It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia's Creators Wrote An Ending For The Show Years Ago

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is the longest-running sitcom on television, but it wasn't always a guarantee that the raunchy comedy would stay on the air so long. In fact, the series creators prepared for the show to get canceled long before now. "It's Always Sunny" has run on FX since 2005 and the end is still nowhere in sight — the series was renewed through season 18 back in 2020, which leaves at least two more seasons to go. But that doesn't mean that the show's creators thought the fun would last forever. They even thought of an idea for a series finale way back in season 9 that could still be the way the show ends in the future.

For those who don't know, the series was co-created by Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, and Charlie Day, all of whom also star in the series and take an active role in writing and directing. The environment is heavily collaborative, but they don't see eye to eye on everything, especially when it comes to major shifts in the show. However, when the network threatened to pull the plug, they found it surprisingly easy to agree on an ending.

"There was a time when season nine might have been the last season — and, interestingly enough, as important a decision as this is, the three of us came to an idea of how to end the show that we all really liked a lot and are leaning toward," Howerton revealed to The Hollywood Reporter. "That's not to say it will be the one we end up with."

McElhenney elaborated that they came to the decision "very quickly, which was shocking to us because we can never agree on anything that big."

Even though the "It's Always Sunny" creators have an idea of how the series will end, there's no telling if season 18 will be the last one. One thing is certain — the series creators and their fellow main cast members, Kaitlin Olson and Danny DeVito, have a lot of fun working together.

"It's the perfect job," Olson added. "We have amazing writers, and I still get to add to the creativity of my character." Olson met and married McElhenney while working on the show, and the couple have since had two children. "I'm just enjoying it while it lasts," she says, "While we're shooting, it's strenuous 12- to 14-hour days, but give me a break, it's 2 and a half months of the year. Anyone can handle that."

Network television has taken some hits in the shift to streaming, and it's harder and harder for shows to stay on the air longer than a few seasons. But these comedians won't let FX's budget cuts get in the way of making the series. "As long as it's still fun and still funny to us, we'll keep doing it," McElhenney went on. "Even if the network doesn't want to." The showrunner seems to suggest that they would shop the show around at other networks or streamers, or perhaps even fund it independently. However, Day isn't so sure. "I think we'll stop when FX runs out of money," he interjected.

In a world where FX never runs out of money, is there another reason why "It's Always Sunny" would end? Almost two decades in and their well of material hasn't dried up yet, but the series creators don't want the show to overstay its welcome on air. "For us, we just have a short checklist: Do we still enjoy it, are we still having fun, are we still stretching ourselves creatively, and is the audience still there?" McElhenney explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "It seems like all those boxes keep getting checked, so we keep coming back."

Although they want to make a good impression on fans year after year, the "It's Always Sunny" creators are more concerned with appealing to their own personal standards. "It's whether we can put out a good season of television," Day went on. "So it's always making sure everyone has the time and desire to put in the hard work we put in to make the show what we think it is."

A lot of the comedy in "It's Always Sunny" comes from pushing comedic boundaries. If the show is no longer pushing the envelope, then it's no longer achieving its goal. However, Howerton and his fellow collaborators trust their own judgment about when the series should end. "We spend a lot of time trying to find new lines to cross," he told Rolling Stone. "We're not trying to offend people or gross them out, but we're looking to surprise them. I think we're proud of what we've done so far, so it's time to stop. I'm sure there are already a few people who are like 'Jesus Christ is that show still on? Go away.'"

Even though fans are dying to know how they're planning to end the show, we might have to wait til we get tired of it before we find out.