Latest news with #Paddy'sPub
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
It's good to be in the wildly funny company of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia again
[Editor's note: The A.V. Club will return to recap this season's fourth episode on July 23.] Thank God, the Paddy's Pub gang is back. It's not just that It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia has been on for two decades and starting its 17th season (three more than the previous record holder for live-action sitcoms, the polar opposite The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet), it's that it's still extremely funny. Sure, there have been stretches over the last few years in which the writing has shown its age, but that's certainly not the case with the two-episode premiere, 'The Gang F***s Up Abbott Elementary' & 'Frank is in a Coma.' It's smart to waste no time completing the crossover that began with Abbott Elementary's January episode, and even smarter to quickly get back to what fans love about Sunny's consistently hysterical character beats. Well-paced, unpredictable, and, most importantly, still comical, it's nice to be in Sunny days again. The season premiere offers the Sunny mirror image of Abbott's 'Volunteers,' using a story about unseen footage from the gang's court-mandated community service at the Philly elementary school to detail exactly what went wrong that day. The initial impression that this might be more of an AE episode vibe than a Sunny one gets annihilated when Quinta Brunson's Janine calls Dee a 'total f**king c*nt.' Take that, prudes at ABC. One of the great joys of this half-hour is getting to see AE performers like Brunson, Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, and Lisa Ann Walter play in a darker vein of humor, all of them seemingly invigorated by taking off a few off the guard rails that are understandably in place on broadcast TV. Of course, episode writers Charlie Day, Rob McElhenney, and Keyonna Taylor know we're here for the Paddy's Pub gang, all of whom try to get as much as possible out of their time at Abbott. Is Charlie just there to learn how to read? Of course not. As Dee leans into her jealous side and tries to take down Janine, Charlie & Mac work on recruiting kids in a 'reverse Blind Side' to their local school. It's all ridiculously in tune with Charlie, Mac, Dee, Dennis, and Frank, people who are constantly looking for a way to maximize the profit on their time and failing miserably, even while volunteering at an inner-city school. Much has been written about the bone-deep selfishness of this quintet, but it's almost refreshing to see how transparent they are about it in an era of two-faced grifters. They were almost ahead of their time in their desire to outwardly use every interaction as a road to improve their situations, and the humor of the show often comes from how they fall on their face every time that they attempt anything outside of their comfortable ruts. In the case of the premiere, it culminates with Dennis spearheading a new version of Billy Joel's 'We Didn't Start the Fire,' using Abbott teachers to sing about extremely un-timely topics like Guantanamo and Kaepernick—it's amazing how the gang's idea of current events is always a few years behind reality, even if they do get in a nice Ozempic dig. When Dennis learns that Fall Out Boy did their update to the Storm Front banger, the latest plan collapses, sending them back to a grift that Frank suggested from the very beginning: Ripping out the copper wiring. 'The Gang F**ks Up Abbott Elementary' is a reminder that anyone who thinks that the writing on It's Always Sunny is about misanthropes behaving badly isn't paying enough attention. Yes, this is a show about grifters, but it's also about people too dumb to do too much damage with their cons to anyone but themselves. Even the conclusion of the episode works in everyone's favor, as the school was going to have to replace the copper anyway. The follow-up is even better. After Frank goes into a coma while watching Netflix's Is It Cake?, Dee is forced to stay by his bedside in case his heartbeat falls below 50 BPM. As she goes through the cycles of grief, the guys find their way to a Liberty Ball to raise capital to turn Paddy's Pub into 'Starbucks for dive bars,' but end up mistaken for the help before finding their way to a crack house. In the end, Frank wasn't actually in a coma. He turned into a sweet treat himself to prove 'the magic of cake technology.' Amazing. This installment works from a classic Sunny template in which the gang cuts Dee out of a