It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, also commonly referred to as Always Sunny or IASIP, is an American sitcom created by Rob Mac and co-developed by Glenn Howerton for FX, currently airing on FXX. The show premiered on August 4, 2005, and stars Charlie Day, Howerton, Mac, Kaitlin Olson, and Danny DeVito, with Day, Howerton, and Mac also functioning as executive producers since the inception.
The series, influenced by earlier sitcoms like The Office , Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, follows the exploits of a group of narcissistic sociopathic idiots who run the Irish dive bar Paddy's Pub in South Philadelphia, but spend most of their free time drinking, scheming, fighting one another and ruining other people's lives for financial gain and revenge, or simply out of boredom or inebriation.
IASIP is the longest-running American live-action sitcom in terms of total seasons, surpassing The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriets 14 seasons, with the release of its 15th season in December 2021. In December 2020, the series was renewed for a total of four additional seasons, bringing it to a total of 18 seasons. The seventeenth and most recent season premiered on July 9, 2025 and ended on August 20, 2025.
The series has received critical acclaim, being variously described as "Seinfeld on crack" and "white trash comedy", with many critics lauding the show's dark humor and satire and the cast's performances. It has amassed a large cult following.
Synopsis
Premise
The series follows a group of self-centered, heavy-drinking, narcissistic misfits, referred to as "the gang", who run a dirty, unsuccessful Irish bar called Paddy's Pub in the neighborhood of South Philadelphia. In season one, the gang consists of janitor Charlie Kelly, bouncer Mac, and bartender Dennis Reynolds, the three of whom own Paddy's Pub, in addition to Dennis' twin sister Dee Reynolds, a struggling actress who works as a waitress there.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 ownership of the bar. He soon becomes the financial catalyst for the gang, funding many of the gang's convoluted schemes and urging them to go further with their brazen depravity.
Each member of the gang exhibits immoral behaviours such as racism, misogyny, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, antisemitism and Islamophobia. The gang also display deeply anti-social traits such as pathological dishonesty, narcissism, blatant disregard for the law, extreme selfishness, emotional manipulation, disregard for others, vanity and superficiality, physical aggression, excessive drinking and substance abuse. Unregulated emotions, casual cruelty, predatory tendencies, apathy toward suffering, contempt for others, greed and a lack of remorse are evident in the gang's interactions with the world at large, as well as among themselves.
The gang also demonstrates acute codependency, stupidity, enabling behaviors, and a lack of awareness of basic social norms.
The comedy of the show emerges from these extreme character traits resulting in conflicts that lead the gang into absurd, dark, and painfully embarrassing situations, typically ending with them getting their comeuppance, but never learning their lesson. This allows the show to mine a variety of socio-political and economic issues for satire and dark humor while keeping the characters in a state of relative stasis conducive to the long-running sitcom format.
Episodes usually find the gang hatching elaborate schemes and regularly conspiring, against both outsiders and one another, for personal gain, revenge, or simply schadenfreude. They habitually inflict physical and psychological pain on anyone who crosses their path, even each other, yet always return to the status quo at Paddy's Pub because they have alienated the rest of society and have only each other for company in the end.
Themes
Some of the subjects covered for the purpose of satire on the show include masculinity and misogyny, Catholicism, classism and income inequality, racism including blackface, sexual coercion and stalking, child sexual abuse, homophobia, transphobia, US nationalism and substance abuse. The show frequently satirises American domestic and foreign policy stances and debates with its depictions of gun violence, abortion rights, climate change, torture, police brutality, the Israeli occupation of Gaza, the 2008 financial crisis and the post-covid recession. The show also skewers lighter topics such as social norms, using the gang's stupidity as a vehicle to poke fun at conventions.Class and class conflict is a recurring theme throughout the show as Mac and Charlie Kelly are shown to be from working class backgrounds, while Dennis and Dee Reynolds had an upper-class upbringing, even if they are no longer upper class. Frank Reynolds, who originally came from a working class background, is shown to be a multi-millionaire, potentially even a billionaire, who made his money through fraud and exploitative business practices, including running sweatshops in developing countries, cheating his business partners and setting up shell companies for tax evasion.
IASIP also frequently engages in absurdist and meta humor, pulling from a variety of television, film, theatre and musical references. Some episodes see the gang in different settings, genres or even time periods.
Cast and characters
The show features a core cast of five characters and a recurring cast of colorful side characters, including the Waitress, Cricket, the McPoyles, the Ponderosas, the Lawyer and various family members like Mrs. Kelly, Mrs. Mac and Uncle Jack Kelly, who cross paths and interact with the gang in increasingly unhinged ways as the show progresses.Main
- Charlie Day as Charlie Kelly, co-owner and janitor of Paddy's Pub. Charlie is a childhood friend of Mac, and high school friend of Dennis and Dee. He lives in squalor with Frank, as his roommate and pseudo-father, in a run-down, vermin-infested apartment, where they share a bed. Charlie has deep-seated psychological problems, partly due to frequent substance abuse, and partly due to his complicated family background, possibly involving child abuse. He has an extensive history of pica and regularly eats various items not meant for human consumption, such as cat food, stickers, paint, and crow eggs. Due to his general stupidity, ignorance of social norms and illiteracy, Charlie is generally regarded as the stupidest member of The gang. Despite this, Charlie can innately read Irish Gaelic, is a naturally gifted musician, a self-proclaimed expert in "bird law" and possibly the only competent worker at Paddy's, besides Dennis, with his knack for unorthodox maintenance practices. He also has an unhealthy obsession with "The Waitress", a recurring character who he stalks and harasses.
