7 Times "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" Got Meta

While following the wild adventures of it’s deeply flawed bar owners, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia will sometimes veer into meta territory with jokes and storylines that reference its status as a live-action TV comedy on it’s fifteenth season and counting.

These moments and episodes may be favorites amongst die-hard fans, as the show finally acknowledges long-running character bits, or comments on aspects of its layered history. Using the prism of Paddy’s Pub, the creators cleverly illustrate their takes on sitcom tropes, award politics, and the show itself.

The Gang Desperately Tries to Win an Award

Noticeably upset when Paddy’s isn’t up for the “Best Bar” Award, the gang reluctantly tries to “play the game” to finally get nominated. Resorting to bright colors, playful dialogue, and manufactured “will-they/won’t-they” character moments, the gang’s true nature breaks through with screaming, spitting, and a brilliant, unhinged musical performance by Charlie Day.

It’s hard to believe that a beloved TV Comedy built around an enormously talented cast, like Always Sunny, has never won or been nominated for any major TV awards. The episode is directly comments on the industry politics of what is considered “award-worthy”, pointing to innocuous sitcoms like New Girl, or period piece award-darlings like Mad Men.

The Gang Does A Clip Show

Prior to the days of streaming services and YouTube, “Clip Shows” were common to many popular, long-running sitcoms. Featuring the main cast reminiscing about all the fun and whacky times they had over the years, this format would jump back to old fan-favorite scenes. Knowing this, Always Sunny turns the concept on its head.

In an extremely strange Meta episode, the gang sits at the bar and struggles to remember the adventures they’ve had, while waiting for their phones to update. Featuring Inception-like false realities, two Charlies, and a hysterical Seinfeld sequence, this clip show spirals out of control as the gang get lost inside each other's memories.

The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7

When the local library removes the gang’s versions of Lethal Weapon 5 and 6, they use this opportunity to reexamine where they went wrong and attempt to craft a politically correct conclusion to their Lethal Weapon trilogy.

The whole episode pokes fun at the show’s spotty history with blackface and objectionable stereotypes as the gang attempts to address diversity and inclusion in their latest Lethal Weapon production. It’s incredibly fun to watch these maniacs navigate the minefield of this social conversation, while delving into some hypocrisies of woke culture.

The Gang Misses The Boat

After literally missing a boat party, the gang takes the metaphor to heart as they face how truly strange and depraved they become over the years. Deciding head their separate ways, they each attempt to go against their natural instincts to be who they think they should be.

From Dennis’ (Glenn Howerton) rage-fueled outbursts to Sweet Dee’s (Kaitlin Oslon) whacky characters, the gang has strayed far from the semi-normal version of themselves from the first season. They even go as far to point out how Frank’s (Danny Devito) endless amount of money is to blame for funding their wildest schemes and desires. This introspective episode deconstructs the group’s familiar dynamic, while proving that each character is much more comfortable in their old ways.

Old Lady House: A Situational Comedy

The gang sets up cameras inside Mac (Rob McElhenney) and Charlie’s mothers’ house after receiving mixed signals about their roommate troubles. Instead of getting to the bottom of things, their surveillance system immediately turns into a classic TV sitcom about two old lady roommates when Dennis begins to add edits, sound effects, and a disturbingly catchy theme song.

This Season 12 episode becomes a show within a show as the gang recognizes Mrs. Mac and Mrs. Kelly’s natural comedic rivalry, in the vain of Abbot & Costello or The Honeymooners. This entire episode addresses traditional sitcom tropes, like catchphrases, whacky neighbors, and dreaded laugh tracks.

Paddy’s Pub: The Worst Bar In Philadelphia

After a review crowns Paddy’s Pub as “The Worst Bar In Philadelphia”, the gang attempts to persuade the article's writer into reexamining his initial experience by kidnapping him. Their plan gets out of hand when their facade of class falls apart and quickly escalates into a messy hostage situation.

What may be the earliest Meta storyline in the show’s history, this episode from Season 3 responds to the show’s bad reviews by leaning even more into it's "loud", "low-class" style of humor. With Fisher Stevens appearing as the acerbic writer/critic, the gang scrambles to defend their bar's reputation by making things much, much worse.

Waiting For Big Mo

The gang goes to laser tag in this Waiting For Godot style episode from Season 14 that is a metaphor for the cast’s relationship to the show and their place in TV after all these years. Despite the gang’s foolproof plan for success, they begin to question the meaning of their hard work if they’re not having fun.

With “Big Mo” representing the ongoing cycle of competition from younger actors and new television shows, Always Sunny and it's irreverent brand of humor has stood the test of time. Even though it can be monotonous or repetitive, the gang confesses that they don’t do it for the awards or the “Dolla Dolla Billz”, but for the love the game and don’t intend on stopping anytime soon.

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