Every season of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia is a long, hard look into the comedic lives of its depraved and ridiculous cast of heavily misguided semi-geniuses. Following a historic deal with FX, it’s been confirmed that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has been renewed through season 18. This makes Charlie, Dennis, Mac, Dee, and Frank the main cast of the longest-running live-action sitcom in American television history.
Nearly 18 years since the pilot episode aired, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16 is slated to release on FXX on June 7, 2023. Alongside iconic comedy series like 30 Rock, Peep Show, South Park, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, It’s Always Sunny is one of those shows where the variation in quality from season to season is so incremental – that the difference between the very worst and the very best season is minuscule. Nonetheless, some seasons are simply better than others.
15 Season 1
The show premiered with a slew of extremely edgy material right out of the gate. In fact, season 1 likely remains the most controversial when compared to every season of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, as seen in episodes such as “The Gang Gets Racist,” “Charlie Wants an Abortion,” “Charlie Has Cancer,” and “Underage Drinking: A National Concern.” The season is hilarious, but with the absence of Danny DeVito – and being fairly grounded in reality compared to the later seasons – it doesn’t quite feel totally like the Always Sunny that audiences have come to love. Still, even with just seven episodes, the first season competes well with even the latest seasons.
14 Season 14
Out of every season of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, few are as well-produced as season 14. “Thunder Gun 4: Maximum Cool” sees Dolph Lundgren make an extended cameo in a fictional Hollywood action blockbuster, with Charlie hilariously failing to comprehend the extremely simple premise. Meanwhile, “Waiting for Big Mo” is a great episode that is a tribute to the play Waiting for Godot, and includes a metacommentary about whether being in one of the most successful shows in history is still worth it – plus hilarious references to Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M.” However, the crown jewel of the season may be “The Janitor Always Mops Twice,” which turns the show into a parody of 1940s noir movies.
13 Season 12
Despite ranking low, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 12 is propped up by some episodes that became instant classics. “The Gang Goes To A Water Park” is one of the most hilariously grotesque episodes of television ever. Meanwhile, shot in the style of a crime documentary, “Making Dennis Reynolds a Murderer” greatly pays off the running joke about Dennis being a serial killer. Most notably, episodes like “Cricket’s Tale” and “The Gang Turns Black” underscore how the series pulls off using offensive elements for comedic social commentary.
12 Season 15
What truly differentiates the 15th season from every season of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia is that it featured the gang’s return after the pandemic, which it quickly addressed in “2020: A Year In Review.” The season then gets off to a running start with “The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7,” keeping the attached controversies alive and even more hilarious. After the gang journeys to Ireland to finally reveal Charlie’s real father, culminating in the finale, “The Gang Carries a Corpse Up a Mountain,” the series ends on a strangely hopeful note.
11 Season 6
Compared to every season of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, even the first, season 6 is known for being controversial. It opens with “Mac Fights Gay Marriage,” in which Mac gets angered by finding out that a transwoman he dated is married to a man – consistent with Mac’s then-story arc of being a closeted gay man. Other notable episodes include”Charlie Kelly: King of the Rats” and “Dee Reynolds: Shaping America’s Youth,” the beginning of the gang’s controversial “reboots” of Lethal Weapon. Meanwhile, “A Very Sunny Christmas” is one of the very best season finales in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
10 Season 11
Being one of the best of the later seasons, it gets off to a great start with “Chardee McDennis 2: Electric Boogaloo,” providing a sequel to a classic. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia season 11 also includes “Mac & Dennis Move to the Suburbs,” scenes from which have provided the fodder for viral memes about dysfunctional relationships. The most innovative episode of the season is inarguably “Being Frank,” which is shot entirely from Frank Reynolds’ perspective – one of Danny DeVito’s best performances in the series. Moreover, “The Gang Goes To Hell” is a memorable, thriller-inspired 2-part season finale.
9 Season 10
Every season of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia has at least one viral episode, but no other season premiere has inspired as many copycats as “The Gang Beats Boggs,” the infamous airplane drinking competition. Meanwhile, “The Gang Goes On Family Fight” shines the public spotlight on Sunny‘s unusual family, with Keegan-Michael Key as the game show host tasked with reeling in the gang’s non-family friendly banter. However, the peak of this season is undoubtedly “Charlie Work,” in which a 7-minute continuous shot reveals how Charlie is the force keeping Paddy’s Pub together.
