It’s A Philly Thing: Abbott Elementary and It’s Always Sunny’s Pride of Place

The city of Philadelphia has, count ‘em, not one but two mascots that could charitably be described as a “malformed blob.”  One of them is Gritty (orange fur, Lovecraftian stare, generally threatening aura). The other is the Phillie Phanatic (green fur, Kafkaesque confusion about the world, generally threatening aura). Two mascots, alike in dignity, and so forth. Gritty appeared in the wonderful Abbott Elementary, where he acted as an end-of-school-day treat for the wholesome and well-meaning children of that show. The Philly Phanatic cameoed in the equally wonderful It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, where he was part of an episode that involved grain alcohol, fistfights, and people being poisoned by bug bomb gas.That the city of Philadelphia can encompass both these two episodes is appropriate for perhaps the most unique setting, and city, on TV. 

It’s cliché by now to say that the “city is a character,” but it’s undeniable that the choice of where exactly to set your sitcom is something that should never be a throwaway decision. After all, where would Roseanne be without its roots in a working-class Chicago suburb, Frasier (pre-reboot) without Seattle’s overcast skies, Catastrophe without London’s confusing non-American ways? Yet, as TV history expands and grows to include more and more shows, we see patterns emerging that suggest that generations of writers tend to see cities the same way. Shows as tonally diverse as Insecure, You’re the Worst, and Party Down are all showbusiness-adjacent, as would be appropriate for comedies set in LA, while 30 Rock, Friends, and Seinfeld all present New York as a hive of constant energy, filled with a cast of kooky archetypes and constant interruptions to characters trying to simply go about their day. It acts as a casual shorthand for the viewers, a way of quickly establishing that we know, at least to a certain degree, what types of situations we’re going to encounter. 

Yet Philly stands alone in the current TV landscape, with its two most prominent shows, Abbott and IASIP, so different as to effectively be taking place in alien universes. It is impossible to imagine the assorted amoral degenerates who inhabit Philadelphia in IASIP knowing the cast of decent, kind-hearted public school teachers on Abbott (unless someone lets me write the spec script where Dee and Principal Ava meet trying to scam their way into a Pilates class). The idea that they could even walk the same streets is ludicrous. 

This is not to say that either show is more or less “Philly” than the other. They both have a lived-in specificity (tossed-off references to Andre Iguodala, Boyz II Men, South Street, and Chase Utley abound on both shows) and a clear connection to their setting. Both sitcoms also boast real-life ties to the city. Abbott creator Quinta Brunson and IASIP co-creator Rob McElhenney are both Philly-born and raised, and both attended Temple University. Clearly, they both know and love the city, but they have also created two completely opposing views of their hometown. In a world of New York shows that all have bright lights and big dreams, and LA shows with glitz and glamor, how did Philadelphia come to house both kindergarten teacher and church-goer Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph), and defrocked priest and dog orgy participant Rickety Cricket (David Hornsby)?

Perhaps it might be something to do with the dual place Philly holds in the minds of most Americans. This is after all a city of historical and social importance, with a thriving cultural and musical scene (Japanese Breakfast, Hop Along, Sheer Mag, The Roots, Jill Scott, and countless others), progressive politics, and a young and diverse populace. Their sports teams win, and when they do, they do it in style. Yet the city is also often reduced to a joke in popular culture, where it is full of people who say “water” weird, spend 40 days eating entire rotisserie chickens, throw batteries on the field and snowballs at Santa, and needed to have light poles greased when the Eagles won a championship so they wouldn’t climb them (which didn’t even work). 

Philly doesn’t get a casual shorthand like New York or LA do, as the city manages to embody both these stereotypes perpetually. Even the most hardened Philly resident would admit that part of its charm lies in how fully the city commits to whatever it sets its mind to, how its civic pride borders on ridiculousness. People love Philadelphia even as they’re making fun of it. So it follows that its two TV casts are completely divorced from each other in tone and content. They are the yin and yang of Philadelphia, the Liberty Bell and the greased light pole. If Abbott is the aspirational heart of Philly, showing how people want to build something meaningful for future generations, then IASIP is the horrifying id, only concerned with how to maximize money and status in the present. And to continue the psychological metaphor, both their interpretations of the city are pretty “valid.”

Philly’s TV shows are so different because the city itself is too big to be contained in just a simple archetype; it can’t be reduced down to just uplifting and heartwarming community bonds, because that would be just as unfair as reducing it down to sheer depraved lunacy. Both Abbott and IASIP wear their setting proudly on their sleeves, and it is a credit to them and the city they’re from that they have created two completely unique worlds that have such vivid characters inhabiting them. The fact that the inhabitants would probably fight each other if they ever met is merely an added wrinkle. It’s a Philly thing.