‘Abbott Elementary’ Star Chris Perfetti Says the ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ Crossover Episode Is ‘Obviously the R-Rated Version’
When the Paddy’s Pub Gang spent a week “volunteering” at Willard R. Abbott Elementary School, their antics weren’t all as kid-friendly as the first book Charlie Kelly ever read.
On Wednesday, July 9th, Abbott Elementary mid-season premiere “Volunteers” first merged the two Philadelphian sitcom universes, and fans of both shows were pleasantly surprised by how The Gang managed to reign in their degeneracy just enough to appeal to ABC audiences without losing their edge.
Well, when It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia gets their turn with the crossover, no broadcast TV shushers will be able to censor the depravity that The Gang will unleash on the poor public school staffers. One such teacher, Abbott Elementary star Chris Perfetti, who plays Jacob Hill on the feel-good critical darling, recently spoke to Collider about the crossover and promised that the Always Sunny premiere is “obviously the R-rated version of what happened.”
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God willing, someone’s gonna hang dong.
In “Volunteers,” Perfetti’s Jacob takes Charlie Kelly under his wing and quickly realizes that, despite his claims to the contrary, the Paddy’s Pub janitor is an adult illiterate. Jacob and his fellow teachers band together to help Charlie reach a kindergarten-level of reading comprehension before his court-ordered community service concludes. The school even honors Charlie with a graduation ceremony as he s the hallowed ranks of children’s book readers.
“I’m always surprised by how much pathos our show can hold. It’s obviously first and foremost a comedy, but I just really loved that moment,” Perfetti said of Charlie’s achievement in language studies. “I thought that because we were jamming with those guys that we were really going to milk as much comedy out of the episode as we could, but we still managed to make it moving and meaningful. I love that.”
As for how It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia will re-tell the events of that fateful week from The Gang’s perspective, Perfetti can’t wait for us to see what’s in store. “That was such a gorgeous opportunity to show sides of these characters that we don’t get to show on ABC or on network TV,” Perfetti said of the freedom that Always Sunny afforded the Abbott cast. “So I’m just thrilled about it. I love all of them so much, I’m such a big fan of the show that they’ve made and who they are individually. It was a dream come true.”
Depending on what Dennis was doing while he was avoiding the diegetic camera crew, that dream may end up being a nightmare.
