Why the crossover episode is a lost art

Mint

5 days ago

Five sociopaths arrive at an underfunded black school. Which Philadelphia sitcom does that plotline belong to? It's right up the alley for Abbott Elementary, the school in question, but the sociopaths are ones we know (and occasionally love) from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In a first-of-its-kind crossover, the Sunny gang arrives as court-mandated volunteers at Abbott Elementary, and we get two episodes out of the hijinks: Abbott Elementary, season 4, episode 7, and the 17th season premiere of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The chaos is immediate.
The Sunny gang instantly hijack the proceedings. Charlie's criminal illiteracy, Frank's ghoulish opportunism, Dee's delusions of grandeur… they're all too strange, too outrageous, too far out for the optimistic and well-meaning Abbott Elementary ensemble. Charlie shines brightest—as the dimmest—by struggling to read basic words on the board, and he gets a full literacy arc. Under Barbara's determined tutelage, armed only with a picture book about Pennsylvania bird species, he begins to read out loud. Meanwhile the rest of the gang is characteristically up to more nefarious schemes—from stealing boyfriends to stealing copper wire—though Dennis does exhibit significant coffee-making skill and attention to detail.
The Abbott Elementary character who really shines is the principal, Ava. Oblivious and self-serving enough to fit in alongside the Always Sunny gang, Ava really holds her own in these crossover episodes. The real wow moment comes when the Abbott ensemble is trying to be optimistic about the future of Philadelphia. This is where Jacob casually starts saying, about the city, 'It's always sunny.." before fading to black. Delightful.
There was a time when the television crossover was a regular thing. A night to be circled in red pen, when sitcom characters wandered into other sitcoms, and entire universes bent around the joy of colliding worlds. It was silly, it was contrived, and it was joyous. It began as a programming gimmick, evolved into network synergy, and eventually died out.
It apparently started with I Love Lucy's 1957 episode Lucy and Superman, where George Reeves appeared as Superman to crash Ricky's birthday party, arguably the first fictional crossover between two TV characters or shows. Crossovers started regularly in the 1960s, when networks realised that viewers loved seeing their favourite characters in different—but still favourite—surroundings. The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres and Petticoat Junction were rural comedies by creator Paul Henning that would trade guest appearances. This laid the groundwork for Norman Lear's 1970 shows where All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Maude and Good Times together became a social-satire shared universe, so to speak.
Crossovers became events in the 1990s. The Golden Girls, Empty Nest and Nurses were all struck by the same storm across three consecutive shows. NBC scripted a blackout across the storylines of New York shows Friends, Mad About You and Madman. These became a bonus for primetime viewers watching the episodes back to back. Back in India, we had Shah Rukh Khan showing up on TV superhit Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin.
Then, audiences fractured. Appointment viewing gave way to binge-watching. Shared universes became the domain of corporate-owned superhero franchises, where crossovers felt less like surprise and more like brand obligations. With streaming services hoarding shows into silos, and creators guarding tonal consistency, the classic crossover became extinct. Today, most shows live on different platforms, with conflicting production teams, incompatible styles, and little incentive to play nice. It's hard to imagine Ted Lasso appearing in The Bear—though that might finally help the latter qualify as a comedy.
In the linear TV era, scheduling crossovers across shows that aired on the same night made sense. But streaming changes that, with audiences watching one show at a time—on their own time. Without simultaneous airtime, crossovers feel orphaned, confusing, or simply unnecessary. The network synergy has vanished, with broadcasting rights divvied up across platforms.
Therefore, the Abbott Elementary and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia crossover makes no sense. Abbott is a workplace comedy with heart and hope. Sunny is a nihilistic satire featuring the most despicable people in Philadelphia. One is set in an underfunded school. The other in a perpetually empty Irish bar. Abbott Elementary is made mockumentary-style, with characters talking to an implausible documentary crew. The Always Sunny gang talks only to each other.
It shouldn't work. And yet it does.
The crossover revitalises both sitcoms. It makes characters we already know stand out even more when placed next to other characters we know. It is chaos and heart, irreverence and sincerity, two sitcoms running headlong into each other without smoothing the edges. In doing so, Abbott Elementary and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia bring the crossover back from the dead—not as nostalgia, but as reinvention. A TV tradition, long thought obsolete, made vivid once more by the very absurdity of its return.
There is one genuine gasp. The crossover features Abbott Elementary's wholesome heroine Janine saying something so foulmouthed it feels scandalous. This says a lot about how provocative the It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia gang remain, even in their 17th season. 'Crazy white people hit different," says Ava, justifiably freaked out. That's not a bad reminder. Some of us longtime viewers are so used to the outrageous Sunny shenanigans that it helps to see them through a fresh pair of eyes. Even fictional ones.
Raja Sen is a screenwriter and critic. He has co-written Chup, a film about killing critics, and is now creating an absurd comedy series. He posts @rajasen.