It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Did You Know?

• The first season ran for seven episodes with the finale airing September 15, 2005.
• Reruns of edited first-season episodes began airing on Fox in June 2006 for a planned three-episode run.
• The show's theme song is called "Temptation Sensation" by German composer Heinz Kiessling.

Synopsis

The series centers on a group of self-centered, heavy-drinking misfits known as "the gang," who operate a struggling Irish dive bar called Paddy's Pub in South Philadelphia. In season one, the gang consists of janitor Charlie Kelly, bouncer Mac, bartender Dennis Reynolds, and Dennis's twin sister Dee Reynolds, a struggling actress who works as a waitress. In the second season, they are joined by Frank Reynolds, an eccentric multi-millionaire and the neglectful father of the Reynolds twins, who takes over most of the bar's ownership and funds many of the gang's schemes. The characters are generally depicted as ignorant, and the show satirizes their views on racism, misogyny, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, antisemitism, and Islamophobia by showing them failing to handle everyday situations. Episodes typically involve the gang hatching elaborate schemes and conspiring against outsiders and each other for personal gain, revenge, or schadenfreude. Subjects satirized include masculinity, misogyny, Catholicism, classism, income inequality, racism including blackface, sexual coercion, stalking, child sexual abuse, homophobia, transphobia, American nationalism, substance abuse, gun violence, abortion rights, climate change, torture, police brutality, the Israeli occupation of Gaza, the 2008 financial crisis, and the COVID-19 recession. Class conflict is a recurring theme, with Mac and Charlie from working-class backgrounds and Dennis and Dee from an upper-class upbringing, while Frank made his wealth through fraud and exploitative business practices.

Cast and characters

The five main characters of the show are joined by a rotating group of oddball side characters, such as the Waitress, Cricket, the McPoyles, the Ponderosas, the Lawyer, and relatives like Mrs. Kelly, Mrs. Mac, and Uncle Jack Kelly. These people cross paths with the gang in increasingly unhinged ways. Charlie Day portrays Charlie Kelly, who works as both co-owner and janitor at Paddy's Pub. He grew up with Mac and went to high school with Dennis and Dee. Charlie lives in a filthy, rat-infested apartment with Frank, who is both his roommate and father, and they share a bed. He suffers from serious psychological issues, fueled by heavy drug use and a messed-up family history that may include abuse. He often eats non-food items like cat food, stickers, paint, and crow eggs. Though widely seen as the dumbest member of the group, Charlie can inexplicably read Irish Gaelic, plays music naturally, claims expertise in "bird law," and is possibly the only competent worker at the pub besides Dennis, thanks to his weird maintenance skills. He also has an obsessive, stalking fixation on the Waitress.

Production

Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, and Rob McElhenney first met while auditioning for Tuck Everlasting and other projects in New York City and Los Angeles, sharing the same manager, Nick Frenkel. Day and Howerton got to know each other on a car ride back from testing for That '80s Show in late 2001, when Howerton was cast as Corey Howard, though Day did not get the part. While living in New York, Day made comedic home movies with friends from the Williamstown Theatre Festival, inspiring McElhenney and Howerton to make their own short films. McElhenney had been writing screenplays between jobs and decided to shoot them himself with Howerton, Day, and other actor friends. The decision was influenced by the affordable Panasonic DVX100A digital camera and the low-budget look of The Office (UK) and Curb Your Enthusiasm. The series grew from a short film idea conceived by McElhenney about a friend coming over for sugar while the other friend reveals he has cancer. McElhenney wrote the scene, then worked with Howerton to make it comedic, and Day joined to write the first script featuring three struggling actors in Los Angeles. The home movies were shot and reshot multiple times, initially with David Hornsby playing Mac and McElhenney directing. Through this process, the three learned filmmaking basics. They developed a second "episode" focused on humor from Mac's shame around his relationship with a transgender woman named Carmen, at which point the project became clear as a potential television series. Both parts eventually appeared in the episode "Charlie Has Cancer."

Other media

In September 2009, the cast performed the musical The Nightman Cometh live in New York City, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. Mary Elizabeth Ellis and Artemis Pebdani appeared as the Waitress and Artemis, while Rhea Perlman assumed the role of Gladys. Live Nation originally approached the cast about 30 cities, but the cast settled on six. Co-developer Glenn Howerton described the show as an expanded version of the episode "The Nightman Cometh," with added moments, scenes, songs, and extended versions of existing songs. The performance featured two new songs and more improvisation. The Los Angeles performance at The Troubadour was included as a bonus feature on the season four DVD box set. A Russian adaptation titled В Москве всегда солнечно (It's Always Sunny in Moscow) premiered on the television channel TNT on May 12, 2014, centering on four friends who own a bar called "Philadelphia" in Moscow. A book titled The Gang Writes a Self-Help Book: The 7 Secrets of Awakening the Highly Effective Four-Hour Giant, Today was released on January 6, 2015. In 2023, Laurel Randolph collaborated with Disney to release a cookbook titled Paddy's Pub: The Worst Bar In Philadelphia: An It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Cookbook, featuring more than 45 recipes including Charlie's favorite dish, milk steak boiled over hard with jelly beans on the side, and Frank Reynolds's rum ham.