possible endeavor only to f*ck it up themselves. It also works from the comic vein in which the gang blames someone else for their failures, usually Frank, who gets trashed this episode for not elevating them like they intended when they allowed him into their idiot club so many years ago. As their failed benefactor lies in a supposed coma, Charlie, Mac, and Dennis take the Liberty Ball invitation that Dee found in the trash and try to find an investor. At first, they just end up working for the business fat cats around them as waiters, and then as bathroom attendants. The guys regularly talk about breaking out of their patterns but then dive right back into them, more comfortable getting a VIP a fresh bottle of wine than actually being one of them. A window to a brighter future opens in the form of a high-strung power player named Simon (a brilliant Alex Wolff, channeling the kind of spoiled bro-idiot he's certainly met at some Hollywood parties). He wins them over by saying, 'I really hope your father dies,' and giving them some of his cocaine. Before you know it, they're snorting meth at another party before landing in a final location that Cricket probably knows well—the kind of place with mattresses on the floor and where 'Narcan' is the password. After all, 'Frank knew that galas were gateways to crack houses.' Stray Observations •Tyler James Williams, who plays Gregory on Abbott, was 12 when Sunny premiered in 2005. •There's a wonderful example in the premiere of the thought processes of the Paddy's crew and how it devolves in a matter of minutes in the scene in which they start at least somewhat logically upset that the kids don't know about 9/11 and race down their mental holes of idiotic hoaxes to 'There was never even towers.' As someone says, 'Those people were passionate but dumb as shit.' Put that on a Sunny t-shirt. •There are so many wonderful little throwaway jokes in the premiere, but two of my favorites are Frank wasting no time urinating in an elementary school locker and the gang asking, 'Where's the volunteer's lounge?' when they get kicked out of the teachers' one. •Another great throwaway line in the second episode comes from Howerton, who responds to Frank's nurse talking about the denial stage of grief with a mumbled, 'I deny what you're saying, by the way.' •The bit about Ava always having cash on her to 'make things go away' in front of the Abbott cameras is even better when you think about what she hasn't paid to scrub over the first four seasons of that very funny show. •Call me an old man, but Fall Out Boy's 'Fire' update is legitimately horrible. I think I like the Sunny version better. Don't believe me, check it out. You've been warned. More from A.V. Club Staff Picks: A rug pull of a film and some deceptively breezy reads Nacho Vigalondo retreats to an unimaginative dream world for Daniela Forever Evan Rachel Wood says she wasn't asked back for Practical Magic 2 Solve the daily Crossword
Cosmopolitan
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
How Did the ‘Abbott Elementary' and ‘It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' Crossover End?
When something is nice, why not do it twice? That's precisely what FXX delivered this week with the second (and final) installment of the Abbott Elementary and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia crossover saga. During the Season 17 premiere of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, viewers were once again treated to the addition of ABC's beloved Abbott characters. So how did these two very different worlds end up colliding for a second time? The answer may surprise you. Here's everything you need to know about the Abbott Elementary and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia crossover: Part 2. The Paddy's Pub gang found themselves on the Abbott teachers' terrain back in January during an episode of Abbott Elementary, but it turns out that there was a lot more going on behind the scenes than anyone—even the Abbott characters—realized. Instead of having these two groups reunite for a second time under different circumstances, the crossover essentially reintroduced the same episode fans saw on Abbott, but with never-before-seen extra footage of what Charlie, Dee, Frank, Dennis, and Mac got up to during their time in Abbott's hallowed halls. Throughout the episode, Ava guides viewers through various portions of what the camera crew were able to capture of their guests' deviant behavior. It wasn't that difficult given how often they all forgot they were being recorded and mic'ed. (Bless their stealthless hearts.) Some of