some characters, the alarm bells are raised upon meeting this rag-tag team of volunteers. While Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) initially thinks she knows the gang from an Eagles Game – “Go Birds!” – another member of the faculty reveals that the off-camera Dennis had repeatedly asked her out to a sketchy dive bar, turning out to be Paddy’s.
Gilles Mingasson / Disney
Realizing their volunteers are criminals, many of the teachers asked for them to be removed, but Ava won’t give up her free labor, especially with Mac (Rob McElhenney) fulfilling her every beck and call. Meanwhile, Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) and Jacob (Chris Perfetti) decide to team up and teach Charlie (Charlie Day) how to read, while they utilize the illiterate handyman’s maintenance expertise. Similar to Ava, Janine (Quinta Brunson) is initially reluctant to let Dee (Kaitlin Olson) go from her classroom after hitting it off as friends, that is until Dee decides to hit on Janine’s boyfriend Gregory (Tyler James Williams) who is caught between to filthy fighters: Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis) and Frank Reynolds (Danny DeVito).
Seeking help in ridding his garden of raccoons, Gregory enlists Mr. Johnson and Frank to assist in sprinkling different powders around the flower beds to deter pests. Of course, flavored dirt is like a delicacy to a man like Frank who has his own views on pest control, which is immediately at odds with Mr. Johnson’s ideas.
What follows is a battle that finds Frank trapped in a cage after Mr. Johnson leaves some food in it, luring Frank into his own trap filled with smelly pelts. “They looked really nasty,” Davis says with a laugh, noting the props used for the storyline. As for why Mr. Johnson is so quick to be on Frank and the rest of the gang’s case alongside Melissa, Davis adds, “They both have street smarts. Mr. Johnson has been all over the world, so he’s seen every game that’s ever been played, and Melissa’s kind of the same way because she comes from a sketchy family like the Always Sunny guys. So it’s just like looking in the mirror for her.”
Disney / Gilles Mingasson
But it’s those subtle warning signs that make for such great comedy. “Frank is so much fun. I enjoyed working with [Danny DeVito]. He’s a consummate pro. He’s just a lot of fun. When you think about icons, that word is kind of overused, but Danny DeVito is definitely the icon. He’s been on two major hit shows, and he shared a few words of wisdom with me,” Davis says of shooting with the other series’ star.
It turns out that Davis has quite a history with Always Sunny prior to the big crossover as he tells TV Insider, “I’ve watched the show I auditioned for the show several times actually. But to see them up close in their element as characters. Sometimes you couldn’t tell if they were acting or if that’s just who they are as people, it was a lot of fun.”
For now, Davis is rejoicing over the fact that he’s going to appear in his very own Always Sunny episode when Abbott crosses over with the FXX comedy later this year. “I’ll never have to audition for it again,” he muses, adding, “I was the last person to find out [about the crossover] because none of my castmates would share with me that they knew what was going to happen.”
“Once I found out it was Always Sunny, I was excited because I love those characters, but I really was excited that I was gonna work with Danny DeVito,” Davis gushes.
Gilles Mingasson / Disney
But who is the ultimate trash king? “Mr. Johnson knows how to get rid of trash. He doesn’t like trash around. He likes things clean. And so, that’s kind of a double [edged] sword because I am the king of trash in terms of getting rid of it, but he is the king of trash because he’s trash,” Davis says with a hearty laugh. “People ask me whose character was the craziest. Well, his character’s been established and mine is too, so we were having a bit of a contest to see who was trashiest.”
As mentioned, above, Frank falls victim to his own trap after Mr. Johnson adds food to the mix, proving that if it’s potentially edible, Frank is going to find a way to consume it, and it leads to a hilarious morning discovery in the garden when Mr. Johnson tells Gregory he’s caught a big raccoon.
“When we got on the set, Danny was already in the cage. He was already in the trap. And I was impressed because it was hot. We had to make it look like it was wintertime, muddy. and messy and he was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do this.’” In other words, DeVito’s decades with Always Sunny have made him game for almost all shenanigans, but don’t expect Mr. Johnson to be so eager about rolling around in the dirt anytime soon.
Related‘Abbott Elementary’ Bosses Tease ‘Always Sunny’ Crossover
“If it had been me, [we’re gonna] work a few things out here. Mr. Johnson’s a little more… ‘I’m not laying in the mud,’” Davis puts it. As for whether or not these two eclectic characters have crossed paths before or not, Davis notes, “Frank is the same all the time. You know what he’s doing, but Mr. Johnson, he’s been an underwater scuba diver, he might be an astronaut. He’s been a state senator.” Meaning, anything is possible when Mr. Johnson factors in.
As for whether fans can anticipate more from the antagonistic back-and-forth between Mr. Johnson and Frank when the Always Sunny episode rolls around, Davis promises, “Definitely.” Fans can anticipate that installment later this year as the actor teased, “It’s coming out in the summer.”
In the episode’s final moments, it appeared the conflict between these characters was far from over as Frank presented Gregory with a car battery as an apology for his bad behavior, but the teacher was quick to pick up on the fact that the battery belonged to Mr. Johnson. Stay tuned to see where that tension could take us in the second half of the crossover and let us know what you think of the first half in the comments section, below.
And in the meantime, stay tuned for updates as we await details on the Always Sunny episode set to crossover with Abbott.
Abbott Elementary, Season 4, Wednesdays, 8:30/7:30c, ABC
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