HowIts Always Sunnys resident delinquents infiltratedAbbott Elementary.
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Spoilers follow for theAbbott Elementaryepisode Volunteers, which aired January 8 on ABC.
In Mr. Johnsons (William Stanford Davis) words, theyre trash.
Abbott could use all the help it could get … but maybe shouldve drawn the line at these five.
Both shows writers werent even sure it would happen.
and emphasize how fantasticallySunnys ensemble embodies the characters derangement.
Capturing that balance without mimicking a plot from one ofSunnys16 seasonswastheAbbottwriters greatest challenge.
Its like,Okay, how are we going to make these two things work?
(I believe Justins describing fusion cooking, deadpans his writing partner and fellow EP Patrick Schumacker.)
Why are these guys crossing paths?
Philadelphia is big enough for both Abbott and Paddys Pub, but Hollywood is small.
Most of us assumed lawyers would stop it, Werner says.
Theres a piece of me that likes to keepSunnysmall.
I was hesitant because I dont knowhow many episodesofIts Always Sunnywe have [left].
We did eight this season and we might do eight more next year, he adds.
That was the first thing we had to figure out: Why are these guys crossing paths?
We need to shoot in our sets, so theyve got to come to us, Werner says.
We cant just shoot them at Paddys.
Rob would be like, I talked to him, hes in.
We cant get a hold of him, and his reps are telling us he cant do this.
And were like, Wait, what?
Halpern remembers, laughing.
In Volunteers, her interactions with Charlie provide a real emotional grounding.
Does he get stuck in Mr. Johnsons closet or something?)
I saw Quinta in our little snack area after we had figured it out.
I was like, It ends with Danny DeVito in a cage eating dirt, covered in piss pelts.
And she was like, I guess if weve got Danny DeVito, we should use him.
And I took that as a pitch approved.
Within the month, the Volunteers crew had worked out all of the Gangs storylines.
(The episode clocks in at 21:47 minutes.)
I felt as though they really nailed the characters voices.
I was more worried about how they were gonna react when we sent them ours, Day laughs.
Werners biggest concern for production was filming a winter-set episode in unrelenting September heat.
It was in the high 90s, and this is the first time weve ever met Danny DeVito.
I was really nervous about that.
Most of them are just kids.
It all felt very alive.
We were really able to do things with them that they cant do on ABC.
One thing thats up in the air, though: how much Charlies reading skill sticks.
His tag at the end of Volunteers shows him reading the word guest as ghost.
Its ultimately up to theSunnyguys how much he retains, Schumacker says.
We werent going to call any shots on their mythology, thats for sure.
