Will Kaitlin Olson's High Potential Affect How Much Of Her Sweet Dee We'll See In It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Season 18?

Most actors would be beyond overjoyed to star in either one of network TV’s most-watched series, or in one of cable’s longest-lasting and record-breaking shows. Yet Kaitlin Olson has her feet firmly planted on both sides thanks to ABC’s High Potential and FXX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. So far, the two shows have filmed seasons without any publicly addressed overlaps, but will that still be the case going forward?

I know I’m not alone in wishing the answer to this will be “Yes,” with the hope that Olson will forever be physically and mentally capable of bouncing between the genius of Morgan Gillory and the...uh…genus Homo sapien of Dee Reynolds. But an exciting update for It’s Always Sunny’s upcoming season could affect things. Let’s take a closer look at what we know so far while waiting for new High Potential episodes to return.

What's The Status Of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Season 18?

It's Always Sunny fans have bemoaned recent seasons not only being spaced two years apart, but also for boasting fewer episodes than what viewers grew accustomed to. (Seasons 15-17 released 8 eps each, while the prior seven seasons sported 10 eps, not to mention the higher counts for Seasons 3-7.) Amazingly, both of those complaints will seemingly be rectified with Season 18.

Co-creator and star Rob Mac shared on Instagram that the new season's production kicked off before the weekend started. Compare that to Season 17's starting point, which reportedly happened in October 2024, nine months before the second half of the excellent Abbott Elementary crossover aired in July. So if things go as smoothly this time around as they did before, fans could feasibly be tuning into the premiere in November or December 2026.

However, Rob Mac also dropped the huge news that Season 18 will be bigger than expected, in response to one fan's hope-filled comment, as seen below:

• @serayepa: Pleeeeeeease say we're getting more than 8 episodes this time! It's always over so fast & l'm sad
  • @RobMac: yep :)

While he didn't offer any further details regarding just how many eps audiences can look forward to seeing in the new season, the Welcome to Wrexham co-lead deserves heaps of excited praise for giving us even that detail to gnaw on. A bigger season can only mean good things, whether it's another wild crossover episode like Frank's cameo-infused run on The Golden Bachelor in the finale, or simply another example of Dennis being the most reprehensible human imaginable.

On the flip side of that optimism, more episodes of It's Always Sunny presumably means more time on that set for co-star Kaitlin Olson. So what's happening with her more prominent day job?

Will Kaitlin Olson Be Able To Film New It's Always Sunny Eps On Top Of High Potential?

Back in 2024 when High Potential was coming together behind the scenes, with original showrunner Rob Thomas bowing out and getting replaced by Todd Harthan, the decision was made to cap the first season at 13 episodes to allow Kaitlin Olson to work on Always Sunny's 17th season, as that scheduling was already set in stone. The goal at the time was to avoid such issues in the future, so have they?

That's not entirely clear at this point, unfortunately, as it's unknown whether or not High Potential has finished filming its second season, which is reportedly set for 18 episodes. The current month-long hiatus brought on by the Olympics and an upcoming State of the Union address definitely makes it possible the cast and crew have yet to complete everything involved. Plus, that same cast and crew likely would have flooded social media with season-wrap posts, which hasn't happened yet as far as I can tell.

So at least early on into It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's 18th season, there's a decent chance that Kaitlin Olson will still be too busy on High Potential to immediately reprise Sweet Dee. That wouldn't necessarily indicate a dearth of the character, though. Given that Rob Mac is Olson's husband, he'd likely have the best ideas for which sequences could be filmed without Dee in the mix, allowing for her to jump right in at whichever point she's able.

That said, it's also possible fans will get one or more standalone-esque episodes focusing on just one or two main characters, as it mostly went with Season 13's "Charlie's Home Alone" and certain others.

Given the fact that High Potential has offered up a couple of low-key nods to It's Always Sunny, including through Morgan's fingernail designs, it's clear those producers are well aware that Olson's other commitments are worthy of consideration and respect. So here's hoping the ABC dramedy doesn't cause a Sweet Dee-sized void in the FXX series when it returns.

High Potential airs on ABC on Tuesday nights at 9:00 p.m., with episodes streaming the next day via Hulu subscription, which also gives subscribers access to all 17 seasons of It's Always Sunny.