Top 10 Times It's Always Sunny Tackled Serious Issues

After Charlie gets the news that he might be a father, the rest of the gang has an extended discussion about reproductive rights. Each of them has a different view on the topic. Dennis is pro-choice, Mac is completely pro-life and Dee believes that the mother has the final say. Over the course of an episode, the show uses funny interactions to highlight each viewpoint. One of the most clever bits of commentary comes around Dennis and Mac. Both of them change their views about reproductive rights to whatever's most convenient for them at the moment. As they struggle to choose their sides, the show is careful not to side with any one group on this debate.

When Frank took over as head of Paddy's Pub, Dennis and Dee quit their jobs at the bar and attempt to get on welfare. But the siblings learn that signing up for financial assistance isn't easy. While they make increasingly worse decisions to get government aid, Frank discovers a welfare program that allows him to hire workers while not paying them a cent. He immediately takes advantage of his new hires and treats them horribly. In both plot lines, people abuse or attempt to misuse the welfare system when they don't need to. The episode also uses absurd scenarios to show how badly people getting aid can be treated by those who aren’t in the program.

Since Frank is the richest person at Paddy’s, the rest of the gang often rely on him to bail them out of financial hardship. So, when he suddenly loses his wealth, it has a ripple effect. Dennis and Mac fire the rest of the Gang after learning they won't have a financial safety net. Shortly after Charlie loses his job and apartment, he finds himself living on the street. Although Dee and Frank start a new business, it swiftly fails and they lose all the money they invested. No one in the gang is able to get back on their feet alone. Their struggles may feel very real for anyone who’s fallen on hard times due the economy taking an unexpected downturn.

Pete was a character that suffered from mental illness. And, according to the gang, he committed terrible crimes against his family. When Pete leaves a mental institution to visit Paddy’s, no one’s sure how to interact with him. It's only after the gang spends time scheming behind his back to “help him” that Pete reveals rumors about him hurting his family were false. After he went to an institution because of an anxiety disorder, people made up stories and treated him poorly. This is echoed when Frank is harassed by an old psychologist. In between these scenes, we get discussions of how society treats people with mental illness. Through Pete and Frank’s eyes, the episode shows how difficult it can be to overcome certain stigmas.

All the guys in the gang relentlessly make fun of Dee. But when she starts insulting herself and neglecting to take care of herself, the boys take notice. Most of the gang pushes Dee to focus on her dream career in comedy to uplift her spirits. After she starts getting positive feedback, it’s revealed her recent career success was part of an elaborate prank. While most of the gang helped play this huge joke on Dee, the episode still addresses the serious topic of depression. The gang changes their behavior towards Dee when they see her going down a dark path. Although their methods were definitely messed up, their hearts were relatively in the right place.

Shortly after Mac expresses his discomfort with gay marriage, the rest of the gang gets a bit of wedding fever. While Dennis decides to get married to an old flame, Charlie proposes to Frank so they can share health insurance benefits. From this point on, the episode goes in unexpected directions to lay out some social commentary. Although Dennis can marry someone easily within an afternoon, Charlie and Frank find a mountain of paperwork in between them and marriage. Mac is also able to embrace marriage equality after realizing that he has some things to figure out about his sexuality. Not only does the episode promote marriage rights, but some of the great lessons learned here go onto influence characters in future episodes.

Over the course of the series, Cricket went from a reputable priest to a homeless man reliant on less than legal substances. He gets a chance to break a long cycle of unhealthy behavior when his dad gives him work. Although Cricket tries to make a positive change, his closest friends assume he’ll fall back on addictive behaviors. In the end, it’s revealed that he was under the influence the entire time he was working. Cricket goes back to his old behavior once he learns the truth. Seeing him return to his old life is a depressing yet poignant ending. While Cricket wanted to change, the show suggests it takes lots of hard work and support to break a cycle of addictive behavior.

“It’s Always Sunny” made firearms the center of two episodes. In season 1’s “Gun Fever”, the gang debates whether they should buy a gun in the wake of a robbery. During season 9, the crew argued over whether there should be more or less firearms on the streets. Both episodes try to present every side of these serious issues in full. Through a series of outrageous situations, they also discuss the presence of guns in schools, firearm profiteering and access to weapons. The show leaves many questions around the gun debate open-ended in both episodes. But “It’s Always Sunny” makes it clear that the issues around firearms are worth talking about.

A bolt of lightning somehow causes the five white members of the main cast to appear African-American to everyone they meet. It also causes them to randomly break out into song. As they all explore their neighborhood in their altered identities, they learn a lot of lessons about stereotyping and racism. The episode’s heaviest scene comes when Charlie has a violent encounter with police that is reminiscent of an unfortunately high number of real life incidents. Since the story is revealed to have all been a dream, the gang didn’t take any lessons from this experience. However, the episode can still serve as memorable and striking commentary about racial issues in America to anyone who watches it.

Although Mac came out as a gay man to his friends, he struggled to express his identity to his dad. With some encouragement from Frank, he decides to show his imprisoned father and an audience of other prisoners who he really is. Mac and a dancer create a moving routine that expresses his journey to accepting his sexuality. Unfortunately, his father walks away in the middle of the performance. But Frank and the audience stays glued to the movement to the end. Instead of adding a punchline at the end of Mac’s performance, the show focuses on the audience's applause and Frank’s teary eyes. It was a stunning way to close the episode’s discussion about LGBTQ+ acceptance.