The Time It's Always Sunny's Rob McElhenney Was Pranked By The Game Of Thrones Showrunners

These days, Rob McElhenney seems to spend a large chunk of his time running a Welsh football club and hanging out with Ryan Reynolds. But he's also somehow found time to keep the show he co-created, "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia," running into what is now its 16th season.

The show already broke a record with its 15th season, becoming the longest-running live-action comedy series in American TV history, overtaking "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" to claim the top spot. For a show about a gang of degenerate yet lovable sociopaths, that's quite an achievement, especially considering it almost went off the air after its first season, before McElhenny and his cast agreed to add some special sauce in the form of Danny DeVito. It's also impressive considering "It's Always Sunny" managed to beat out other shows and claim the record for the wordiest show on television, reportedly delivering an average of 176.2 words per minute — a fact that should make it one of the hardest series to follow. But with 16 seasons now under its belt, the rapid fire jokes are showing no signs of slowing down.

In other words, Rob McElhenney has come a long way from making short films in his Los Angeles apartment with other struggling actors. Now, he's free to use his spare time overseeing Wrexham Football Club, along with his buddy Reynolds, while continuing to tell unhinged stories about the gang's insane and often downright cruel behavior on "It's Always Sunny." But sometimes, McElhenney is on the receiving end of the joke, as was the case with, of all people, the "Game of Thrones" showrunners. Weren't expecting that, were you?

What does HBO's hit "Game of Thrones" have to do with "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" anyway? Well, not a lot on the surface. But there is an unlikely link between the medieval fantasy epic and FX's cult comedy hit. George R.R. Martin might not be a huge fan of former "Game of Thrones" showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, since he thought they diverged too much from his original blueprint with the HBO show. But as we all know, based on his bromance with Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney loves to make friends, and he's apparently quite close with Benioff and Weiss.

In fact, the two actually wrote an episode of "It's Always Sunny," contributing to the season 9 installment "Flowers For Charlie," as well as showing up as "Bored Lifeguard #1 and #2" in the season 12 episode "The Gang Goes to a Water Park." What's more, McElhenney was one of the many small cameos in the season 8 premiere of "Game of Thrones."

So the two shows share a small but fairly strong connection via McElhenney, Weiss, and Benioff's friendship, and in much the same way as "It's Always Sunny" tells cruel stories without becoming cruel itself, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss apparently have a penchant for pulling pranks on their friends that verge on cruelty.

Author James Hibberd compiled an exhaustive oral history of "Game of Thrones" with his book "Fire Cannot Kill A Dragon: Game of Thrones and the Official Untold Story of the Epic Series." The impressive volume is full of behind-the-scenes stories that would surprise many "GOT" fans, but one in particular illustrates David Benioff and D.B. Weiss' proclivity for pulling pranks that verge on being just plain mean.

As The AV Club reports, the story involves Rob McElhenney, who recommended director Matt Shakman to the "GOT" showrunners. Rather than just say "thanks for the recommendation," Weiss and Benioff, "thought it would be funny if [they] told Rob that it was not working out with Matt and that he was a total disaster." The resulting email thread was apparently substantial, as the showrunners proceeded to draw the "joke" out by telling their buddy that they'd have to "step in and take over the episode because it's turned into such a mess."

Hibberd spoke to Shakman about the whole thing, commenting, "That was the darkest practical joke. Rob was legitimately tortured about it. He was so concerned for me and was like, 'What can I do? Who can I talk to?' It went on for way too long." Sounds like something that the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" gang might have orchestrated.