In the event, "the Gang", a group of narcissistic and sociopathic proprietors of a bar, are given a court order to volunteer in an underprivileged elementary school in Philadelphia.

After returning from winter break, Ava announces that a district initiative will bring new teacher aides into Abbott's classrooms.

When the jumbotron falls off the gym wall, Ava attempts to obtain a new one from the golf course lawyer, who has been bribing the school to prevent being reported for using non-union employees.

Charlie helps Jacob fix his classroom air ducts, and Frank assists Gregory and Mr. Johnson in protecting the community garden from a raccoon.

When another teacher mentions that one of the volunteers invited her to a bar, Melissa recognizes them as a group of criminals and the owners of Paddy's Pub.

Mac acquires a photo of a protected bird on the golf course construction site, which Ava uses to blackmail them, ultimately receiving a new scoreboard.

[1] This concept was furthered following the unlicensed Willy's Chocolate Experience when McElhenney, responding to comments from viewers, stated the situation felt like an Abbott and Always Sunny crossover.

[5] Brunson teased in July at the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con that the then-upcoming fourth season of Abbott would have a crossover with another series.

She stated that she was inspired to pursue a crossover after remembering the excitement she had watching "That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana" when she was younger.

Brunson confirmed no further details at the time, but it was suspected that it would be with a program owned by Disney such as The Bear, The Simpsons, Grey's Anatomy, or It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

The availability of Kaitlin Olson was unknown due to her role on the ABC crime drama High Potential and an opening in Glenn Howerton's schedule was in doubt as he was filming the upcoming black comedy Sirens for Netflix.

[16] McElhenney explained that this aspect particularly succeeded with the darker tone of Always Sunny's characters, because the mockumentary format of Abbott allowed them to act differently than they traditionally would without sacrificing the authenticity, because they knew they were being recorded.

He further elaborated that the same reasoning worked in reverse for the Abbott characters, because they aren't being filmed during the Always Sunny episode, which allows a new side to be shown.

[1] The first part was originally set to be penned by Joya McCrory but was ultimately written by Garrett Werner as it was decided that he better knew the characters of Always Sunny.

[5][19] The storyline involving Charlie being moved to lower grades and being taught to read was partially inspired by the 1995 film Billy Madison.

Werner submitted his episode on September 18, 2024, which was slightly edited by the Always Sunny team to allow for references to pass between the two shows.

[5] One plot thread cut from the Abbott episode because of the time constraints included a shared backstory for Frank and Mr. Johnson in which it would be explained that they had attended the same high school and already knew each other because they had both dated the same person.

[22] Scott Sites, a line producer on Abbott, was tasked with overseeing the schedule to ensure the crossover came to fruition.

[5] The scene in Abbott where the scoreboard fell off the wall was considered to be "most elaborate special effect" ever done in the series and was filmed in a single take.

[27] Reviewing the first episode, Noel Murray of The New York Times remarked on the shows' differences and asked, "Can this combination work?

She also commented on the shows' different approaches, noting that the crossover did not "undercut the ABC sitcom's wholesomeness or It's Always Sunny's pure chaos, instead reveling in the odd mashup".