A sitcom that began life on a meager budget with a cast full of relative unknowns has now evolved into a record-breaking television series, which is all the more impressive when you consider that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is essentially about terrible people doing terrible things.
Obviously, that’s painting things in very broad strokes when we’re talking about a razor-sharp and expertly-written show that’s happy to court controversy as it skewers, subverts and upends tropes, trends and just generally the world we live in.
25 months after the Season 14 finale, the Paddy’s Pub gang finally returned to our screens last night as It’s Always Sunny kicked off its fifteenth run, making it the longest-running live-action episodic comedy in American TV history, and the group’s latest misadventures were trending in no time at all.
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet had held the record since 1966, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has already been renewed through to the end of Season 18 to extend its lead. The two-part offering of “2020: A Year In Review” and “The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7” proved that the central quintet are back and arguably better than ever, with fans hooked all over again from the very first second.