Jesse Palmer Teases “Insane” ‘Golden Bachelor’ And ‘It’s Always Sunny’ Crossover: “I Had To Call Execs At ABC To Make Sure They Actually Approved It”

The It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia gang welcomed Bachelor franchise host Jesse Palmer to Season 17 — or should we say, Jesse Palmer welcomed Frank Reynolds (Danny DeVito) to the Bachelor Mansion.

As teased in It’s Always Sunny Season 17’s eventful trailer, in addition to the FX comedy’s highly-anticipated crossover continuation with Abbott Elementary, another ABC series will be prominently featured in the upcoming batch of new episodes: The Golden Bachelor.

That’s right, folks! In It’s Always Sunny land, Frank is the new Golden Bachelor looking for a late-in-life love, or in his words, “a Grade-A, prime-cut piece of ass…to love.”

While the Golden Bachelor arc comes later in the eight-episode season, guest star Jesse Palmer teased the crossover for Decider and assured fans to brace for insanity.

“Working with Danny and that cast was incredible. I’m a huge fan of the show, and they’re all amazing,” Palmer told Decider at a Bachelor in Paradise event ahead of Season 10’s premiere. “The hardest part of acting with them was trying to keep a straight face the whole time, because they improv and just go off script. It is so funny.” That said, Palmer admitted that after reading the script alone, he was in disbelief that the episodes were greenlit…

“After I read the script, I had to call executives at ABC to make sure they actually approved it,” Palmer admitted. “It is so insane. It’s so funny. But it goes way over the line. People are going to be shocked when they see the episode. They’re gonna see why it was so hard for me to keep a straight face the whole time. I could not believe it, but it was so much fun.”

Based on the Golden Bachelor snippets we see in the Season 17 trailer, Frank heads to the Bachelor Mansion and stands outside with Palmer for the traditional Night 1 limo exits. “Oh baby, am I boned up,” he says upon meeting eye-catching an contestant named “Cock Chewa” who’s catchphrase is “Chew on that thang.”

Immediately after Cock Chewa exits the limo, Frank declares, “She’s it. I pick her!” The move, even faster than Clare Crowley and Dale Moss’ Bachelorette Season 16 engagement, naturally stresses Palmer out. But based on trailer footage of a dinner with Cock Chewa and Frank’s fam, plus Palmer hosting the Golden Bachelor season finale, we have faith that Frank will go through a full season of dating before he makes his pick.

In addition to big laughs and jaw-dropping twists, the Golden Bachelor and It’s Always Sunny crossover gave Palmer another chance to flex his acting muscles. The Bachelor and 9-1-1 had a crossover episode back in 2024, and Palmer is open to more acting opportunities in the future — even if they don’t involve him playing himself.

“I love acting. Any time acting opportunities come around, I’m always into it. My mom put me in drama camp growing up. I took acting classes in college. So I absolutely love it. It’s so much fun,” Palmer told Decider.

As for dream acting opportunities? “I mean selfishly, because I want to film in Paris, maybe The Agency on Netflix,” Palmer said, confirming he’d also be down to appear on Netflix’s Emily in Paris. “I love [Emily in Paris] and my wife and I watch it, and her name’s Emily. Now that’s in Rome, but I’ll go to Rome too!”

Until Palmer books his next (hopefully abroad) role, we have the latest Golden Bachelor crossover to look forward to. And the It’s Always Sunny cast teased more big surprises to Decider, including a “legendary actress,” so buckle up for a wild ride.

New episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiere Wednesdays on FX and new episodes of Bachelor in Paradise premiere Mondays on ABC with next-day Hulu streaming.