As small-scale depressing as it is whenever It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia wraps up each season of manic depravity, the silver lining (or at least a rusty copper-plated lining) is that fans will get to eventually enjoy watching the star quintet screwing up take after take after take through the majesty of the blooper reel. Season 16 kicked off with a pair of episodes that instantly had us anticipating gag reel excellence, and now that it’s here, I feel safe in saying such expectations were fully justified. Also justified: my assumption that it was next to impossible to keep a straight face opposite the allergy-swollen face of Rob McElhenney’s Mac.
Having wrapped up its monumental 16th season in July, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia remains the longest-running live-action comedy series here in the U.S., and the eight-episode stretch further proved just how timeless it remains. And FX once again unintentionally makes a case for how much fun it would be for full-length episodes specifically devoted to outtakes from Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olsen, Danny DeVito and Rob McElhenney. Check out the somewhat NSFW (for language) video below, and see how long you make it before breaking.
Knowing how much this cast goes through when filming these episodes, how is it that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has spent its entire lifespan being ignored during awards seasons? Anybody who had to act with Rob McElhenney during the Season 16 premiere, especially as his facial prosthetics grew larger, deserves SOME form of accolade or official recognition.
Not that McElhenney himself doesn’t deserve all manner of praise and attention as well for being the member of the Always Sunny cast who seems willing to go the extra mile when it comes to changing up his character’s looks. Granted, Mac swelling up to Elephant Man-esque levels (due to an ignorant persistence in eating an entire tub of nuts) for a single episode is quite different from physically transforming himself into “Fat Mac” for a whole season. But the conviction is the same, which makes it all the more difficult to witness him in the act without falling prey to giggles and snorts.
Not that I think it'd be any easier to keep a straight face while Danny DeVito is explaining where he kept a dead seagull while his mouth is full of cake and icing. Or while Charlie Day is faux-gagging after eating very old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle snack pies. Or while a messy-mouthed Lynne Marie Stewart screamed bloody murder at the kitchen table. Everybody in this show is aces, from the top to the very bottom. (Hey down there, Cricket!)
All 16 seasons of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia can be streamed with a Hulu subscription, and there are so many episodes now, by the time you get to the end of the latest batch, you can dive back into the beginning of Season 1 without it being extremely fresh. I mean, unless you’re just laying back on the couch with your buds binge-watching all day long while staving off hunger via a big jar o’ nuts. Do you agree with our choice for the best season of them all?
