It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Season 1 & 2 DVD Box
Format	Sitcom
Created by	Rob McElhenney
Developed by	Rob McElhenney Glenn Howerton
Starring	Charlie Day Glenn Howerton Rob McElhenney Kaitlin Olson Danny DeVito
Opening theme	"Temptation Sensation" by Heinz Kiessling
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	45 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	approx. 21 min.
Broadcast
Original channel	FX
Original run	August 4, 2005 – present
External links
Official website

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (also known as It's Always Sunny, Always Sunny, or just Sunny) is an American television sitcom created and developed by Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, and Charlie Day. It premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. The show follows the exploits of a group of self-centered friends who run Paddy's Pub, an unsuccessful Irish bar in South Philadelphia.

History

The show began as a pilot called "It's Always Sunny on TV" and was shot on a digital camcorder by Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton and Rob McElhenney. After viewing the pilot, FX Network executives ordered the first season. Although it is often stated publicly that the pilot was shot for $200,^[1] the makers of the show have claimed that the cost was much lower because the only costs were videotapes.^[1] Danny DeVito, who joined the show in Season Two, said on The Daily Show (August 3, 2006) and on The Late Show with David Letterman (September 6, 2007) that the cost was only $85.

The first season ran for seven episodes with the season finale airing September 13, 2005. According to McElhenney,^[1] word of mouth on the show was that it was good enough for FX to renew it for a second, which ran from June 29 to August 17, 2006. DeVito joined the cast, playing the father of Dennis (Howerton) and Dee (played by Kaitlin Olson). Reruns of edited first season episodes began airing on FX's parent network, Fox Broadcasting, in 2006.

In the UK and Ireland, Bravo broadcast the first season in early 2006, with the second season broadcast on Virgin 1 in late 2007 after a rerun of the first season. It is also shown in Ireland, Sweden, Israel and Canada where it airs on Showcase. The show premiered in Australia in 2007 on the Seven Network. The first season aired in the Arab world on Showtime Arabia's Paramount Comedy Channel in November 2006. Airing of the show began on Comedy Central Poland on January 7, 2009. The show also began airing on Subtv in Finland under the title Elämää Philadelphiassa ("Life in Philadelphia") in March 2009.

On August 18, 2007, a preview episode from a third-season episode "Mac is a Serial Killer" appeared on the group's MySpace page. The third season ran from September 13, 2007 to November 15, 2007. On March 5, 2008, FX renewed It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia for a fourth season.^[2]

On July 15, 2008, it was reported that FX has ordered 39 additional episodes of the series which means that the show will run until at least a seventh season. All remaining seasons will consist of 13 episodes. All five main cast members were secured for the entire scheduled run.^[3]

As of June 9, 2009, FXNetworks.com is advertising the return of the series for the fifth season on September 17 2009.^[4]

Cast and characters

Each character is at some point dishonest, egotistical, and/or antagonistic. At varying times members lie for the sake of personal gain. In most episodes these character flaws result in unhappy endings for the main characters as well as the innocent bystanders caught in their paths. Conflicts that arise from their mutually competitive natures are the basis for many plots. These plots have ranged from competitions over women, Dee's attempts to prove that her strength and competence rivals the men's, kleptomaniacal competitions, and even attempts to mass large numbers of religious followers. Nearly every episode consists of graphic arguments between characters and attempts to prove one another completely wrong. Notable instances include the fight in Paddy's bathroom between Charlie and Dennis and the entire gang arguing over who might have been responsible for their potential deaths in "Charlie Gets Crippled". The gang has also squabbled and acted generally rude and unprofessional in professional environments, such as legal offices ("Dennis and Dee's Mom is Dead"), business situations ("The Gang Sells Out") and financial difficulties ("The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis").

The gang tends to flee confrontations constantly throughout the show. In the episode "Dennis and Dee Go on Welfare", Mac and Charlie are unable to pay off their hired prostitutes, and are forced to "handle this situation the way we handle every situation"—by running away.

