Premise Edit

Cast and characters Edit

Episodes Edit

Production Edit

Exterior shots of Paddy's Pub are shot at the Starkman Building on 544 Mateo Street in Los Angeles. The show began as a short film idea written by Rob McElhenney and Glenn Howerton about a man telling his friend he might have cancer, while the friend is only intent on trying to borrow a cup of sugar for the "shitload of coffee" he has made. This was then developed into a pilot called It's Always Sunny on TV and was shot on a digital camcorder by Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, and Rob McElhenney. It was believed the pilot was shot with a budget of just $200, but Day would later comment, "We shot it for nothing...I don't know where this $200 came from...We were a bunch of kids with cameras running around shooting each other and [the] next thing you know, we're eleven years in and we're still doing the show."[5] This pilot was shopped by the actors around various studios, their pitch being simply showing the DVD of the pilot to executives. After viewing the pilot, FX Network ordered the first season. Although it is often stated publicly that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia was one of the first shows to be shot in 24p standard-definition video, using Panasonic's DVX100 MiniDV prosumer video camera, from the sixth season forward, the show was shot in 24p using high-definition video cameras. Danny DeVito joined the cast in the first episode of the second season, playing the father of Dennis (played by Glenn Howerton) and Dee (played by Kaitlin Olson). Much of the filming locations for the show take place in Los Angeles. The exterior of Paddy's Pub is located at the Starkman Building on 544 Mateo Street in Los Angeles. In March 2017, after the conclusion of the twelfth season, Glenn Howerton revealed he might not return to the series, due to working on other projects.[6] In June 2018, when FX announced the premiere date for season 13, it was confirmed that Howerton would return to the series.[7]

Broadcast and syndication Edit

The first season ran for seven episodes with the finale airing September 13, 2005. According to McElhenney,[8] word of mouth on the show was good enough for FX to renew it for a second season, which ran from June 29 to August 17, 2006. Reruns of edited first-season episodes began airing on FX's parent network, Fox, in June 2006, for a planned three-episode run—"The Gang Finds a Dead Guy," [9] "Gun Fever" (which was renamed "Gun Control")[10] and "Charlie Gets Molested"[11] were shown. The show was not aired on broadcast television again until 2011, when FX began offering it for syndication. The third season ran from September 13 to November 15, 2007. On March 5, 2008, FX renewed It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia for a fourth season.[12] On July 15, 2008, it was reported that FX had ordered 39 additional episodes of the series, consisting of the fifth and sixth seasons. All five main cast members were secured for the entire scheduled run.[13] The fifth season ran from September 17 to December 10, 2009.[14] On May 31, 2010, Comedy Central began airing reruns.[15] WGN America also began broadcasting the show as part of its fall 2011 schedule.[16] The sixth season ran from September 16 to December 9, 2010, comprising 12 episodes, plus the Christmas special. The seventh season ran from September 15 to December 15, 2011, comprising 13 episodes. On August 6, 2011, FX announced it had picked up the show for an additional two seasons (the eighth and ninth) running through 2013.[17] On March 28, 2013, FX renewed the show for a tenth season, and announced that it would move to FX's new sister network, FXX.[18] In April 2017, Kaitlin Olson announced that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia would go on an extended hiatus. In an interview with TV Guide, she said, "We ended up pushing our next season a year because we were all busy with separate projects this year. So at the end of this coming shooting season of The Mick I'll step right into Sunny after that."[19] On October 2, 2017, the show premiered on Viceland.[20]

Music Edit

"Temptation Sensation" Performed by Heinz Kiessling (30 seconds) Problems playing this file? See media help. The theme song is a piece of production music called "Temptation Sensation" by German composer Heinz Kiessling. Kiessling's work ("On Your Bike" and "Blue Blood") can also be heard during various scene transitions throughout the show, along with other composers and pieces such as Werner Tautz ("Off Broadway"), Joe Brook ("Moonbeam Kiss") and Karl Grell ("Honey Bunch"). Many of the tracks heard in the series are from Cafe Romantique, an album of easy listening production music collected by Extreme Music, the production music library unit of Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Independent record label Fervor Records has also contributed music to the show. Songs from The Jack Gray Orchestra's album Easy Listening Symph-O-Nette ("Take A Letter Miss Jones," "Golly Gee Whiz," and "Not a Care in the World") and the John Costello III release Giants of Jazz ("Birdcage," "Cotton Club" and "Quintessential") are heard in several episodes. The soundtrack, featuring most of the music heard on the show, was released in 2010.[21] Soundtrack track listing Edit It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Music from the Original TV Series) No. Title Music Artist Length 1. "Temptation Sensation (Main Title Theme)" Heinz Kiessling The Heinz Kiessling Orchestra 2:53 2. "Derby Day" Werner Tautz The Heinz Kiessling Orchestra 2:39 3. "Blue Blood" Heinz Kiessling The Heinz Kiessling Orchestra 2:54 4. "On Your Bike" Heinz Kiessling The Heinz Kiessling Orchestra 2:15 5. "Take the Plunge" Heinz Kiessling The Heinz Kiessling Orchestra 3:10 6. "Hotsy-Totsy" Heinz Kiessling The Heinz Kiessling Orchestra 2:18 7. "Off Broadway" Werner Tautz The Heinz Kiessling Orchestra 2:31 8. "Coconut Shy" Heinz Kiessling The Diamontinos 2:25 9. "Honey Bunch" Karl Grell The Ralph Manning Orchestra 2:44 10. "Glitterati Party" Werner Tautz The Heinz Kiessling Orchestra 2:51 11. "Singles Soiree" Richard Faecks The Rüdiger Piesker Orchestra 2:09 12. "Pink Deville" Paul Rothman The Ole Olafsen Band 2:34 13. "Captain's Table" Heinz Kiessling The Heinz Kiessling Orchestra 2:44 14. "Starlet Express" Werner Tautz The Heinz Kiessling Orchestra 2:31 15. "Final Fling" Heinz Kiessling The Heinz Kiessling Orchestra 2:29 16. "Sweetheart Serenade" Werner Tautz The Heinz Kiessling Orchestra 2:54 17. "Tea at Tiffani's" Werner Tautz The Heinz Kiessling Orchestra 2:28 18. "Moonbeam Kiss" Joe Brook The Rüdiger Piesker Orchestra 2:21 19. "Grand Central" Werner Tautz The Heinz Kiessling Orchestra 3:15 Total length: 50:05

Reception Edit

Other media Edit