By TeeJay Small
| Published
The cast and crew behind It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia just finished filming their 18th season last week, and though we don’t have a release date yet, rumors are circulating that this will be the final season of the show. After more than 20 years of record-shattering programing, it’s crazy to look back on the legacy of Always Sunny and recall how the series began.
In fact, super-fans will note that the series narrowly avoided being cancelled after its very first season, all the way back in 2006. According to stories from the cast and creators, the sole reason that Always Sunny managed to continue past the first season was the inclusion of Danny DeVito.
DeVito Saved The Series From Certain Doom
As the story goes, co-creators Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, and Charlie Day lucked into getting the first season of Always Sunny greenlit after submitting a ramshackle pilot on a DVD. Since the series cost very little to produce, FX took a risk on the budding actors, and let them run wild with their trademark blend of bizarre, off-the-wall humor. Though the first season of Always Sunny offers a lot of laughs, the show didn’t pull in major ratings upon release, leaving hopes for a second season in limbo. Basically, the studio execs gave McElhenney and crew an ultimatum: bring in a ringer with some star power, or pack up the bar and turn down the lights.
During a 2013 profile in The Hollywood Reporter, Rob McElhenney described the process of bringing Danny DeVito on board during the second season. He stated “We knew that no one was watching the show, and the network said that we needed to bring in someone with cachet to draw attention. They didn’t really have the marketing budget at the time to blanket the airwaves … We bounced a few names around, but Danny just made a lot of sense. When I went to his house to talk about it, his kids ended up being huge fans of the show and he was good friends with [Chairman of FX Networks] John Landgraf.”
DeVito Knew The Assignment
In case you’re too young to have a full scope on DeVito’s resume, the veteran actor was already a huge name in television and film when It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia premiered. DeVito previously took home an Academy Award for his work on the hit TV series Taxi, and earned an Oscar nod for his appearance in 2001’s Erin Brockovich. He also had a filmography spanning over 100 credits as an actor, with a number of directorial efforts under his belt as well. While Danny DeVito might be a no-brainer for the oddball comedy in hindsight, his joining the cast was supremely unexpected at the time.
Luckily, Danny DeVito wasn’t keen on big-timing his costars with the air of Hollywood superiority you might expect from a big-name actor. Instead, he leaned heavily on Rob, Glenn, and Charlie to give him material that would resonate with a younger audience. When asked about his favorite aspect of filming the show, DeVito routinely references the most absurd scenes the writers can put him in. His favorite moments include being painted black to blend in with a shadowy wall, falling out a window into a dumpster, and climbing out of a leather couch butt-naked and drenched in sweat. Suffice is to say, DeVito and the rest of the Always Sunny gang turned out to be a match made in heaven.
A Show-Saving Addition
Adding the character of Frank Reynolds wasn’t just good for the production, either. It also added a brand new element to the actual narrative that felt natural and cohesive to the already existing stories. Frank never feels like a guest star or a distraction from the action. Instead, he’s so natural alongside the rest of the cast that the first season feels absent without him. In the decades since Frank shacked up with the crew, he’s become an integral part of what makes Paddy’s Pub function. Plus, his on-screen chemistry with Charlie Day has blossomed into one of the most hilarious and dysfunctional bromances in television history.
Whether Always Sunny closes down for good with season 18, or they continue for another 20 years, it’s worth examining how their humble origins helped to craft the show that we know and love today. In many ways, the series may have existed past Season 1 without the assistance and open-mindedness of Danny DeVito.
