The Evolution of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia

The Evolution of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today were tracing the evolution of the longest running live-action sitcom in American history.

Over the course of twenty-plus years, our beloved yet irredeemable gang has endured as a staple of our screens. So, as a satire, how has Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia adapted to the changing cultural landscape while still staying true to itself? Have they peaked?

Origins, Development, & Season 1

If you ask any seasoned Always Sunny fan their favorite season of the show, their answer is unlikely to be season one. It was obvious that the gang was finding their footing the shows tone and characterization had yet to be solidified, and it showed. Even still, from the very beginning, the series cemented itself as a satire, and a widely offensive one at that. The pilot episode, The Gang Gets Racist, aims to tackle both race and sexuality to the very extreme. Now, we dont want to over-intellectualize what Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia has ever been trying to achieve. As creators Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, and Rob Mac have themselves claimed, their own grasp on the concept of satire was tenuous in the early days. While we think they should give themselves a bit more credit, they make a fair point. Season one leans heavily into the shock value of its subject matter, clearly unconcerned with how their approach might be interpreted by a wider audience.

In terms of character development, Kaitlin Olsen was cast as Dee Reynolds after the original pilot had been filmed. Once FX had officially ordered a season of the show, the original actress in the role and Macs girlfriend at the time Jordan Reid was coldly booted, and Olsen was hired in her place. And before she stepped into the role, Sweet Dee was an earnest nickname Dee was imagined as a level-headed, straight man character to counterbalance the depravity of her male counterparts. When Olsen became aware of this, she turned down the role but ultimately returned when Mac reassured her that her character would be rewritten to better suit her comedic sensibilities. Wed argue that this crucial shift in Dees character unbound Always Sunny from any seemingly obligatory moral center, allowing the characters to cross the line and go to extremes in ways they likely wouldnt have otherwise.

We wont delve too deeply into production details we do have two decades worth of content to cover but it bears acknowledging that Day, Howerton, and Mac created the series out of virtual obscurity. Howerton even claims that when they filmed their first pilot, he wasnt considering the possibility that they would go on to sell it to a network he just thought it was funny. And when you watch (or rewatch) the first season, it feels evident that the gang had nothing to lose, but everything to prove. The gangs unabashed approach to such shocking situations and themes couldve easily spelt its demise. Who wants to watch four idiots wave guns around, falsify cancer, and claim to envy victims of abuse? Well, in 2005, people did Bushs America, we suppose! And with a concept vague enough to adapt, and standout moments funny enough to attract initial viewership, Always Sunny was picked up for a second season, and as we now know, over fifteen more to follow.

Satire & Parody

Before we dig into the text or, uh, episodes we want to quickly define a few key terms. When we call Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia a satire, were addressing that the intention of its humor is most often designed to mock ignorance or misconceptions regarding an idea. Through satire, the method is to become the object of criticism in an ironic way so, through the gangs own personal folly, were meant to observe the shortcomings of their thinking and extremity. When we delve into parody, there is still a subject being made fun of, but in a slightly lower-brow fashion. Parody is the act of literally copying a text, and adding a new spin or layer of context to it. It typically offers less nuance, and often requires a lower lift of engagement from an audience. This isnt to say that parody cant also be satirical, or that its inherently unintelligent we love you Weird Al but generally, satire is a sharper, more critical art form.

In a 2011 interview, Rob Mac expressed his fears regarding the shows ability to maintain a counterculture status, which he believed was crucial to producing quality satire. He later unpacked this comment on Hot Ones. With this all in mind, lets dig into how Always Sunnys comedic approach shifted over time for better or for worse. To properly cover the scope of the sheer mass of episodes we could possibly discuss, well be breaking the seasons up into what we feel are three distinct eras of the iconic series run.

Seasons 2-7: Creating a Canon

With Danny Devitos Frank Reynolds now aboard the cast, fears of low viewerships from the network could subside. Devito arguably saved the show in more ways than one, from simply drawing eyes to the relatively unknown sitcom, to elevating the possibilities of the gangs antics to new heights. Frank introduced as Dennis and Dees father quickly sheds any presumptive parental expectations within the structure of the cast. In his first appearance, Frank teams up with Charlie to get as much attention at the strip club by whatever means necessary. From this point on, its clear that his depravity meets, if not exceeds, the rest of the gangs.

