The year was 2005 and comedy television was entering a shiny new era. Cultural giants such as Friends and Sex and the City might have concluded a year earlier but glossy upstarts (The Office and How I Met Your Mother, heard of them?) were ready to fill their monolithic shoes. Into their midst came a scrappy new series: It\u2019s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
The success of It\u2019s Always Sunny was never guaranteed. It was born only a few months after YouTube, shot on a handheld camera, had a budget of practically nothing and featured a motley crew of out-of-work actors. The show was built on a simple premise; to highlight the exploits of an idiotic, narcissistic group of friends running an Irish dive bar in South Philly who scheme, betray and trick each other \u2013 or unfortunate strangers \u2013 at every turn.<\/p>\n
Danny DeVito elevates the show \u2018from an underground classic into a bona fide hit\u2019. Photograph: Rex\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n
Described as \u201cSeinfeld on crack\u201d during its early years, the series was created by and stars Rob McElhenney (AKA Rob Mac) as delusional \u201cbadass\u201d Mac, alongside Charlie Day as the illiterate and substance-abusing Charlie, Glenn Howerton as the sociopathic Dennis and Kaitlin Olson as his sister \u2013 \u201cSweet Dee\u201d \u2013 who, despite starting as the sole voice of reason, later devolves into an equally manipulative member of the gang.<\/p>\n
Danny DeVito also joins in season two as Dennis and Dee\u2019s multimillionaire and inexplicably feral father, whose eccentric presence would help elevate the show from an underground classic into a bona fide hit. You need only watch the timeless clip of a naked, oiled-up DeVito crawling out of a leather couch to understand how.<\/p>\n
On paper, It\u2019s Always Sunny\u2019s lasting appeal doesn\u2019t make sense. An edgy show about awful people feels as though it should be confined to the 2000s alongside bygone hits such as Jackass or Entourage \u2013 not to mention the politically incorrect content of its earlier seasons, shocking even for its time. The title of the series\u2019 first episode \u2013 The Gang Gets Racist \u2013 is a particularly hard sell for newcomers; other episodes have been removed from streaming<\/a>.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Saved for Later<\/p>\n Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia’s culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n But the show isn\u2019t just crudeness for crudeness\u2019s sake. It\u2019s Always Sunny works because it allows the audience to laugh at each character\u2019s unique depravity and relish in their inevitable comeuppance by each episode\u2019s end. Living in a world where it feels as though the real-life bad guys are continually winning, it\u2019s cathartic to watch this group of degenerates get what\u2019s coming to them, time and time again.<\/p>\n In many ways, It\u2019s Always Sunny is the definitive anti-sitcom sitcom. A sexist comment from Dennis, for example, could easily belong in the universe of something like How I Met Your Mother \u2013 but here it\u2019s not the smug misogyny that gets a laugh; it\u2019s the blatant sociopathy and narcissistic delusion in thinking that this is an acceptable way to behave. The season-nine episode The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award addresses their underdog placement within the polished pantheon of network television, concluding with a song sung by an unhinged Charlie: \u201cI don\u2019t need your trophies or your gold, I just want to tell you all, go fuck yourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Twenty years since the show premiered, It\u2019s Always Sunny has become the longest-running live-action sitcom<\/a> without ever sacrificing its signature blend of stupid and absurd.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no guarantee the show will continue for 20 more years \u2013 DeVito is almost 80, after all. But as his character says: \u201cI don\u2019t know how many years I got left on this Earth. I\u2019m gonna get real weird with it.\u201d<\/p>\n