TV

‘It’s Always Sunny’s funniest moments heading into Season 13

By
Lauren Sarner
Published Aug. 31, 2018
Updated Sep. 3, 2018, 6:27 p.m. ET

“It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” isn’t a polite show — it brims with off-color jokes and characters who are objectively awful people.

But for 13 seasons, it’s somehow outlasted more conventional sitcoms with shorter runs: “Friends,” “How I Met Your Mother” and “The Big Bang Theory” to name a few.

In honor of Season 13, which premieres Wednesday at 10 p.m. on FXX, here are the most outrageous and memorable moments from seasons past starring cast members Danny DeVito, Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson.

The D.E.N.N.I.S. System

Even though all the “Sunny” characters are selfish, Dennis (Howerton) is the most sociopathic, and the show milks his depravity for quotable moments. In a Season 5 episode with the same name, his presentation of his deranged dating method called the “D.E.N.N.I.S. system” (which stands for Demonstrate value, Engage physically, Nurture dependence, Neglect emotionally, Separate entirely) is a standout.

A scene from “The D.E.N.N.I.S. System” episode©FX Networks/Everett Collection

Charlie and Mac’s thousand-yard stare

“Sunny” is filled with offensive humor, but part of its appeal is also its zany weirdness, which often arises from surprisingly innocent jokes. One such scene is from a Season 8 episode (“The Gang Dines Out”), when Charlie (Day) and Mac (McElhenney) sustain awkward eye contact across a crowded restaurant — a moment that’s hilarious in part because it’s so simple.

Frank’s billboard

In a Season 4 episode (“America’s Next Top Paddy’s Billboard Model Contest”) the gang decides to advertise their pub on a billboard. Naturally, they put a host of would-be models through increasingly ludicrous hoops in order to determine whose face will adorn it. Finally, Frank (DeVito) reveals he’s already bought a billboard and chosen the model: himself.

Danny DeVito in “The Nightman Cometh” episode©FX Networks/Everett Collection

Charlie’s musical

The “It’s Always Sunny” musical is so iconic that the cast even took it off the small screen to bring it on tour live — but who can forget where they were when they first saw Season 4’s “The Nightman Cometh”? It even has a twist ending, in which it’s revealed that Charlie’s musical is all an elaborate ploy to propose to the Waitress (Mary Elizabeth Ellis).

Dee brings Charlie to a spa

Charlie and Dee (Olson) are one of the show’s pairings that exemplify its mixture of anarchy and more conventional goofy humor. Nowhere is this more apparent than the Season 6 episode (“Charlie Kelly: King of the Rats”) when Dee tries to treat Charlie to a nice spa day. While Dee looks on in confused frustration, Charlie waxes poetic about what “Spa” means.

Electric Dream Machine

The idea for “The Nightman Cometh” was first planted in a Season 3 episode. As the gang tries (unsuccessfully) to put a band together, Dennis debuts his affinity for glam-rock while Charlie unveils his “nightman” song.