In these initial seasons, the series had solidified an early status as a pure satire. As a case study, season twos Dennis and Dee Go on Welfare both exemplifies their comedic approach, and marks a point where the gang began to hit their stride. Dennis and Dee quit Paddys to follow their dreams, but when they realize that unemployment pays better than the bar, they go off the deep end. This episode had extreme, confrontational subject matter akin to season one, but each character is more thoroughly defined, and each role in the gangs dynamic feels considered. In terms of the larger context of this episode, using unemployment programs as the inciting incident grounds us in a complicated reality. While we are obviously not meant to learn anything from the gangs actions, the episode lays out an issue that many Americans have faced: in some circumstances, unemployment can be more lucrative than employment. This was the case in 2006, and has continued to be an issue in the following decades particularly during and following the pandemic. When dissecting the formula that has made Always Sunny near-eternal, many of everyday, political problems that the series has commented upon have unfortunately persisted alongside its 20-plus year run. This fact makes episodes like Dennis and Dee Go on Welfare feel timeless, despite being shot on a Panasonic camcorder.

By season four, the series started taking some bigger swings. This might be a hot take, but this season could potentially be the most iconic, consistently strong of the show overall but you can argue with us in the comments about that. At the time, some Sunny purists took issue with The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell, an episode that transports the gang to 1776. The plot of the episode exists within a story the gang tells a historian in an attempt to deem Paddys a landmark. But even with that framing device keeping the events of the episode in-universe, many fans felt it was a few steps too far outside of the world they had come to love. And if were talking big swings, season fours finale is probably its best-known, and perhaps most beloved episode The Nightman Cometh. A musical episode, and (in our humble opinion) an even larger plot departure than Liberty Bell. All of this is to say, regardless of public opinion, this season establishes that Always Sunny is far from a one-trick pony in terms of its ability to successfully expand the boundaries of their storytelling. Laying this groundwork early gave Day, Howerton, Mac, and the rest of the creative team even more freedom to take the series in unexpected directions.

Seasons five through seven continue to deliver instant classics: The D.E.N.N.I.S. System, A Very Sunny Christmas, and Chardee MacDennis: The Game of Games to name a few have all remained in the cultural consciousness as some of the defining episodes of the series. This canon becomes the foundation that the rest of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia derives from, and eventually, may come to rest its laurels on.

Seasons 8-12: Self-Reference & Adaptation

With seven seasons in their back pocket and a growing fanbase, Always Sunny had to innovate while still delivering on the standard of quality it had been known for. Luckily for them, they had created an almost airtight dynamic, and had the flexibility to put the gang in almost any situation they could conceive of. While weve already established ourselves as The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell apologists, we think that theres a line as to how far the gang can take us outside of their world before becoming a parody of itself a line that we start to approach here.

In seasons eight through twelve, many of the episodes start to exist outside of the Paddys formula. And as the risks they took began to increase, at the same time, the tone of the episodes began to feel increasingly more self-referential as well. This isnt to say that theres a quality dropoff at this point, because there are lots of standout episodes to be highlighted in this era. But in regards to the series evolution, compared to the previous batch of seasons, theres a noticeable movement towards the absurd, the parodic, and towards borrowing from its own canon as much as it attempts to expand it.

What we feel marks this shift is season eights The Gang Recycles Their Trash. This episode essentially serves as an homage to the entire series up until this point, recycling dialogue and bits from former standout episodes. Done improperly, this episode could have felt hacky, or like pointless fan-service. But instead, Sunny delivered us a clever, self-aware, and dare we say anti-clip show of an episode. Through both form and content, we see that the team wanted us to understand that they recognized their own limitations. How many more social or political issues can they comment on in new ways before they come full circle? How many more schemes can the gang cook up before they begin to run out of ideas? Perhaps intentionally, perhaps in hindsight, this episode serves as a clear inflection point in the direction of the show.

In season nine, we have a handful of episodes that hinge upon previous plotlines, or repurpose ideas they have already explored. Namely, Gun Fever Too: Still Hot, The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 6, and The Gang Squashes Their Beefs all partially require some understanding of the lore to fully appreciate. However, the season nine episode we want to hone in on is The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award. While were familiar with Always Sunnys inclination to comment on society at large, this episode is pointing directly towards its own critical reception. More specifically, its lack of awards recognition. The episode shows the gangs reluctance, and ultimate inability, to adopt the strategies that seem to gain other shows accolades. And their final message to the voting academy is quite clear. In this case, Sunny is at the point where theyre able to leverage their popularity in a way thats both self-referential and satirical.

