'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia' Gets Four More Seasons From FX
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia was recently renewed for season 15 at FX (or FXX), but the cable comedy series is actually sticking around for a lot longer than that. The series created by star Rob McElhenney has officially been renewed for four more seasons, which will be enough to not only break the record as the longest-running live-action comedy series in American television history, but completely shatter it.
Previously, McElhenney said negotiations were underway for season 15 and season 16, but apparently FX couldn't help but order season 17 and season 18 along with 'em. The 15th season is what will officially make the series a longer-running live-action comedy than the previous record holder, The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet.
However, it should be noted that the classic ABC series ran for a total of 435 episodes across 14 seasons, with each season having anywhere between 25 and 39 episodes, so It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has a lot of catching up to do on that front. Even if each of the new four seasons has the standard 10-episode run the series has stuck to since the eighth season, that won't even bring their total to half of that count. Thankfully, Rob McElhenney has plans for much more. He wrote on Twitter yesterday:
Sunny was originally pitched as a 36 season arc. So happy to be halfway done. https://t.co/xT7US6RPnP
— Rob McElhenney (@RMcElhenney) December 10, 2020
Obviously he's joking about having an initial pitch for a show that long, but if there's any series that has the perfect formula to make a run for that long, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is certainly it. Co-star Glenn Howerton agrees completely, whether you like it or not. He wrote on Twitter:
We will pummel you all into submission with this show. We will ram it down your dirty throats! https://t.co/1nf95pNgGR
— Glenn Howerton (@GlennHowerton) December 11, 2020
Earlier this year, McElhenney addressed whether or not the next season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia would address the coronavirus pandemic, but he reminded everyone that they actually already did a pandemic episode of sorts:
"Well, we actually do have an episode called 'The Gang Gets Quarantined' [in season 9] where we quarantine ourselves in the bar. I think there's a big flu going around Philadelphia or something like that. When we come back, don't worry, we will address all this in the way only Sunny can!"
Considering how despicable the characters of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia are in every single episode, we can only imagine how they'd react to a situation like the coronavirus pandemic. We're not sure when the new season will arrive on FX (or FXX), but we'll be ready for their increasingly questionable antics whenever they actually make their return.