50 free Hard It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This hard It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia trivia quiz is for people who have seen every season more than once. It asks who was originally cast as Sweet Dee, what the pilot was really shot for, which building plays Paddy's Pub, who wrote the theme song, what Mac's full name is, who Dennis and Dee's biological father turned out to be, how much debt Dennis took on in his divorce, why the Ireland episodes were shot in California, and which episodes are missing from Hulu. Cricket, the McPoyles, the Waitress, Artemis, Uncle Jack, the Lawyer, the Ponderosas and Da Maniac all appear. It is written for superfans, Paddy's Pub quiz nights and anyone who found the main It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia trivia page too easy. Expect almost everything at hard or expert level. Every answer has been checked against the Wikipedia articles on the series, its characters, its episodes and its cast, and each question shows its source once you have answered.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01On what date did It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiere on FX?
August 4, 2005
The pilot, The Gang Gets Racist, introduced the four original members; Danny DeVito did not arrive until season two.
Q 02Which sitcom did Sunny surpass in December 2021 as the longest-running American live-action sitcom by seasons?
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
Season 15 tipped it over; season 18 premiered in August 2026.
Q 03Before Kaitlin Olson was cast, who was going to play Sweet Dee?
Jordan Reid, McElhenney's girlfriend
Olson later married McElhenney in real life; Ellis, who plays the Waitress, is married to Charlie Day.
Q 04What was the working title of the original home-movie pilot?
It's Always Sunny on TV
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.
Q 05Who played Mac in the earliest versions of the home movie, while McElhenney directed?
David Hornsby
Hornsby went on to play Rickety Cricket; Nick Frenkel was the manager all three creators shared.
Q 06What was the original concept for the theme song before the actor premise was dropped?
A cha-cha version of Hooray for Hollywood
The finished theme is Temptation Sensation by German composer Heinz Kiessling.
Q 07Who composed Temptation Sensation, the show's theme song?
Heinz Kiessling
His On Your Bike and Blue Blood also play under scene transitions, alongside Tautz, Brook and Grell cues.
Q 08What was the show's per-episode budget in the early years, less than a third of a network standard?
$450,000
They shot on Panasonic's DVX100 MiniDV prosumer camera; the $200 pilot figure is a legend Charlie Day has waved off.
Q 09The exterior of Paddy's Pub is shot at which real location?
The Starkman Building, Los Angeles
It stands at 544 Mateo Street downtown; the show films in both cities.
Q 10Where were season 15's Ireland episodes actually filmed, because of COVID restrictions?
Bodega Bay, California
A second unit shot B-roll in Ireland while northern California was digitally dressed as Irish landscape.
Q 11Which actor played Charlie's Irish father figure Shelley Kelly in season 15?
Colm Meaney
Until The Gang's Still in Ireland it had long been implied that Frank was Charlie's real father.
Q 12How many episodes were pulled from Hulu in 2020 over blackface and racial caricatures?
Five
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.
Q 13In which episode is Mac's full name revealed to be Ronald McDonald?
The High School Reunion
It is the season seven two-parter that also brings back Fatty Magoo and the Aluminum Monster.
Q 21In which episode is the Lawyer, played by Brian Unger, first seen?
Dennis and Dee's Mom Is Dead
He is the executor of Barbara Reynolds' will, and the Gang assume he can talk to her from beyond the grave.
Q 22Fans long assumed the Waitress was called Nikki Potnick. Why?
Frank showed up with a stolen tag bearing it
Charlie also mentions crashing Nikki Potnick's car into a tree during a night of underage drinking.
Q 23Artemis is introduced as Dee's friend from acting class performing a scene from which film?
Coyote Ugly
Q 14Who is Dennis and Dee's biological father?
Bruce Mathis
Barbara tricked Frank into raising the twins because she thought he was richer; Stephen Collins played the philanthropist Mathis.
Q 15What was Rickety Cricket's job before the Gang ruined his life?
Catholic priest
His real name is Matthew Mara, and the nickname came from the leg braces he wore as a boy.
Q 16Cricket has his legs broken by whom?
The Philadelphia Mafia
Frank slices his throat in the wrestling ring, Mac and Dennis hunt him for sport, and Frank later shoots him in the hand.
Q 17Which two actors play the McPoyle brothers Liam and Ryan?
Jimmi Simpson and Nate Mooney
By season 16 the milk-drinking twins have sold their video store and run the bowling alley.
Q 18Liam McPoyle's season 8 engagement to Dennis's ex-wife is called off after what?
Her ex-husband sleeps with her
The marriage would have broken the McPoyle bloodline; the episode is The Maureen Ponderosa Wedding Massacre.
Q 19How much of Maureen Ponderosa's debt does Dennis assume to keep his apartment in the divorce?
$90,000
Uncle Jack negotiated it against the Lawyer, working pro bono for Maureen, and Jack still called it a win.
Q 20Uncle Jack Kelly, Charlie's lawyer uncle, has a bizarre fixation on the size of what?
His hands
He is played by Andrew Friedman and first appears in the season one finale, Charlie Got Molested.
Kaitlin Olson had a small part in the real Coyote Ugly; Artemis Pebdani later reveals the character is Jewish and Persian.
Q 24Dee and Artemis are superfans of which singer, calling themselves Grobanites?
Josh Groban
Dee misses the concert because Frank has poisoned her and tied her up.
Q 25Which pro wrestler played Da Maniac, the deranged homeless wrestler?
Roddy Piper
He was brought in for The Gang Wrestles for the Troops.
Q 26Ernie the Barfly's actor died in 2009. How does the show honour him?
A portrait hangs behind the bar
David Zdunich was the background regular seen at Paddy's in the early seasons.
Q 27Duncan and Z, Frank's bizarre friends, were met where?
Under a bridge
Z is played by Chad L. Coleman of The Wire, which the show name-checks when Dennis says black bars don't win awards.
Q 28Ingrid Nelson, nicknamed Fatty Magoo, grew up to be a successful what?
Fashion designer
Judy Greer plays her; Dennis tries to sell her a dress design by modelling it himself.
Q 29Why was Dee known as the Aluminum Monster in high school?
She wore a back brace for scoliosis
Her twin Dennis was meanwhile building his Golden God self-image at Penn.
Q 30Gail the Snail is related to Dennis and Dee how?
Cousin, daughter of Barbara's sister Donna
Mary Lynn Rajskub plays her, and the Gang salts her like a slug.