The ‘Sunny’ Side of Life
As It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia returns for a history-making 14th season, creator and co-star Rob McElhenney explains the keys to the black comedy’s against-all-odds longevity.
WHEN “IT’S ALWAYS Sunny in Philadelphia” returns to FXX on September 25th, it’ll tie
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet as the longest-running live-action comedy in American TV history. How has this scruffy DIY sitcom about a group of pals (a.k.a. “the Gang”) arguing about abortion, sexual harassment, drug addiction, and more lasted this long — and been so consistently, scathingly funny? By sticking with what works.
The formula is simple: A hot-button topic comes up; the Gang has the worst possible response to it; repeat. But as Sunny creator and star Rob McElhenney says, “Because the world seems to change so much from a cultural perspective, each year gives us a bunch of new cultural things that have changed that we can mine.”
That the Gang are all sociopaths (and Glenn Howerton’s Dennis may be a serial killer) has actually helped in the long run. The fact that these people never grow up just provides more comic fodder. “The older it gets,” says McElhenney, “the sadder it gets, the funnier it gets.”
As for Season 14? “It’s more of the same!” he promises. “Hopefully there are episodes that’ll satisfy people who like the show, and will also enrage some people. Part of my job is subverting the expectation of my core base on a consistent basis. They might have to watch a four-and-a-half-minute contemporary-dance sequence. They might scream at the TV in rage. But I promise them that is why they like the show: They don’t know what’s coming.” A.S.