8 Season 2
Every season of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia will always be compared to season 2, mainly because it featured the introduction of Danny DeVito as Frank, Dennis and Dee’s father. Undoubtedly, Frank has always been the single best improvement in the show. In “The Gang Exploits a Miracle,” Frank charges patrons to see a water stain in the office resembling the Virgin Mary. Meanwhile, Charlie does as promised in “Charlie Goes America All Over Everybody’s Ass.” The finale, “Dennis and Dee Get a New Dad,” actually establishes many of the key dynamics in the gang revolving around Frank being their collective father figure.
7 Season 13
Every season of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia is surreal in some way, but season 13 just takes it to another level. In “The Gang Makes Paddy’s Great Again,” the first episode, Dennis gets replaced by a sex doll version of himself. Meanwhile, “The Gang Does a Clip Show” sees the gang’s memories mixing with their fantasies, which includes a scene-by-scene recreation of a Seinfeld episode where Mac and Dennis both play Jerry. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 13 notably ends with “Mac Finds His Pride,” which finally saw Mac coming into the greatness he always perceived in himself, culminating in the single most cathartic moment in the whole series.
6 Season 5
“Paddy’s Pub: Home Of The Original Kitten Mittens” possibly has the most memorable soft opening of the series, as Charlie shows the gang a commercial he shot for cats’ footwear, and the gang is just as confused as the viewer. In another one of the gang’s iconic presentations, Dennis takes being a creep to another level in “The D.E.N.N.I.S. System.” Meanwhile, “The Gang Hits The Road” is a classic and must-see road trip episode. Finally, in “The Gang Reignites the Rivalry,” everyone joins Dennis’ fraternity to get in shape for a drinking competition that the gang is forcing on their rival pub.
5 Season 3
Considered by many to be the best out of every season of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, season 3 is when the show entered its golden age. This includes “The Gang Gets Held Hostage,” which might be the best and most disturbing episode featuring the McPoyles. There’s also the two-part “The Gang Gets Whacked,” in which the gang gets embroiled in a cocaine dealing operation in the city. Charlie also channels Serpico in “Bums: Making a Mess All Over the City.” Season 3, the longest season of the series, ends with “The Gang Dances Their Asses Off,” in which the gang needs to win a dance contest in order to keep Paddy’s Pub.
4 Season 8
Episodes like “The Gang Gets Analyzed” and “Frank’s Back in Business” means that Frank is arguably the star of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia season 8. However, it also includes “The Maureen Ponderosa Wedding Massacre,” a fun parody of zombie and mystery films. Meanwhile, in “The Gang Dines Out,” Frank and Charlie are at a standoff against Mac and Dennis, but end up bonding by harassing and assaulting an innocent civilian, as they always do. Season 8 also stands out for Mac’s intense and compelling presentation in “Reynolds vs. Reynolds: The Cereal Defense.”
3 Season 4
It doesn’t get better than season 4. It features “Sweet Dee Has A Heart Attack,” the episode that houses the infamous meme of Charlie in front of a corkboard full of strings and pictures as he’s trying to solve a mystery. There’s also “The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell,” in which the gang tells an elaborate story about the historical relevance of Paddy’s Pub – in a fully produced period drama parody. The season also ends with one of the greatest finales of all time, “The Nightman Cometh,” a dark musical with a ton of depth, which actually became a real-life musical for a short time.
2 Season 9
In the premiere episode of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia season 9, “The Gang Broke Dee” proves that Kaitlin Olson is possibly the funniest character among the cast. Meanwhile, the show’s parody of Flowers for Algernon, “Flowers For Charlie,” sees everyone get convinced that Charlie is actually a genius. The ninth season also includes another classic action movie parody in “The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 6.” With the gang doing the exact opposite of what the title implies in “The Gang Squashes Their Beefs,” season 9 is rounded off by an absolutely chaotic finale that sees the return of the McPoyles, Cricket, and other beloved side characters.
1 Season 7
What makes the seventh season different from every season of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia? This is when actor Rob McElhenney began drastically changing his body type for comedy. Indeed, season 7 is famous for Mac putting on a ton of weight, with actor Rob McElhenney actually putting on weight in real life to parody the unhealthy practice among actors in the industry. This is also the season that contains “Chardee McDennis: The Game Of Games,” which is simultaneously the best, worst, and most captivating board game ever seen on television.
