TV SERIES · 2005– · USA
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
- Created by
- Rob Mac
- Network
- FX, FXX
- Seasons
- 18
- Episodes
- 187
- Studio
- 3 Arts Entertainment, Bluebush Productions, FX Productions
112 archived facts 8 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Four egocentric friends run a neighborhood Irish pub in Philadelphia and try to find their way through the adult world of work and relationships. Unfortunately, their warped views and precarious judgments often lead them to trouble, creating a myriad of uncomfortable situations that usually only get worse before they get better.
112 Interesting Facts About It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Interesting Facts (14)
- #001
By analyzing subtitles, WordFinderX found that this is the wordiest TV series ever made, with an average of 176.2 words per minute. It's followed closely by Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013) (174.6 wpm) and Gilmore Girls (2000) (167.8 wpm). Always Sunny's high word count is likely due to its improvisational nature, resulting in multiple characters talking at once. This makes it the hardest series to follow subtitled, as the National Disability Authority recommends that subtitles should be no more than 140 words per minute.
- #002
According to a May 2022 New York Times article by Michael Levenson, in 2018 a woman named Laura Young bought a marble statue of a man's head in a Goodwill store in Austin, Texas, for $34.99. Young, who had worked as an antiques dealer, thought it looked like an ancient Roman bust, and it in fact did turn out to date from the late first century B.C. or early first century A.D. She discovered that it had been in the collection of a Bavarian king until World War II, when it was likely looted from Germany by an American soldier and brought to Texas. During the nearly four years it took for Ms. Young to determine how best to return it to Bavaria, she kept it in her living room and affectionately named it "Dennis Reynolds," after the character in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, because, she joked, he was "a very difficult, cold, aloof, emotionless man that caused some problems for me." Eventually she arrived at an agreement to return the bust to the Bavarian government.
- #003
Charlie (Charlie Day) and the Waitress (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) are married in real life.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005): Charlie Day in a yellow suit on a panelImage: Wikimedia Commons · Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #004
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Production Story (39)
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It was almost canceled after its first season, but renewed at the last minute when FX executives decided to give it room to grow. It has gone from the brink of cancellation to being one of the highest rated and most popular shows on FX, and with its fifteenth season it has become the longest-running live-action sitcom in television history. However, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, which ran for fourteen seasons (1952-1966), still holds the record for most episodes at 435. In order for Sunny to surpass the earlier show (and if only 10 are made a season as has been the practice for the last several years) it would therefore have to run through to 2048 (season 42).
- #017
In response to the George Floyd protests of June 2020, five episodes were removed from streaming platforms due to depictions of blackface, brownface, and yellowface: America's Next Top Paddy's Billboard Model Contest (2008), Dee Reynolds: Shaping America's Youth (2010), The Gang Recycles Their Trash (2012), The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 6 (2013), and Dee Day (2019). Dee Day was removed only eight months after it premiered and was never released on DVD, making it the first "lost episode" of the series.
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- #020
FX chairman John Landgraf explained how this series reinvented comedy television: "By embracing a low cost production model and taking less money upfront, Rob, Glenn and Charlie were afforded more creative freedom, a true financial partnership and less pressure on the ratings so that the show had time to find an audience."
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005): Rob McElhenney and Glenn Howerton on a panelImage: Wikimedia Commons · Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #021
- #022
- #023
Morena Baccarin, known for Firefly and Homeland, once shot a pilot for the US sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia in which she played a transgender woman. It is a role she still wishes she could have taken. She said in an interview: "I know those guys really well because we went to college together, and they were shooting this themselves before it became a show or a pilot and we were all unemployed in Los Angeles. I thought it was hilarious. When am I ever going to get cast as a chick with a dick? That's never gonna happen. So I was 'Hell, yeah, I wanna play that.' We had a blast but, unfortunately, when the show got picked up I was shooting something else, so I couldn't do it."