their antics ranged from Dennis creating his own fully functional coffee shop made entirely out of the school's science equipment to Frank peeing in a kid's locker, and all of them cutting the kids in the lunch line. They also auditioned kids for a boy band and tried recruiting some of the taller students for a different school's basketball team. But don't worry, Charlie assured them that they weren't creating a controversial Blind Side/white savior situation since it's a predominantly white school they were helping. And with sound logic like that, how can you argue? Overall, most of the footage showcased pretty classic Always Sunny behavior, complete with an hours-long impassioned discussion about the importance of 9/11 and how kids today only think of it as a meme, which quickly spiraled into a whirlwind of conspiracy theories. (Did you know the government controls the weather?) They even recruited some Abbott teachers to perform an updated version of Billy Joel's 'We Didn't Start the Fire' as a way to educate the students about 9/11—that is, until they found out Fall Out Boy did basically the same thing already, only better. All in all, it's what we've come to love and expect from this band of miscreants. What wasn't expected—and what was undoubtedly the most shocking thing to come out of the episode—was seeing several Abbott characters do the unthinkable: use swear words. (Gasp!) F words, S words, even C words were thrown around by these usually very G-rated teachers. It was so strange and something I'm never going to be able to unhear. Methinks we aren't on broadcast television anymore, Toto. Welcome to the wonderful world of FXX, Abbott! In the end, the gang did actually invite the Abbott teachers to Paddy's Pub, which felt like a rite of passage at this point. They even presented their new teacher friends with a gift: a brand new espresso machine, given how appalling the coffee was in the teacher's lounge. However, their kind gesture did come with an ulterior motive. While they entertained the teachers at the pub, Frank was busy stealing 100 feet of copper piping over at the school—something he knew right away could be a gold mine for them. But Ava wasn't sweating it since the state was going to make them remove those pipes anyway, so Frank actually ended up saving them some money. I guess crime really does pay—and if that isn't a fitting life lesson to come out of this show, then what is?
Los Angeles Times
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Scheming roomies Danny DeVito and Charlie Day on 20 years of ‘It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'
When Danny DeVito arrives — camera off — on our video call with Charlie Day late last month to discuss the 17th season of 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia,' he apologizes for sounding like he has 'just come out of the salt mines.' His voice is hoarse, and Day is worried he's sick. 'I did a lot of yelling this week,' DeVito explains. You would think he would be practiced at that. For 20 years now, DeVito has been exercising his vocal cords as the mischievous, disgusting Frank Reynolds, layabout father of Dee (Kaitlin Olson) and Dennis (Glenn Howerton), colleague of Mac (Rob McElhenney or Rob Mac, as he announced recently), and roommate of Day's Charlie. In the upcoming season premiering Wednesday on FXX and streaming next day on Hulu, the gang that runs Paddy's Pub gets into more absurd scrapes. They visit 'Abbott Elementary' in the second of two planned crossover episodes with that ABC sitcom; they head to a dog track; Charlie opens up a ghost kitchen in his apartment to make Frank a smashburger; and, as is teased in the trailer, Frank goes on 'The Golden Bachelor.' During our interview, Day and DeVito offer up a dose of the chemistry that has long made Frank and Charlie a madcap pair as they discuss their history with each other, their brushes with Bachelor Nation and, naturally, turds. DeVito remains off camera most of the time, but he pops on occasionally for dramatic effect. Danny, what do you remember about that first meeting you had with the three guys? Danny DeVito: I knew lots about the show already. I was going in because I was friends with [then-president and now current FX Networks chairman John] Landgraf. Landgraf sent me the first eight shows, and I watched it with my family. He was saying he was talking about these really talented guys that he was working with, and John was building the network over there. I can't remember exactly where we met. But where we met was a weird — that was the first thing that threw me a little bit. Do you