The Television Academy has finally released its list of Emmy Awards nominations, and guess what TV show is not part of it? It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, to no one’s surprise. But to give six nominations to another Rob McElhenney series just feels like rubbing salt in the wound.
Always Sunny has been on the air for 15 full seasons, but even after so much content, it hasn’t won a single major award. Sure, it snatched a grand total of four trophies here and there, such as the People’s Choice Award in 2016, and a Satellite Award way back in 2011. But let’s not kid ourselves into believing that’s on the same level as the Emmy Awards.
Welcome to Wrexham, on the other hand, landed six Emmy nominations after only one season, proving once again how the stars of Always Sunny sometimes get their due recognition, but only for unrelated projects. That has to smart.
Always Sunny fans aren’t the only ones aware of the irony, though. The writers and stars of the show have touched on the topic multiple times over the years, speaking about feeling overlooked by the Television Academy in podcast episodes. In typical Sunny fashion, though, they’ve also poked fun at the situation a few times, be it through funny video clips, and even in an episode of the show itself, aptly titled “The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award.”
Just recently, Glenn Howerton, who plays Dennis in the show, won the Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Movie Award for his role in Blackberry and is being pointed out as a possible strong contender for the Oscars. Kaitlin Olson, who plays his twin sister on screen, has also gotten major award nominations for her comedic performances in Hacks and Flipped. And let’s not even mention Danny DeVito, one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors who has both a Golden Globe and an Emmy to his name, but nothing to show for his role as Frank Reynolds on Always Sunny. To be fair, though, this show’s cast isn’t the only one being overlooked by this year’s Emmy Awards.
McElhenney’s Welcome to Wrexham being nominated in not one but six categories at once, in comparison to the show he created 18 years ago, must feel bittersweet. Could this be a turning point for the Always Sunny cast, though? Or will the Wrexham docu-series go down as a simple reminder of what will always be out of the sitcom’s reach?
Catch the 75th Emmy Awards ceremony on Sept. 18.