But as the show continues, the episodes feel less like the world of Sunny is being used as the satirical blueprint, and more like external, current events are leading the direction of the content. Season twelves Making Dennis Reynolds a Murderer is an obvious were saying it parody of the true crime genre. While still character-driven, it feels less original, drawing heavily from pop culture and fan theories surrounding Dennis years of indiscretions and questionable behavior. While were on the subject of fan theories, the question of Macs sexuality comes to the forefront in the next episode. In the early seasons, Mac is vehemently homophobic. It then becomes a running joke that Mac is not out about being gay, which eventually leads to his character officially coming out in Hero or Hate Crime? As the creators have revealed, this was a retroactive decision season one Sunny never pictured season twelve Mac as a gay man. For some, its easy to write this off as a woke move, or as some means of undoing their past wrongs. If you ask us well, this is our video essay, isnt it? the issue doesnt lie in the choice to embrace Macs sexuality. However, after releasing the tension within his character, there seems to lack a direction in how Macs newfound self-acceptance would function comedically within the plot. All of these creative choices lead us into the most current era of Always Sunny, where the social and political landscape become more significant players in the shows development than ever before.

Season 13 & Onwards: A New Era

From 2017 forward, the series just feels different. The production value is noticeably higher, and given the casts success, they themselves look higher value as well. This in itself is challenging at times, as were meant to believe that the gang are the same low-class Philadelphia crew that theyre still meant to be portraying. Theyre rich people now and they look like it. Right before season twelve began, Glenn Howerton expressed a sentiment that may have been right on the money he feared that Sunny was overstaying its welcome. Besides his concerns about the quality of the show, he also desired to spread his wings and take on new creative projects. So in season thirteen, he took a step back from the show, appearing only in select episodes as a recurring character as opposed to a lead. And obviously, his absence was felt.

In season thirteen, none of the episodes aside from the finale Mac Finds His Pride are written by any members of the core creative trio, which arguably gives the season a kind of fanfiction vibe. It also leans hard into absurdity and meta-comedy more than ever before, with The Gang Does a Clip Show as a notable departure in style. In another attempt to mock the long-held sitcom tradition, the gang collectively reminisces on past highlights from the show. Ultimately, they deliver an Inception parody where they are able to link and alter their memories. Conceptually brave, but extremely on-the-nose, as they literally reference Inception within the episode itself. In what was a creative effort to come off as self-aware, instead feels mistrusting of its lifelong fans to be in on the joke. The bridge from satire into parody has been crossed, and we fear theres no going back.

Thankfully, Howerton returned full-time from season fourteen forward, which revived hope in the future of the show. But aside from Dennis sporadic involvement, season thirteen is notable in terms of the cultural moment it takes place in the midst of. This season is the very first to air in the Trump era, and its apparent that Sunny felt the need to make their political agenda loud and clear. It seems as if the team recognizes that earlier seasons have been criticised for their offensive content, and as such adjusts their approach to satire to be more partisan. Issues discussed in more recent episodes diversity, sexual harassment, global warming, to name a few are higher stakes conversations than ever given the political climate. And so, any nuance in exploring them comedically can be misconstrued by an audience expecting to see the gang take a side. We cant blame Always Sunny for making measured adjustments as the times change, but it does beg the question: if the original, confronting, Sunny-style satire is no longer possible, then what does the gang have left to tell us? What are we still hanging onto?

In more recent years, Always Sunny has done its best to return to its core principles however possible. Howerton, Day, and Mac have more episode writing credits in season fourteen forward, and their personal touches really do make Sunny feel well, Sunny. Despite the challenges of maintaining a successful sitcom for twenty-plus years, and despite all of the valid critiques weve leveled towards it, its truly astounding to witness a comedy series mature alongside a changing world. Whether you appreciate the direction of the latter seasons or not, no one could claim that theyve ever become complacent. And ironically, thats actually what wed hope from the gang themselves we want to see them stubborn, unwilling to learn or adapt, steadfast in their ignorance. Maybe were the ones who need to learn our lesson.

So, has It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia peaked? Or have they not even begun to peak? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!