remember where it was? Charlie Day: We had a lunch — you, me, Rob and Glenn — [on] Beverly Boulevard. We didn't have an office. We were writing the second season. You'd agreed to the show, and you came in like your character from 'Get Shorty.' You started ordering for all of us, and you told us some crazy story about your father having a box full of teeth and watches, and we were just taking notes, man. I think we pitched you a couple different character names. I think you shot down a few of them, but you liked Frank. Frank was my step-grandfather's name. DeVito: I had an Uncle Frank. Day: You came in like a tornado. It was great. DeVito: Well, I usually do that. Way before 'Get Shorty,' I would just come in and everybody would be looking at their menus, and I would just look at the menu right away and just say a half a dozen things and everybody would look at me like, 'You're ordering everything on the menu!' Day: Danny, know that I went and spent maybe almost a whole week rewatching almost everything you'd ever done before we met with you. I watched every episode of 'Taxi.' I watched almost every single movie I could find. Just studying a fighter you're going up against. And it was 'Get Shorty' that really kind of locked in for me. A lot of people would have you do that Louie De Palma thing over and over again, and you're so great at that. But there was something so idiosyncratic about the 'Get Shorty' character and unpredictable that we're like, 'Oh, if we can tap into that ...' I think it took us a couple seasons to do it, and then it felt like kismet that you sort of came into that meeting like that guy. How do you feel like the dynamic between Frank and Charlie has shifted over the years? Or even if it hasn't, what do you discover coming back season after season? DeVito: I think Charlie offers a lot of avenues for Frank to follow for some reason. I like the idea of the scheming and everything that everybody else does, and they do it in a normal way. They want to make money, they want to get ahead, they want to be famous, they want the bar to succeed, they want this, that. But whenever Charlie does something, it titillates Frank. They know when I am really happy with the material. When I see I'm going to eat a turd, I go like, 'Wow, man. We're pushing the envelope.' Day: I'm always loving writing and working on the scenes in our apartment and then getting to the set and filming those. I'm always excited for it. There's something about filming in that intimate space that feels like there's a magic there. Same with the little back office in the bar. Any time we're there, there's something funny to these cramped spaces. DeVito: We're playing sardines all the time. This season opens with the 'Abbott' crossover and ends with Frank on 'The Golden Bachelor.' How did that come about? Day: Well, the funny thing about this show is, there's so many different ways that we do it. I think there's a push-pull where I really was wanting to do the EMT episode and the dog track one. And Rob has these really big ideas, like buying a soccer team. He wanted to do this 'Abbott' crossover, and he wanted to do this 'Golden Bachelor' episode. To be perfectly frank, I didn't really want to do both. I think you can do one or the other. The 'Golden Bachelor' thing I thought was funny, but I was like, maybe we could just do the 'Sunny' characters' version of it. But to his credit, those are the things that people latch onto and are talking about. I tend to like when we're not doing the pop culture references as much, but then we have a big back and forth and we argue. And then when we land on it, the second we agree to do it, then I'm always all in, as is Rob. So then we're both writing together and saying, well, what's the best version of how to do this? Danny, what was it like filming Frank's 'Golden Bachelor' moment? DeVito: I had no idea what they had in mind at first because I must admit, I'm not a 'Golden Bachelor' watcher. Once I got there and figured out what they had up their sleeve, I just went with it big time. Being Frank is really wonderful, I must say. It gives you the opportunity to do a lot of things that you wouldn't. And they push the envelope and come up with all these crazy things, and I go along with it, and from the time my feet hit the ground, when I get there, I'm smiling. Day: Rob and Glenn and I spend weeks and months really digging in and arguing and pushing each other out of our comfort zones in all sorts of directions. And then towards the end, we're all invested in the same thing. And what really makes it work is that Danny comes in and gives it a hundred percent. Really, if Danny wasn't so supportive, it would be really challenging. But pretty much everything we bring to you, Danny, you say, 'OK, I'm going to make this work.' 