Here Are All the Fan-Spotted Easter Eggs and Callbacks From the ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’/’Abbott Elementary’ Crossover

On By Littum

Willard R. Abbott Elementary School and its students, teachers and administrators are now officially part of the It’s always sunny in Philadelphia cannon. We look forward to seeing what physical disfigurements and personal tragedies the Gang inflicts on them over the next 16 seasons.

In last week’s episode of Abbott Elementarythe long-awaited “Volunteers” with Mac, Dennis, Charlie, Dee and Frank from It’s always sunny in Philadelphiathe combined writers of Philadelphia’s two most beloved television shows merged the characters, chemistry and humor of the two drastically different sitcoms into a one-of-a-kind crosstown special that earned rave reviews from critics and fans of both shows. With the exception of Dennis’ unexcused absence (due to Glenn Howerton’s IRL Scheduling Constraints), “Volunteers” was a treasure trove of classic moments from each member of Paddy’s Pub Gang, and the writers took great care to introduce Always sunny grades to an ABC audience without upsetting the ABC censors.

Don’t miss out

But for those of us who are so deep on Always sunny believing they could navigate the ventilation system of Paddy’s Pub with their eyes closed and a rubber gun to their heads, “Volunteers” had several layers of deep cuts, references and easter eggs just for the most observant and obsessed Always sunny fans:

With regards to Always sunny superfan @boygeniusmac and the hard work they put into this list, some of these are less easter eggs or callbacks and more just things people in Philly do sometimes. For example, “Go Birds” is more of a regional salute than a race unique to a TV show.

Abbott Elementary executive producer Patrick Schumacker also discussed a few of his favorite Easter eggs baked into “Volunteers,” says Black of one of the first references @boygeniusmac caught, “We don’t have title cards, but after the cold open, the very first line is someone saying the day and time as a nod to Sunny.”

“There are other little references that they make,” Schumacker explained. “It’s just a lot of fun to find out all that knowledge about Sunnyand then what is the story about us. So both Janine and Dee have big feet. It’s like a very strange little thing, because they can line it up and serve both audiences.”

But the biggest, most literal Always sunny The Easter egg Schumacker revealed was how Ava Coleman resolves the central conflict of her story in “Volunteers,” her battle with her country club enemies to get a new scoreboard posted in the gym by literally invoking the Bird Act and planting endangered bird’s eggs on the plot planned for a golf course next door.

Once again, aviary lawyer Charlie Kelly appears in the courts. Royal McPoyle would be proud.