For only eight stinking episodes, we sure do have to wait a long time for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia anymore. But alas, here we are at the seventeenth season, and they really are just as strong as ever.
Admittedly, it feels like a lifetime has passed since the finale of Abbott Elementary where we saw the Sunny cast causing all sorts of mayham at the school as part of some community service. This time around, we get to see more of the goings on from the Sunny characters’ perspectives. It mainly seemed like they were all trying to make money off of the school with some half-cocked schemes. Dee was also trying to derail Jenine and Gregory’s relationship on the side. For me though, the funniest scenes were Dennis commandeering a chemistry lab into making an elaborate coffee outfit that all of the teachers were enjoying.
Though the crossover was fun, and very unique for two extremely different shows that happen to take place in the same city, I don’t know that I want to see it happen again anytime soon. Sure, the Sunny episode featured much more swearing, and I hope regular Abbott Elementary viewers tuned in with some shock to see it happen, but I wish it would have been filmed in a grittier style like typical Sunny episodes are. But if you weren’t satisfied with one crossover, then you will be pleased with the two-part Golden Bachelor crossover leading into the season finale.
Reality TV like the Bachelor and its spin-offs are a little more off-color than the likes of Abbott Elementary, so I found these episodes to be a bit more fun. Frank gets chosen as the latest Golden Bachelor (host and all appear!), so the gang decide they need to prepare for the hometown visit. What we get instead is a focus group watching the most chaotic dinner several times over with each member trying to achieve a different goal with the audience instead of just trying to have a semi-normal dinner conversation. By the end they learn that Frank was too embarrassed to show off his brood, so he hired a fake family to sell to the show! They get their time in the spotlight in the end, but Carol Kane shines as the guest in the final two episodes.
Other than those more specific crossover episodes, I wouldn’t say that there was an over-arching storyline this season. You see Frank as cake, the gang gets involved with Cyber Trucks, and even try to seduce a couple Dee and Denis knew from high school. Perhaps the next most memorable epsiode of the season is “The Gang Goes to a Dog Track,” which is the level of absurd, degenerative antics longtime Sunny fans will really appreciate. There was a part near the end that fully grossed me out, but all in all, it was a top tier episode.
For fans of Sunny, the gang manages to keep it fresh after all this time. It’s just a shame we’ll have to wait so long for the next, and possibly last season. I have no doubts that FX would choose to renew the show, but their last contract had guaranteed them four more seasons, getting them to eighteen total. Who knows what the future holds!