50 Fun Facts About Hard It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

On what date did It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiere on FX?

The pilot, The Gang Gets Racist, introduced the four original members; Danny DeVito did not arrive until season two.

Which sitcom did Sunny surpass in December 2021 as the longest-running American live-action sitcom by seasons?

Season 15 tipped it over; season 18 premiered in August 2026.

Before Kaitlin Olson was cast, who was going to play Sweet Dee?

Olson later married McElhenney in real life; Ellis, who plays the Waitress, is married to Charlie Day.

What was the working title of the original home-movie pilot?

It was named after the a-ha song The Sun Always Shines on T.V., and the gang were originally out-of-work actors in Los Angeles.

Who played Mac in the earliest versions of the home movie, while McElhenney directed?

Hornsby went on to play Rickety Cricket; Nick Frenkel was the manager all three creators shared.

What was the original concept for the theme song before the actor premise was dropped?

The finished theme is Temptation Sensation by German composer Heinz Kiessling.

Who composed Temptation Sensation, the show's theme song?

His On Your Bike and Blue Blood also play under scene transitions, alongside Tautz, Brook and Grell cues.

What was the show's per-episode budget in the early years, less than a third of a network standard?

They shot on Panasonic's DVX100 MiniDV prosumer camera; the $200 pilot figure is a legend Charlie Day has waved off.

The exterior of Paddy's Pub is shot at which real location?

It stands at 544 Mateo Street downtown; the show films in both cities.

Where were season 15's Ireland episodes actually filmed, because of COVID restrictions?

A second unit shot B-roll in Ireland while northern California was digitally dressed as Irish landscape.

Which actor played Charlie's Irish father figure Shelley Kelly in season 15?

Until The Gang's Still in Ireland it had long been implied that Frank was Charlie's real father.

How many episodes were pulled from Hulu in 2020 over blackface and racial caricatures?

They include The Gang Recycles Their Trash, Dee Day and The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 6, and were also removed from Netflix UK and Disney+ elsewhere.

In which episode is Mac's full name revealed to be Ronald McDonald?

It is the season seven two-parter that also brings back Fatty Magoo and the Aluminum Monster.

Who is Dennis and Dee's biological father?

Barbara tricked Frank into raising the twins because she thought he was richer; Stephen Collins played the philanthropist Mathis.

What was Rickety Cricket's job before the Gang ruined his life?

His real name is Matthew Mara, and the nickname came from the leg braces he wore as a boy.

Cricket has his legs broken by whom?

Frank slices his throat in the wrestling ring, Mac and Dennis hunt him for sport, and Frank later shoots him in the hand.

Which two actors play the McPoyle brothers Liam and Ryan?

By season 16 the milk-drinking twins have sold their video store and run the bowling alley.

Liam McPoyle's season 8 engagement to Dennis's ex-wife is called off after what?

The marriage would have broken the McPoyle bloodline; the episode is The Maureen Ponderosa Wedding Massacre.

How much of Maureen Ponderosa's debt does Dennis assume to keep his apartment in the divorce?

Uncle Jack negotiated it against the Lawyer, working pro bono for Maureen, and Jack still called it a win.

Uncle Jack Kelly, Charlie's lawyer uncle, has a bizarre fixation on the size of what?

He is played by Andrew Friedman and first appears in the season one finale, Charlie Got Molested.

In which episode is the Lawyer, played by Brian Unger, first seen?

He is the executor of Barbara Reynolds' will, and the Gang assume he can talk to her from beyond the grave.

Fans long assumed the Waitress was called Nikki Potnick. Why?

Charlie also mentions crashing Nikki Potnick's car into a tree during a night of underage drinking.

Artemis is introduced as Dee's friend from acting class performing a scene from which film?

Kaitlin Olson had a small part in the real Coyote Ugly; Artemis Pebdani later reveals the character is Jewish and Persian.

Dee and Artemis are superfans of which singer, calling themselves Grobanites?