'Golden Bachelor' was a perfect example. We had a lot of arguments about how to do that, whether to do it. And then once we committed to it and tried to write what we thought was the best version of it we could, Dan, you come in and just sell it in a way that it needs to be sold. I don't want to spoil anything, but there's also a very sweet 'Taxi' reunion in there. DeVito: That was big for all of us. We were blessed to have that in our show. Danny, you said you love being Frank. Why do you love it? DeVito: I felt operatic as the Penguin [in 'Batman Returns']. There's a freedom to that. Even in 'Taxi,' there was a freedom. I am not like that. I don't boss people around. I mean, I do a little bit, but I don't do over the top stuff. Frank gives me just the wonderful opportunity to be naughty. I can go where other characters can't go. And it's kind of like we're bringing people along with Frank. Maybe it's something that you would say, 'Oh god, I would never do that.' But it's so much fun to imagine the taste of that turd in that soup. Charlie, Lynne Marie Stewart, who plays your mother, died before the release of this season. How did you think to honor her? Day: It was pretty tragic and unexpected. She was on the show, and then about a month later we got an email that she was close to the end, and then I think a day later we got an email that she had passed. Mary Elizabeth [Ellis, who plays the Waitress and is married to Day,] and I got to go to her memorial service, and it was luau-themed. It was packed, and there was so much love for her. She always elevated the material that we wrote for her, and she was just as lovely a person as a performer, and I'm going to miss her a lot. We were still in the editing room when she passed away, and so we felt as though it was right to build a little tribute to her because she's been there since Season 1 and we've worked together for over 20 years. Other than it just being a tragedy, I don't know how we'll deal with it next season. DeVito: She was always a favorite of Frank's. Day: And we would always have great stuff for the two of you guys. DeVito: And maybe one day Charlie and I will sit down and have the talk. For how long do you want to keep coming back to these characters? DeVito: Well, why does time exist? Day: Look, we have a contract with FX up to 18 seasons, and all of us feel as though we can do that. So that's at least one more. Beyond that, I'm not sure they'll ask for more seasons, so next year could be it. DeVito: Yeah, they might have some kind of mental defective thing happen to them between next year and not ask for another bunch. That's always the case. Then also, maybe, they might want to pay us more. Day: Who knows? But this far in the run, I think Rob and Glenn and I, at least in terms of having to sit and write them, really sort of just say each year: Do we have it in us? Do we think we can do a good job? That has to do more with the people that we're working with. If we can get the band together and have all the musicians that we want, then we'll try to make some music, to use a bad sort of analogy. DeVito: It's a lot of fun. And we have good times. You guys always deliver. Everybody comes with their game, and you can't ask for anything more. I just feel like I don't want to let these guys go. I want to be with them all the time. I nag everybody. I call Charlie all the time, even if it's to call up and say, how's Mary Elizabeth and Russell? I just feel like I need that connection. I miss these guys. I miss Kaitlin and Rob and Glenn. Every time I see Glenn [I] go, 'Is that Glenn?' He does radical things. He, like, shaves his hair. Speaking of shaving, Charlie, you shaved your beard off for a gag this season. What was that like? Day: It was horrible, just to see how old the man is under the beard. Once you take off the eyebrows, that's when it really starts to look freaky. We had that idea, and we knew we had to shoot it last because if I was going to shave, that had to be the last thing we were going to shoot. Right after we wrapped, I went on a little vacation with my wife and son, and I rarely got recognized, which is funny. Every now and then, people who were fans of the movie 'Pacific Rim,' because I didn't have a beard in those movies — they'd be like, 'Hey, man, where have you been? Why you not been working?' The funny thing was I couldn't unlock my cell phone with that look because I looked so different.