The Gang

Dennis R. Reynolds

Played by Glenn Howerton, the character of Dennis is a co-owner of Paddy's and is Dee's twin brother. He is characterized as being narcissistic, selfish and pathologically vain. A stereotypical loser who achieved the peak of his life in high school, during which he was "popular", before his prom date dumped him for someone else. Dennis' sense of self-worth is entirely dependent on the perceptions others hold of him, particularly of his looks and sex appeal. The character needs constant reassurance that he is attractive and of his achievements in life, often going to shocking lengths to gain attention and approval.

Exceedingly promiscuous, Howerton's character does very well with women thanks to his good looks and shallow charms; however, this superficiality prevents him from ever entering a relationship. It has been revealed that he was sent home from a summer camp he was counseling for the statutory rape of a teenage girl. His attraction to younger girls has been mentioned by Mac and Charlie in "Underage Drinking: A National Concern", although he tries to resist the temptations of a high school senior in the same episode. He also had a disturbing homosexual experience at the beginning of the first season and the possibly ambiguous nature of his sexuality and even gender identity has been explored in other episodes, usually connected to his pathological vanity and need for approval.

Dennis' taste in music includes what Mac calls "glam-rock fem-shit," and he is seen listening to songs of Rick Astley on multiple occasions. Despite making less than $400 a week at the bar, his family's wealth enables Dennis to wear stylish clothing and drive a Range Rover. He's the most educated of the gang, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and minored in psychology, although he failed to achieve his original ambition to become a veterinarian. He also has some artistic talent, drawing cartoonish, large-breasted women which Charlie finds enticing.

Deandra "Sweet Dee" Reynolds

Portrayed by Kaitlin Olson, Dee is Dennis's twin sister and a bartender at Paddy's, and is considered the female "voice" for the program.^[5] She dropped out of Penn, where she had majored in psychology but failed her classes, to become an actress. However, she has put little effort into realizing her ambition and the other main characters of the show comment on her lack of talent. Despite identifing herself as a compassionate liberal, she is characterized as being selfish, greedy and just as prejudiced as the rest of the gang. Like her brother she is very insecure and constantly tries to prove to others she is as capable as they are. She was unpopular in high school due to her severe scoliosis, which forced her to wear a back brace and earned her the nickname "The Aluminum Monster".

Since high school, Olson's character has had a long string of failed relationships. At the beginning of the series, she was shown dating, but this facet was removed from the show. Like the other members of the gang, she drinks heavily, especially to calm herself after meeting an attractive man. She also harbors a phobia regarding the elderly. Despite her many insecurities, Dee is aggressively outspoken and prone to violence when angered.

The character of Dee was the only major character in the show to be conceived without an actor in mind. Although Deandra was originally written to be the female voice of sanity to contrast with her ill-intentioned co-stars, the character quickly became an equal participant in the gang's illicit and morally questionable activities when Olson was cast. The character is consistently criticized and belittled by the gang for her looks (often comparing her to a giant bird), lack of talent, and the fact that she is a woman. Dee's ideas will often be ridiculed by the rest of the gang, but they enthusiastically agree if the exact same idea is presented immediately after by someone else. In her mother's will, Deandra was told that she was a disappointment and a mistake even though she was a twin. There is a subtle, running gag throughout the show in which Sweet Dee will exaggeratedly kick into the air, usually when she is angered or frustrated. ^[6]

Charlie Kelly

The character of Charlie Kelly is played by Charlie Day, who is Mac's childhood friend and a co-owner of Paddy's in the show. Charlie is characterized as having little ability to cope with day-to-day problems and is prone to Al Pacino-styled outbursts. The character displays poor hygiene, lives in squalor, and frequently abuses inhalants. Throughout the show, Charlie shows signs of several learning disabilities, particularly dyslexia, and is often accused of being illiterate and "retarded" by other characters because of his difficulty in reading and writing. Like the rest of the gang he has a poor grasp of history and current events and sometimes ignores the topic of a simple conversation altogether. Despite this he is capable of devising extremely complex plans to achieve his goals and successfully manipulates the other characters in the show. Despite such displays of intelligence and Machiavellian aptitude at manipulation, his lack of common sense, anger issues, general emotional unbalance, substance abuse, and poor grasp of contemporary reality conspire to prevent him from ever achieving anything whatsoever in life.