Dee misses the concert because Frank has poisoned her and tied her up.

Which pro wrestler played Da Maniac, the deranged homeless wrestler?

He was brought in for The Gang Wrestles for the Troops.

Ernie the Barfly's actor died in 2009. How does the show honour him?

David Zdunich was the background regular seen at Paddy's in the early seasons.

Duncan and Z, Frank's bizarre friends, were met where?

Z is played by Chad L. Coleman of The Wire, which the show name-checks when Dennis says black bars don't win awards.

Ingrid Nelson, nicknamed Fatty Magoo, grew up to be a successful what?

Judy Greer plays her; Dennis tries to sell her a dress design by modelling it himself.

Why was Dee known as the Aluminum Monster in high school?

Her twin Dennis was meanwhile building his Golden God self-image at Penn.

Gail the Snail is related to Dennis and Dee how?

Mary Lynn Rajskub plays her, and the Gang salts her like a slug.

Ben the Soldier is first introduced as what?

Travis Schuldt plays him, and he arrives in The Gang Wrestles for the Troops.

In Dee Gives Birth, who turns out to be the father of Dee's baby?

Carmen had frozen sperm before her surgery; Dee was a surrogate using an anonymous egg donor.

In Sweet Dee Gets Audited, why does Dennis blow chili powder into Dee's eyes?

Her acting career, such as it is, keeps failing at the crucial moment.

Which three musicians is Dennis noted as a fan of?

He also drives a Range Rover and went to Penn, which explains a lot.

Charlie is illiterate, but the show says he can read which language?

He is also a self-taught pianist who wrote an entire rock opera.

In The Nightman Cometh, which two roles do Frank and Dee get?

Dennis sulks at being made the Nightman, though Mac decides he wants that part anyway.

Who directed The Nightman Cometh?

It aired on 20 November 2008 as the 45th episode, and the cast toured it as a stage show in 2009.

In The Nightman Cometh, Charlie gives the Waitress a ticket and promises what if she attends?

The whole rock opera is a proposal in disguise, which she rejects.

Frank's daily lifestyle, per the show, includes living on about how much money a week?

Not counting his morning cocaine, plus cat food, a toe knife and a mini meat fridge.

Frank has nicknamed Bill Ponderosa what?

In Being Frank he drops Ponderosa at a roller rink, where Bill is beaten up for hitting on underage girls.

In which season had Mac briefly come out and gone back in, before coming out permanently in season twelve?

He had briefly come out in season 11 and gone back in; Mac Finds His Pride closed season 13 with the dance.

Which season 10 episode has the janitor executing an intricate plan to pass a health inspection?

The season 10 episode is famous for its long single-take sequences.

Glenn Howerton was born in which country?

He was born in Okinawa Prefecture to American parents and later played Jim Balsillie in BlackBerry.

Rob McElhenney became co-owner of which football club in September 2020?

With Ryan Reynolds, and he also co-created Mythic Quest with Charlie Day and Megan Ganz.

After the Fat Mac season wrapped, how much weight did McElhenney lose in the first month?

Charlie Day called the deliberate weight gain disgusting; the rest came off in time to shoot the next season.

Kaitlin Olson played which recurring character on Curb Your Enthusiasm?

She now stars as Morgan Gillory in High Potential and has recurred on Hacks.

Danny DeVito won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for playing which character before Frank Reynolds?

He joined Sunny in the season two premiere as the twins' legal father.

Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton and Rob McElhenney first met while auditioning for which project?

They kept landing in the same rooms in New York and Los Angeles and even shared a manager, Nick Frenkel.

Charlie's dream journal, Green Man persona and rock opera mark him as what, per his character page?

He also huffs glue and paint, eats cat food and understands Irish despite being unable to read English.

How many episodes did the first season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia run for in 2005?

Season one ran seven episodes, ending September 15, 2005; word of mouth was strong enough for FX to renew it despite low ratings.