BlackBerry star Glenn Howerton has discussed what it is that keeps It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia interesting to him after 16 seasons.
In a Vanity Fair interview, Howerton was asked how he keeps the popular comedy series interesting to him as an actor. He revealed that the show stays intriguing to him “by its very nature” and that the characters are very flexible in terms of their personalities.
“The good news is, by its very nature, the show is still interesting to me,” Howerton explained. “The characters are so dynamic and funny and strange. Any one character can be extraordinarily stupid in a scene, or be the smart one, or be completely out of control, or totally laid back, so there’s so much dynamism inside of all of these characters and within the show itself. We’ve somehow managed to create a format where we can really go to a lot of wild places that most live action shows certainly can’t go to because they’re too hemmed in by the concept.
“It becomes really, really difficult to maintain that. Whereas with a show like Sunny, the concept is just a bunch of knuckleheads who work in a bar that are barely ever there, you can do anything because there is no concept beyond that. We have so much freedom on the show.”
What can we expect in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 16?
“The Gang is ripping straight from the headlines — Inflation, US-Russian relations, mental health, gender equality, injury liability, gun control, and … celebrity-branded products,” reads the synopsis for Season 16. “But there’s nothing sweet about them as Mac, Charlie, Dennis, Dee, and Frank yearn for the past as they attempt to survive in 2023.
“This year alone, Mac battles with allergies and long-distance dating, Charlie takes on his long-forgotten sisters, Dee fights for rent control and women’s athletics, Frank wrestles for his gun, and Dennis struggles to improve his mental health. At the end of the day, they’re navigating 2023 with 16 years of baggage as a few figures from their past rear their heads.”
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is created by Rob McElhenney, who is also starring as Ronald “Mac” MacDonald. Joining him are Charlie Day as Charlie Kelly, Glenn Howerton as Dennis Reynolds, Kaitlin Olson as Dee Reynolds, and Danny DeVito as Frank Reynolds.
Additional executive producers include McElhenney, Day, Howerton, Michael Rotenberg, Nick Frenkel, Megan Ganz, Rob Rosell, David Hornsby, Scott Marder and Victor Hsu. The show is produced by FX Productions. In 2020, the comedy was granted multiple season renewals and is expected to air through Season 18.