Of all the characters, he seems the most artistically talented as he is intuitively adept at playing the piano and composing music; has written a musical play ("The Nightman Cometh"); and exhibits a flair for dressing in costumes and assuming other personae, including the enigmatic "Green Man," the film character Serpico, and "Texas Charlie." He also has displayed skills in carpentry ("The Gang Exploits a Miracle") and sewing ("The Aluminum Monster vs. Fatty McGoo"), which allows him to maintain the few pieces of clothing that he owns. Even though he's a co-owner of Paddy's there is a running joke in the show in which he never has any money and often asks the others to lend him money. This poverty is caused, in part, by the fact he squanders what little money he makes on idiotic "investments" that can never succeed (at one point he sold shares of Paddy's to Mac for half of a sandwich).

Many of the tedious and disgusting tasks at the bar are referred to as "Charlie Work", even when he is temporarily spared from performing them. He seems almost superhumanly tough and resilient to injury, as Mac and Dennis, who believe him to be nigh indestructible, frequently manipulate him into tests of his fortitude. In the season three premiere, Charlie's mother reveals that he was the survivor of a failed abortion attempt. Charlie has little to no success in dating, and harbors an unrequited crush on "The Waitress" who is a recurring character in the show. Despite the many shortcomings of his personality, Charlie repeatedly shows more empathy for people than the rest of the gang (e.g. "Mac & Dennis: Manhunters"). He operates on a higher ethical level than the rest of the gang, often demonstrating a deeper understanding of right and wrong, perhaps due to a lifetime of mistreatment by other people. In spite of this, he is not above selfishly manipulating, deceiving and harming others (particularly members of the gang who have wronged him) for personal gain or vengeance and often does so.

There is a possibility that Frank Reynolds is his real father. It is not explicitly stated in the show, but in the season 2 finale and season 3 premiere, Charlie finds out that Frank had a one night stand with his mother 30 years ago. Charlie persuades Frank to blood test, but Frank denies to take it. Unfortunately, Charlie and Frank's issue ends there.

There is evidence to support the hunch that Charlie was sexually abused as a child. the most compelling is the fact that he repeatedly writes music/poems about a "nightman" who crawled into his room at night when he was young and raped him. This is obvious to every character on the show but Charlie himself.

Mac

Played by Rob McElhenney, the character of Mac is Charlie's friend from childhood and Dennis' high school friend and later roommate. He is co-owner of Paddy's and generally the pub's most active manager. He comes from a broken home; his father is an incarcerated meth dealer, and his mother is extremely apathetic. Mac constantly seeks the acceptance of others, especially his parents, but his over-earnest efforts make him come off as an "asshole." Dennis notes that he only hung out with the popular kids because he sold them pot, and even then was considered a jerk. Mac also makes frequent attempts to be "hard", sometimes to impress his criminal father, but he generally flees from confrontation and fares poorly in fights.

Mac believes he is an adept martial artist and bouncer, often attempting idiotic stunts and wearing sleeveless shirts in order to prove his physical prowess. Mac is Catholic and the only member of the group to profess a religious faith. While he feels a certain sense of social responsibility on issues such as abortion, community activism and raising babies, he has equally large moral voids. His full name is currently unknown, although the season four episode "The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell" suggests that it may be McDonald/MacDonald. It can be seen however, on the parole papers in the episode Mac & Charlie Die part 1, that Mac's father's name is Luther Mac. In many episodes, upon entering the bar, Mac will say his signature line (or a similar variation of), "I've got news!" as a pretext to a subplot about to ensue. The gang usually doesn't get as excited as he is about any of his news, but will usually get one of them to reluctantly follow him. Another of Mac's signature lines — "What up, bitches?" — is heard in numerous episodes.

