It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is the longest-running live-action scripted comedy.
For 20 years, the show has been cracking ribs as viewers follow the eclectic Gang that gets into some of the most bizarre exploits.
To run this long (or run Paddy’s Pub) is no minor feat, only achieved by daytime soap operas. But year after year, the show returns with fresh stories as the Gang sinks deeper into their stupidity and absurdity.
The problem is that nothing is fresh anymore.
The past two seasons have felt unmotivated and dull, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 17 feels even more disjointed.
It’s time for fans to accept that it’s no longer sunny, and its creative team would be wise to quit while they’re ahead, or risk ruining the show’s legacy.
Most of the episodes this season have been misses. There is no coherent narrative to follow, with characters receiving sporadic focus.
We know that for someone to truly shine in the show, they need to be allowed to go completely absurd.
What Went Wrong?
My diagnosis of the show highlights several reasons contributing to its failure to thrive. The greatest culprit: time.
Many years have passed since Rob Mac, Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Kaitlin Olson, and Danny DeVito banded together for a television experiment that traditional networks would have never accepted.
As the years pass, the world changes, but unfortunately, Sunny has been left behind by these changes, and it feels like it’s stuck in the past.
The biggest clue that time has passed is that most of the cast is visibly older now.
It was charming for a young man like Charlie to be utterly stupid and uneducated, but that gag has run out of steam — a man his age would have by now tried to deal with his illiteracy.
It’s no longer charming that Dennis is still a creep.
A creepy young man who is attractive and knows it? That works. But a creepy old guy who still thinks he has it? Not so much.
If Sunny had given these characters the ability to grow, Dennis’ advancing age would have been integrated into the story quite early, and his graduation from a young creepy pervert to an old creepy pervert would have been an event.
As the wheel of time turns, Sunny does not know what to do with itself. The 2005 culture died a long time ago, but it feels like the show has refused to embrace modernity.
Crude jokes that would have made someone’s night in the 2000s would never get past network censors now.
Instead of deciding what side it wants to be on, Sunny has resorted to sitting on the fence on cultural issues, playing the “both sides” game.
Are these people still pieces of sh*t, or are they social justice warriors?
This is because the show’s characters, crew, and cast largely overlap. Many almost share names.
As the actors grow older and learn more about the world, their views are increasingly reflected in the characters.
And to some extent, that’s unavoidable. Everyone learns and grows, which is the way of the world. But if Rob’s growth will affect Mac the character, then we have a huge problem.
Doing It Out of Obligation?
But above all, everyone is phoning it in.
The energy and zeal that once characterized the actors are no longer present. Are they tired of doing the same thing year after year, or are they tired of life in general?
The only people having fun are DeVito and Olson.
That’s partially because the former joined the show as an old man so that character can remain the same forever, and with the latter, Sweet Dee goes along with everything the Gang does so she can always have fun.
But for Charlie, he no longer has his little projects that he used to sink all two grams of his intellect into while waiting for The Waitress to fall in love with him.
He has long accepted that she will never be his, and now he doesn’t know what to do with his life.
Meanwhile, Mac is out, gay, and probably catching STIs. There is nothing for him to avoid.
Dennis has become cringe after losing his mojo, so hypersexuality is not helping much longer.
Despite having been on the air for twenty years, Sunny’s timeline feels like five years tops. Fewer than ten episodes a year are insufficient to cover much ground.
This disparity is visible where the characters appear older, but they are still the same little sluggers. It doesn’t gel.
Two things can be done.
Either end the show, or do a massive creative overhaul. Whether that involves flash-forwarding everything or having new people replace The Gang, these are just some options.
But as it stands right now, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is not working, and no amount of callbacks to fan-favorite gags will fix it.
Unless that gag is the return of Dayman and Nightman, then I’m all in.
Over to you, Sunny fanatics.
What do you think? Chime in on the comments section.
Watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Online
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