- #024
Season six included an episode titled "The Gang Gets Successful" that was never aired on FX. In season seven, some of that footage was used for episode ten, "How Mac Got Fat". In addition to showing Rob Mac before his fifty-pound weight gain, the story explained that the Gang had a Dee-conceived plan to hire individuals who looked like them as "avatars," so they could enjoy their newfound good fortune. The story would continue with Mac's efforts to emulate his bodybuilder avatar going disastrously awry (and everyone else forgetting the plan about ten minutes after it was proposed).
- #025
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- #029
The pilot was created by four Hollywood actors (Rob Mac, Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day, and Jordan Reid) about struggling as actors in Los Angeles. The show was initially titled "It's Always Sunny on TV". The original, unaired pilot only cost two hundred dollars to make, and was shot on a digital camera, with the actors taking turns holding the boom. It was then shopped around to different networks, and was picked up by FX. They then moved the setting of the show from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, and re-shot the pilot.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005): Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day on a panelImage: Wikimedia Commons · Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #030
The show was almost cancelled during the first season of shooting. The President of the FX Network wanted to add a new character, and being friends with Danny DeVito he decided to approach him about joining. DeVito's children were big fans of the first season of the show so he decided to sign on for ten episodes. DeVito enjoyed being part of the show so much, he became a regular cast member.
- #031
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- #033
Contains a major spoiler — show
Fans were shocked and saddened watching the season 12 finale because the character of Dennis seemed to exit the show. Glenn Howerton shortly confirmed afterwards that he wouldn't in fact be a series regular any more but that he would probably appear in some episodes moving forward. He ended up missing 4 out of 10 episodes in season 13 because he was leading A.P. Bio (2018), but returned full time in season 14. Rob McElhenney revealed in an interview that after doing season 13 with Howerton missing now and then, everyone realized that the show wasn't working as good as it used to, so season 14 was shot after season 2 of A.P. Bio to accommodate Howerton's schedule and have him available for every episode.
- #034
Contains a major spoiler — show
Originally, the creators had no intention of officially bringing Mac out of the closet because the comedic aspect of his hypocrisy worked really well for them. However, after seeing the fans' reaction to The Gang Goes to Hell (2016), in which Mac briefly comes out and then returns to the closet, they decided to have him be openly gay starting in Hero or Hate Crime? (2017), because they understood the importance of representation with LGBTQI+ characters. Glenn Howerton said that every member of the Gang is "a little ambiguously gay." In real life, Rob Mac's mother and two brothers are gay, and he said, "I have always been part of the gay community. It's just always been a part of my life."
- #035
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- #037
Almost cancelled after its first season, the show was saved by FX executives' last-minute decision to let it grow. From the brink of cancellation it became one of FX's highest-rated and most popular productions; with its fifteenth season it became the longest-running live-action sitcom in television history. However, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, which aired fourteen seasons between 1952 and 1966, still holds the record with 435 episodes. For Sunny to break that record (in recent years it has produced 10 episodes per season), it would have to stay on the air until 2048 (season 42).
- #038
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- #041
Fans were shocked and saddened when Dennis appeared to be leaving the show in the season 12 finale. Glenn Howerton soon confirmed that he would no longer be a regular cast member but might appear in future episodes. In season 13 he was absent from 4 of the 10 episodes because he was starring in A.P. Bio (2018), but he returned full-time in season 14. In an interview, Rob McElhenney explained that after season 13, in which Howerton was occasionally absent, everyone realised the show did not work as well as before, and that season 14 was therefore shot after season 2 of A.P. Bio, so that they could accommodate Howerton's schedule and ensure he appeared in every episode.
- #042
In the sixth season there was an episode titled 'The Gang Gets Successful', but it never aired on FX. In the seventh season, some of that footage was used for the tenth episode, 'How Mac Got Fat'. As well as showing Rob McElhenney before he gained 23 kilos, the story had the Gang hiring people who looked like them as 'avatars' in a scheme Dee had planned. The story continued with Mac's efforts to imitate his bodybuilder avatar ending in disaster (and everyone forgetting the plan ten minutes later).