Frank Reynolds

Frank Reynolds, played by Danny DeVito, is the legal, but not biological, father of Dennis and Dee. He is also Charlie's roommate. He was a successful businessman and has a long history of illegal operations and dealings with sordid characters throughout his life. He was introduced in the first episode of the second season as a man undergoing a midlife crisis. Frank became co-owner of Paddy's Pub by purchasing the land underneath it, and used this leverage to forcibly join the gang. Frank styles himself a master manipulator and frequently takes the lead in the group's schemes.

Frank claims to have his children's best interests at heart but frequently exploits and insults them. Over the course of the show, he ceases to be a father figure to Dennis and Dee and is instead merely part of the gang. In the second season, it is revealed that Frank is possibly Charlie's deadbeat father, due to Frank's one-night stand with Charlie's mom 30 years before. Frank claims he was never told of Charlie's birth. He says he went to Vietnam, leading people to believe he was a soldier, but Dee reminds him that he went to Vietnam in 1993 to open a sweatshop. Dennis has remarked that Frank tells stories of his life that are directly out of Rambo, evidence of which is seen in the episode "Mac and Dennis: Manhunters".

Frank also appears to be very wealthy, as he usually pays for props, costumes, and other equipment. Though Frank is egotistical, diabolical, and maniacal, he appears to have some good in him. He appears to care very greatly for Charlie, possibly even more than he did for Dennis and Dee. His love for Charlie is apparent in "Mac and Charlie Die", when Frank becomes grief struck after Charlie fakes his death and is seen carrying around a plastic likeness of Charlie. He also appears to be the only member of The Gang who has genuinely complemented Charlie (as seen in "The Nightman Cometh"), and actually cares about someone other than himself.

He is a severe compulsive gambler, seen betting on everything from grade school basketball to Russian roulette.

Friends and enemies

• Mary Elizabeth Ellis as The Waitress: The most frequently recurring character outside of the gang, The Waitress works at a coffee shop not far from Paddy's. She is a recovering alcoholic with whom Charlie is madly in love. The Waitress has no interest in Charlie, but harbors an unrequited crush on Dennis. Charlie goes to great lengths to woo her, while she goes to great lengths to attract Dennis' attention. Because of this, she is often the victim of Dennis and Dee's manipulative schemes. As a recurring joke, none of the characters seems to know her real name, and she is simply referred to as "The Waitress". One of the only clues to her real name is that it doesn't start with "W". Actress Mary Elizabeth Ellis is Charlie Day's actual wife.

• Nate Mooney and Jimmi Simpson as Ryan and Liam McPoyle, respectively: Creepy former elementary school classmates of Mac and Charlie. It is strongly implied that the two brothers have an incestuous relationship with each other and their mute sister Margaret (Thesy Surface). They have numerous other siblings (all noticeable from their unibrow, acne and eczema) numbering around 14 as seen in "The Gang Gets Invincible" including "Doyle McPoyle". They are enemies with Charlie since he foiled their plan to become rich through a false molestation lawsuit against the school district and with the rest of the gang for ruining Doyle's chance to play for the Philadelphia Eagles. They take revenge in the episode "The Gang Gets Held Hostage" by faking a raid on their bar. The McPoyle's also have a strange obsession with milk, which was a characteristic created by actor Jimmi Simpson.

