thePeanutBloggery

Now that the Fall Premiere Challenge is over, we can turn our attention back to all the shows we already love.

Created by two of its stars (Glenn Howerton and Rob McElhenney), “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” has been described as “Seinfeld on crack” (it’s killing me that I didn’t coin this phrase!). The show is back for a third season on F/X, and as a fan since season one, I’m happy to report that it hasn’t lost any of its hilarious offensiveness, and the characters are still warped, egotistical, and f#*&ed up.

Charlie (Charlie Day), Mac (Rob McElhenney), and twin brother/sister Dennis (Glenn Howerton) and Sweet Dee (Kaitlin Olson) run “Paddy’s Pub” in Philadelphia. Danny DeVito joined the cast in season two as Dennis and Dee’s father, and he’s back in fine form playing the type of character he does best - selfish, annoying, and rude. Each episode revolves around them getting into unusual or ridiculous situations, usually sparked by a challenge, a hair-brained scheme, or an egotistical dream. The series deals with important and controversial topics (abortion, racism, gay rights) just not in a “very special episode” kind of way. More like a “how can we exploit this to our benefit?” kind of way.

Aside from the enjoyment I get from watching this show, I love that Howerton and McElhenney created this show with practically no budget and sold the pilot to F/X. It makes me root for them to succeed, and I really get the feeling their writing sessions are just them sitting around trying to make each other laugh. Luckily, we get to be in on the joke.

If you like episode titles such as “The Gang Finds a Dumpster Baby” or “Sweet Dee’s Dating a Retarded Person”; well-paced, funny writing; and characters whose only redeeming quality is that they are hilarious, then watch “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, and catch up with seasons 1 and 2 now on DVD.

New episodes of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” air on Thursdays at 10pm on F/X.