- Glenn Howerton as Dennis Reynolds, co-owner and the main bartender of Paddy's Pub, in addition to being Dee's twin brother and Frank's son. Seemingly the most intelligent and normal of the three co-owners, Dennis is slowly revealed to be the most narcissistic and sociopathic of the gang. Dennis is extremely insecure, self-centered and vain and overly concerned with the people around him buying into an image of him as intelligent, cultured, attractive and of high status and class. At his most delusional, he refers to himself as a "Golden God" and flies into fits of rage when he fears he is being disrespected. Dennis' vanity is partly fed by his roommate and best friend Mac, who is in love with him, and is hinted to be a result of his mother preferring him to his twin sister Dee. Dennis' predatory nature is often depicted through numerous schemes to seduce women, typically much younger than him. It is strongly hinted at times that Dennis may secretly be a serial killer, though this remains ambiguous as a running gag. In season 10, Dennis is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, though it is not clear if the diagnosis was definitive, according to the actor. In the season 12 finale, Dennis reveals to the rest of the gang that he has an infant son, and moves to North Dakota to raise him. He inexplicably returns to Philadelphia in season 13, seeming to have abandoned his son. In later seasons, Dennis becomes preoccupied with his age and loss of general fitness and attractiveness, something the rest of the gang is aware of and very much use to hurt him.
- Rob Mac as Ronald "Mac" McDonald, co-owner and self-proclaimed “head of security” of Paddy's Pub. Mac is Charlie's childhood friend and Dennis's high school friend. The son of a convicted felon who has been in prison for much of Mac's life, he frequently attempts to demonstrate his toughness and refers to himself as the "sheriff of Paddy's". Deeply insecure about his masculinity and homosexuality, Mac constantly seeks the approval of those around him, especially his absent father, his apathetic mother, and his self-absorbed roommate Dennis. He suffers from extreme bouts of body dysmorphia, and has been depicted at various weights throughout the course of the series. Mac often brags about his hand-to-hand combat skills, but typically flees from physical confrontation and is usually depicted as the most cowardly of the gang. Mac is a Roman Catholic, though he often espouses strong Christian fundamentalist opinions, and his religion is regularly in conflict with his behavior and his homosexuality. It is insinuated for years that Mac is gay and harbors feelings for his best friend Dennis, though he remains in denial, much to the gang's annoyance, until he comes out in season 12.
- Kaitlin Olson as Deandra "Sweet Dee" Reynolds, waitress and sometimes bartender at Paddy's Pub, as well as Dennis's twin sister and Frank's daughter. Though initially depicted as the gang's "voice of reason" in a couple of episodes in the debut season, Dee quickly loses any sense of moral fortitude that she once had, and is shown to be just as prejudiced and depraved as her male colleagues by the end of season 1. Dee is frequently the subject of the gang's casual misogyny, leading to nicknames like "bird" and "bitch", leading to her resenting them and plotting against them and others whom she deems more successful than herself. Like her brother, Dee too is deeply insecure, though unlike him, she was a disappointment to her parents and a social outcast since high school as a result of her back brace; so she craves approval from Dennis and Frank in any way. Though often the butt of the gang's jokes, she nevertheless stays involved with them because of her desperate need for attention. Unlike the men, Dee lives alone and does not hold any ownership stake in the bar – perhaps due to the gang's various prejudices against her — but also in part due to her desire to become a professional actress/comedian. Dennis and Dee are frequently shown to be two sides of the same coin, with later episodes depicting Dee engaging in predatory behavior towards young men.
- Danny DeVito as Frank Reynolds, the legal father of Dennis and Dee Reynolds, and the majority owner of Paddy's Pub soon after his introduction onwards.Frank is a multi-millionaire who often funds and enables the gang's worst schemes and impulses, just to feel a sense of youthfulness and energy. He was once a successful businessman with a long history of illegal operations, including running sweatshops in Vietnam, and dealings with sordid characters, but chooses to abandon that life and redeem himself after leaving his "whore wife", Barbara Reynolds. He has since embraced his "feral" nature and describes himself as "fringe class". Despite his substantial financial resources, he chooses to share a decrepit one-bedroom apartment with Charlie, where they sleep together on a pullout couch and have a surprisingly affectionate pseudo-father/son relationship. The two have similar interests, such as playing Night Crawlers, collecting trash, boiling denim, eating garbage and foraging naked in the sewers for coins. Frank always arms himself with at least one loaded handgun usually a snub nose revolver and does not hesitate to brandish or even discharge one when provoked, and often snorts cocaine as part of his daily routine. Whenever the gang gets in trouble, Frank is happy to embrace his status as a multi-millionaire and bail them out of trouble, ensuring they never need to go to prison.