• Artemis Pebdani as Artemis: A friend of Dee's from her acting classes (her first episode acts out scenes from Coyote Ugly, Kaitlin Olson plays a small part in the movie Coyote Ugly), Artemis is overly serious about her craft and displays bizarre habits and outbursts. She is one of the only characters that is Dee's friend, the other being Gary, Dee's neighbour who turned out to be a serial killer. Artemis has a notable appearance in Season Four's "Who Pooped the Bed," in which she announces in a crowded nightclub that she has a "bleached asshole" and that she is going to attract men by taking off her bra, to "blast my nips."

• Brittany Daniel as Carmen: The pre-op male-to-female transsexual Mac dates (to his nervous embarrassment) in the season one episode "Charlie Has Cancer" and two seasons later in the episode "Mac Is a Serial Killer". She is gorgeous but displays an obvious bulge in her pants.

• David Hornsby as Matthew Mara/Rickety Cricket: An old classmate of the gang who was forced to wear humiliating giant leg braces in high school. He first appears in "The Gang Exploits a Miracle" as a priest and reveals that he continues to harbor his high school crush on Dee. He admits he was convinced to eat horse feces for a chance to kiss Dee, which he was denied since "his breath smelled like shit." Thanks to the Gang, he becomes homeless and develops a cocaine addiction through Dee and Charlie, as well as a vendetta against the gang after having his legs broken. Mac and Dennis have a penchant for teabagging Cricket, and have been doing this to him, off and on, since high school. Dennis claims to have a shoebox full of pictures of him and Mac doing this. Mara appeared in the episode " The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell ", as a British soldier named Colonel Cricket. One recurring theme in the series is the progressive downward spiral of Cricket throughout the series. In his first appearance he is a priest. After quitting this job, it is revealed he is living on the streets begging. He is used by the gang to sell cocaine. He is then scapegoated by Dennis, and has his legs broken. He was even killed (as Colonel Cricket) accidentally by Frank and Charlie in "The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell" in one of the series' more violent moments. His most recent appearance as Rickety Cricket was "Mac & Dennis: Manhunters" in which he appeared as dirty, disheveled, and still clinging to a thread of hope that Dee would give him a chance. At the end of that episode, he believes he will get a chance to teabag Dennis (a feat he did accomplish once, in his first appearance.), but he is betrayed once again by Frank this time. He is left alone with Mac and Dennis, and presumably teabagged.

Parents

• Anne Archer as Barbara Reynolds: Frank's gold-digging ex-wife and the mother of Dennis and Dee. She is a cold, cruel, and selfish woman with little affection for her family. The finale of season two revealed that Barbara tricked Frank into raising the twins because she thought he was wealthier than Dennis and Dee's biological father, Bruce Mathis (Stephen Collins). She has a vindictive streak, sleeping with Mac solely to make Frank jealous, and cutting her daughter out of her will and claiming she was a mistake (even though Dennis and Dee are twins). She dies due to a botched neck-lift in the third season.

• Stephen Collins as Bruce Mathis. The antithesis of Frank Reynolds, Bruce is Dennis and Dee's biological father. Bruce devotes his time and money to charities and philanthropic efforts, including adopting several suffering children in Africa. Because of his good nature, Dennis and Dee are unable to have a successful relationship with him. He first appears in Episode 210, "Dennis and Dee Get a New Dad". He later appears in Episode 303, "Dennis and Dee's Mom is Dead", in which he inherits Barbara's fortune.

• Lynne Marie Stewart as Bonnie Kelly: Charlie's mom, a sweet and timid woman who is attracted to cruel men. She had a one-night stand with Frank Reynolds 30 years ago, possibly making him the biological father of Charlie. She later reconnects with Frank, enjoying his harsh treatment and becoming his "bang-maid", but quickly transfers her affections to the intimidating Luther after meeting him at a dinner party.