Business Upturn
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Upturn
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 17: What's in store for Paddy's Pub
The Paddy's Pub crew is back, and they're bringing their unhinged brand of chaos to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 17, premiering July 9, 2025, on FXX. As the longest-running live-action comedy on American TV, this show has kept us laughing (and cringing) for two decades with its sharp wit and morally dubious antics. So, what's coming in this new batch of episodes? From a wild crossover to Frank's reality TV stint, here's the lowdown on what to expect, where to watch, and why fans are already buzzing. When and Where to Catch Season 17 Mark your calendars for Wednesday, July 9, 2025, when It's Always Sunny Season 17 kicks off with a double-episode premiere at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on FXX. New episodes will drop weekly, wrapping up around August 23, 2025, for a tight eight-episode run. Can't catch it live? No worries—episodes hit Hulu the next day for streaming. For international fans, Disney+ will have the season available after its U.S. airing. If you're tuning in live, FXX is available through cable or streaming platforms like Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, Fubo, or YouTube TV. Wherever you are, the Gang's latest schemes are just a click away. Cast: The Gang Returns The heart of It's Always Sunny is its core cast, and they're all returning to stir up trouble at Paddy's Pub: Rob McElhenney as Mac, the self-proclaimed 'sheriff' of the bar with a knack for bad ideas. Charlie Day as Charlie Kelly, the illiterate wildcard who's always one huff of paint away from disaster. Glenn Howerton as Dennis, the narcissistic 'golden god' with a questionable moral compass. Kaitlin Olson as Dee, the perpetually overlooked sibling ready to scam her way to the top. Danny DeVito as Frank, the sleazy patriarch bankrolling the Gang's madness. Plot: What to Expect from Season 17 Season 17 promises more of the Gang's shameless schemes, biting social commentary, and absurd humor across eight episodes. The season's overarching theme, dubbed 'The Gang Embraces The Corporate Era,' sees Mac, Charlie, Dennis, Dee, and Frank attempting to shed their 'niche' label for broader appeal. Expect them to: Exploit cross-network promotions to boost Paddy's Pub's market share. Scapegoat one of their own to dodge a PR disaster. Risk everything for dubious business deals, including a 'handshake with the Saudis.' Bend laws with side hustles to pad their wallets. Attempt to reinvent themselves to attract a wider audience, all while staying true to their dysfunctional roots. The season starts with a bang in 'The Gang F***s Up Abbott Elementary,' the second half of a crossover with ABC's Abbott Elementary . The first part aired on Abbott in January 2025, showing the Gang 'volunteering' at the school for court-mandated community service. This episode flips to their unfiltered perspective, clashing with Abbott 's wholesome crew like Quinta Brunson's Janine and the quirky custodian Mr. Johnson. Rumor has it, the Gang tries to form a boy band with the kids, which is as disastrous as it sounds. Ahmedabad Plane Crash It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
Time Out
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
You can celebrate the 20th anniversary of ‘It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' with the cast
The gang's all here—in West Hollywood, that is, where all the stars of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia will be gathering for a special screening at the Directors Guild of America Theater, which will become the de facto Paddy's Pub for one night. On Tuesday, July 1, at 7:30pm, the Paley Center for Media will fete the longest-running live-action comedy series in TV history during its latest PaleyLive program: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 20th Anniversary Celebration! That's right, the audacious dark comedy has been around for 20 years now—that's 170 episodes and counting—and you can get a sneak peek at the newest episode alongside the cast and executive producers. Rob McElhenney (Ronald 'Mac' MacDonald), Charlie Day (Charlie Kelly), Glenn Howerton (Dennis Reynolds), Kaitlin Olson (Dee Reynolds) and Danny DeVito (Frank Reynolds) will all be on hand for a conversation after a screening of the 17th-season premiere inside the theater. (McElhenney, Day and Howerton additionally serve as executive producers on the show.) That means you'll be seeing the episode eight days before it premieres on FXX July 9, and hearing firsthand the stars' insight on the show's remarkable run. The episode in question, 'The Gang F***s Up Abbott Elementary,' is the second part of a highly anticipated crossover with the Emmy-winning ABC mockumentary. 'Since 2005, 'the gang' from Paddy's Pub have entertained legions of passionate fans with their high-spirited antics, and we look forward to a fun-filled evening that is sure to be as hilarious as the show itself,' says Maureen J. Reidy, president and CEO of the Paley Center for Media. If you need to brush up on your South Philly history before the new season drops, the Paley Archive in the Beverly Hills Public Library now boasts past episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, thanks to FX (or, you know, they're on Hulu). But the archive is well worth a visit—it boasts 160,000 titles all in one place, from history-shaping news broadcasts to some of the most popular TV shows of all time. (And, unlike Hulu, it's free.) Tickets for the PaleyLive event go on sale to the public this Friday, June 6, at noon on and they're expected to sell out quickly. Paley Center members get access a day early, though, so if you want to make sure to reserve a spot, you could always spring for a membership (starting at $75).
