It's Always Sunny! (James Weidman)

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, about a mischievous group of four close friends known as “The Gang” and their over-the-top adventures and mishaps, is now in it’s 9^th season. Starting in 2005, eight years later, this is still the most outrageous sitcom on television.  It amazes me how a show in which lives of a formula involving such simplicity can be so complex at the same time. If you took the same jokes and put them in a different show with different characters, it would not work. In fact it would flat out suck. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia creators have put together the perfect cast and created a perfect tone of comedy to make these jokes not only funny, but laugh-out-loud hysterical. Sometimes moments of this show can be so down right stupid that we have to ask ourselves “why is this so funny?” The answer is because Sunny offers something viewers have never experienced before in any other show. This is a show that breaks all rules and traditions of the American sitcom. It aims for the unexpected and the shocking, and it hits us when we aren’t expecting it. So in a way, shock value is what this sitcom thrives off of.

Creators and main leads, Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, and Charlie Day continue to contribute to the best comedy offered on Television, and perhaps even the best in the history of television. They show zero signs of slowing down. While one could argue we learn everything there is to know about the characters in one episode, I say when it comes to this show there is nothing wrong with that. While this is a show about characters, it doesn’t need character development to be successful.  We already know how these characters are going to behave and learn from certain situations. The payoff isn’t “what this episode will teach us about this character” but instead the anticipation of waiting for the insanity and stupidity that we already know is coming when these characters get themselves into sticky situations. Each of the main characters are defined by these situations they fall into.  Charlie is a janitor who loves filth and he is absolutely disgusting. Mac is a wanna-be badass who fantasizes about being a master of karate. Dee is the definition of white trash. Frank only cares for others when it is beneficial towards something he wants. It doesn’t take long to understand these characters like this. We’ve known this since the beginning of the show and nothing about these characters has changed since. And we don’t want it to change. Again, if this was the formula for any other show it would fail, but this show isn’t about organized structure. It is about randomness and absurdness. This is probably the exact reason the show has never won a top-notch award. (Unfortunately, the Emmys do not approve of completely stomping on the traditions and formulas they stand for).

While being in it’s 9^th season it is understandable to begin to find some similarities with past episodes. (For example: “Gun Fever Too: Still Hot). While some jokes are beginning to feel recycled, they are still adding new fuel to them. Expect this show to only be around one more season. I would be surprised to see them go passed ten. While I still find this season to be just as hilariously awesome as the others, there comes a time when you have to end a great thing. The show has never been a massive hit in terms of viewers, but the 9^th season is seeing an all time low. This is a cult show and it always has been.

Finally, I conclude – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is a fantastic show and anyone who loves a good laugh (quite a few, actually) should watch it. As plain as watching a “gang” run a Philadelphia bar may sound, this show will surprise. The characters are like nothing anyone is used to. No one could ever watch this show and say “it’s been done before.” Because no show has gone where this one has, and no show has ever had the balls to attempt to go where this show has gone. Rob McElhenny, Glenn Howerton, and Charlie Day didn’t make this show to win awards. This is a show for the people. Don’t miss out on the fun while you still have a chance because this show is close to the end. Everyone needs to experience Charlie running through sewers naked, Mac coming up with insanely idiotic solutions with a completely serious tone, Dee sleeping with absolutely anyone (no matter how disgusting) in order to use them, and Frank getting stuck in-between monkey bars naked at a playground. The show is brilliant - and it teaches us that even the simplest of comedy can manage, and it reminds us that “poop is funny” – Frank Reynolds.