• Gregory Scott Cummins as Luther: Mac's father and a convicted felon. In his first appearance in the episode "Dennis and Dee Get a New Dad", Mac and Charlie visit him in prison to bond with him, and he attempts to get them to smuggle heroin into the prison. He plays a larger role in "Dennis Looks Like a Registered Sex Offender", this time out on parole and convincing Mac to help him "take care of some people." He is tall, has numerous tattoos, and he never blinks. This gives him a generally intimidating appearance. The warm and gentle Bonnie Kelly is attracted to Luther's aloof behavior and criminal past. Charlie and Mac later try (and fail) to sabotage Luther's parole. Luther forgives Mac for this in a note, while also telling Mac to stay far away from him and now spends his days sunning on a Mexican beach.

• Sandy Martin as Mac's Mom or Mrs. Mac: Mac's mom first appears in "Mac Bangs Dennis' Mom". She is always seen smoking and watching television at her home on the front porch. She remains equally apathetic when Mac's dad returns from prison, and falls asleep during her son's funeral after he and Charlie fake their deaths to escape from Luther.

Selected guest stars

• Autumn Reeser - appears in Episode 102, "Charlie Wants An Abortion", as Megan, a pro-life activist that Mac meets at a pro-life center.
• Michael Rosenbaum - appears in Episode 105, "Gun Fever", as Colin, a gun-loving thief who steals from the neighboring bars in Philadelphia by manipulating their female bartenders.
• Dennis Haskins - appears in Episode 107, "Charlie Got Molested", as Coach Murray, a coach being prosecuted by the McPoyle brothers, who falsely claimed that they were molested by him.
• Eddie Mekka - appears in Episode 205, "Hundred Dollar Baby", as Bobby Thunderson, Frank's old boxing rival from the 1960s (and the father of Dee's new boxing rival).
• Faizon Love - appears in Episode 302, "The Gang Gets Invincible", as the head trainer and coach of the Philadelphia Eagles development team.
• Geoffrey Owens - appears in Episode 302, "The Gang Gets Invincible", as himself hired to play Donovan McNabb.
• Richard Ruccolo - appears as a corporate rep in episode 307, "The Gang Sells Out".
• Judy Greer - appears in Episode 305, "The Aluminum Monster vs. Fatty McGoo", as fashion designer/clothing store owner Ingrid Nelson (aka Fatty McGoo), as the former schoolmate Dee used to torment (which she used as inspiration to ultimately become far more successful than Dee).
• The Sklar Brothers - appeared in the final episode of season 3, 315, "The Gang Dances Their Asses Off" as the obnoxious, radio-duo DJs hosting the Dance Marathon for the bar.
• Fisher Stevens - appears in episode 408 as Lyle Korman a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer who is kidnapped by the gang after he gives Paddy's Bar a negative review.
• Sinbad and Rob Thomas - both appear in episode 409, "Dennis Reynolds: An Erotic Life". Sinbad and Thomas play themselves as fellow patients Dennis encounters after being dumped outside a rehab hospital by Frank and Mac.
• Jon Runyan - appears as a construction worker interviewed by Sweet Dee in episode 403, "America's Next Top Paddy's Billboard Contest". Local radio hosts Preston Elliot and Steve Morrison also make appearances as construction workers. Preston and Steve perform on 93.3 WMMR in Philadelphia.

Episodes

Music

The music used on the show is usually classical or easy listening, such as Flute Thing, in order to strike an ironic contrast with the show's chaotic nature. Other music has included songs by the "Orange Marsupials".

The series does not have a soundtrack of its own. The show's theme song is a piece of production music called "Temptation Sensation" by Heinz Kiessling. All other music on the show is also public domain.^{[citation needed]} This was originally because of the show's extremely low budget but has since become a trademark of the aforementioned thematic contrast.

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

• Official website
• Official show blog
• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia at MySpace
• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on TV Squad
• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia at the Internet Movie Database
• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia at TV.com
• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on Fancast
• Cast interviews and outtakes at Maxim.com
• "Days of Disco" interview with Charlie Day & Mary Elizabeth Ellis on MonsterFresh.com