- #043
The creators initially had no intention of officially outing Mac, because the comedic side of his hypocrisy worked for them. However, after seeing fans' reaction to The Gang Goes to Hell (2016), in which Mac briefly comes out and then goes back in, they decided to make him openly gay from Hero or Hate Crime? (2017) onwards, understanding the importance of representation with LGBTQI+ characters. Glenn Howerton said that everyone in the Gang is 'a little bit ambiguously gay'. In real life, Rob McElhenney's mother and two siblings are gay, and he said, 'I've always been a part of the gay community. It's always been a part of my life.'
- #044
- #045
FX president John Landgraf explained how the show reinvented comedy television: 'By adopting a low-cost production model and taking less money up front, Rob, Glenn and Charlie were given more creative freedom, a real financial partnership and less pressure over ratings, so the show had time to find an audience.'
- #046
In response to the George Floyd protests in June 2020, five episodes were removed from streaming platforms due to depictions of black, brown and yellow face paint: America's Next Top Paddy's Billboard Model Contest (2008), Dee Reynolds: Shaping America's Youth (2010), The Gang Recycles Their Trash (2012), The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 6 (2013) and Dee Day (2019). Dee Day was pulled just eight months after its premiere and was never released on DVD, making it the series' first 'lost episode'.
- #047
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- #050
The show was nearly cancelled during the filming of its first season. The president of FX Network wanted to add a new character and, because he was friends with Danny DeVito, decided to offer him the role. DeVito's children were big fans of the show's first season, so he agreed to ten episodes. DeVito enjoyed being part of the show so much that he became a regular cast member.
- #051
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- #053
According to a May 2022 New York Times article, in 2018 a woman named Laura Young bought a marble bust of a man's head for $34.99 at a Goodwill store in Austin, Texas. Young, who had worked as an antiques dealer, thought it resembled an ancient Roman bust, and it was indeed dated to the late 1st century BC or early 1st century AD. She discovered it had been in the collection of a Bavarian king until World War II and was looted from Germany during the war by an American soldier and brought to Texas. It took Young nearly four years to determine the best way to return the bust to Bavaria; during that time she kept it in her living room and affectionately called it "Dennis Reynolds," because, she joked, "he was a very difficult, cold, distant, unemotional man and he caused me trouble." In the end she agreed to return the bust to the Bavarian government.
Behind the Scenes (13)
- #054
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- #057
In an interview, Kaitlin Olson said she broke her back during an accident in the summer of 2008. She was still recovering during the shooting of season four, which caused an episode where Sweet Dee falls down a flight of stairs to be pushed back to season five. Olson said she felt it wasn't a smart idea to do the stunt while recovering from a broken back.
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- #063
In an interview, Kaitlin Olson said she broke her back in an accident in the summer of 2008. She was still recovering during the filming of the fourth season, and for that reason the episode in which Sweet Dee falls down the stairs was postponed to the fifth season. Olson stated that she thought doing that stunt while recovering from a broken back would not be wise.
- #064
According to WordFinderX's subtitle analysis, this series is the wordiest show ever made: an average of 176.2 words per minute. It is followed by Brooklyn Nine-Nine (174.6 wpm) and Gilmore Girls (167.8 wpm). Always Sunny's high word count stems from its improvisational structure, which leads to multiple characters speaking at the same time. This also makes it the hardest series to follow with subtitles; the National Disability Authority recommends that subtitles not exceed 140 words per minute.
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Characters & Cast (16)
- #067
During a convention interview, Glenn Howerton was asked why his character was named Dennis, whereas Charlie Day and Rob Mac's characters are named after themselves. Howerton responded by saying that he wanted to distance himself from his character as much as possible.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005): Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day on a panelImage: Wikimedia Commons · Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #068
- #069
In June 2011, it was reported that Rob Mac had gained fifty pounds in the previous six months. McElhenney has stated that he noticed characters from other sitcoms get better looking as the series progress (because the budgets get bigger, and that means more and better make-up people), but McElhenny wanted his character to do the opposite. He said, "Even the nerds on 'Big Bang Theory' are getting better looking. Their clothes are getting nicer. They're better groomed. It works for them. But this show - it's not like that." Co-star Glenn Howerton started referring to the character Mac as "Fat Mac". When McElhenney asked if he could be called "Big Mac", Howerton said he would call him "Big, fat Mac".
- #070
Contains a major spoiler — show
Mac actually has (had) two gay cousins. The first is Brett, who appeared in the first episode of the series, "The Gang Gets Racist", when the gang is running the biggest "gay bar" in Philadelphia. The second gay cousin is in the ninth season, "Mac Day". Country Mac is gay, but ends up dying from a motorcycle accident by the end of the episode.
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- #080
Mac actually has two gay cousins. The first, Brett, appears in the show's first episode, "The Gang Gets Racist," in which the gang runs Philadelphia's biggest "gay bar." The second gay cousin appears in the ninth-season episode "Mac Day." Country Mac is gay, but dies in a motorcycle accident at the end of the episode.
- #081
It is little known that Morena Baccarin of Firefly and Homeland once played a transgender woman in a pilot episode for the US sitcom It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. She says she still wishes she could have taken the role: "I know these guys so well because we went to college together, and without this show, before the pilot was shot, they were shooting on their own and we were all unemployed in Los Angeles." In an interview she said: "I thought it was very funny. When else would I get the chance to play a woman but a woman with a penis? That's never going to happen. So I said, 'Of course, I want to play this.' We had a great time, but unfortunately when the show was picked up I was shooting something else, so I couldn't do it."
- #082
Easter Eggs & References (16)
- #083
Each episode ends with the RCG production logo (which are the combined first initials of Rob, Charlie, and Glenn) and the actors pictured in hoodies with a sound clip played backwards: "for playing this forward." At the end of the first season finale "Charlie Gets Molested", the message had an echo: "Is it brown? Is it brown? Good work. Is it brown? Is it brown? Is it brown? Good work."
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005): Cast members sitting on a panelImage: Wikimedia Commons · Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #084
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- #095
According to Glenn Howerton, the first working title for the show was "Jerks".
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005): Glenn Howerton with a microphone on a panelImage: Wikimedia Commons · Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #096
Contains a major spoiler — show
The Waitress's name may have been revealed in season 15, episode 5, "Dee Sinks in a Bog". Refusing to aid Dee's escape until she correctly states her actual name, Dee goes on saying every name she can think of. When a frustrated Dee exclaims, "I've named every name in the entire world, how have I not gotten it yet?" The Waitress replies, "Oh, no, no, no. You got it a while back. It's just, I'm really enjoying watching you struggle."
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Deeper Meaning (11)
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- #100
Coincidentally, there is an urban legend in Pennsylvania known as the "Green Man" or "Charlie No-Face." This legend is actually based on Raymond Robinson, who lost most of his facial features in an electrical accident he suffered as a child and afterward lived as a hermit in western Pennsylvania.
- #101
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Every episode ends with the RCG production logo (the initials of Rob, Charlie and Glenn's names) and photos of the cast in hoodies, while a sound clip plays in the background saying: "for playing this forward." At the end of the season 1 finale "Charlie Gets Molested," there was an echo of the message: "Is it brown? Is it brown? Good work. Is it brown? Is it brown? Is it brown? Good work."
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- #109
As previously noted, above the right chest pocket of Charlie's green jacket there is part of an Aviation Electronics Technician (AT) rating badge. Above the left chest pocket, meanwhile, there is a 'Ruptured Duck' badge, awarded specifically to those honorably discharged from the US Armed Forces after World War II.
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