TV Assessment: It’s All the time Sunny Retains Us Guessing In Its Document-Tying New Season

Danny DeVito as Frank and Charlie Day as Charlie in It is All the time Sunny in Philadelphia (FXX)

The Pitch: The Gang is again in motion after one in every of their finest and most formidable seasons. As It’s All the time Sunny in Philadelphia ties The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet’s report for longest-running stay motion sitcom, it’s outstanding that the present isn’t solely this good because it begins its fourteenth season, however the way it’s managed to evolve and keep related. Season 14 doesn’t have the identical cliffhanger to resolve or Dennis-shaped gap to fill just like the final one did, nevertheless it does need to comply with up final season’s jaw-dropping finale, which set a brand new bar for what It’s All the time Sunny is able to.

The brand new season strikes ahead from that prime water mark by going again to fundamentals, a minimum of in its first 4 episodes. The order of the day nonetheless consists of zany, half-deranged schemes to search out love (or its carnal equal), inappropriate responses in group settings, and the weird-but-amusing tangles of The Gang’s private relationships and inflexible bylaws. The opening salvo of Season 14 provides some topical commentary, but in addition the standard model of misadventures and madness that would slot in simply as effectively combined with outings from prior years.

Rob McElhenney as Mac and Kaitlin Olson as Dee in It’s All the time Sunny in Philadelphia (FXX)

Let’s All Go to the Foyer: The brand new season has a specific aptitude for the cinematic. From romcoms, to motion flicks, to movie noir, It’s All the time Sunny finds fascinating methods to work in ideas concerning the previous, current, and future of films into the present’s ordinary drunken ribaldry. That will take the type of a dose of romcom tropes combined along with The Gang’s typical depravity, or a verbal essay on the modifications to fashionable blockbusters, or a straight up noir pastiche, however the collection clearly has movie on the mind.

That tack works finest when the present mixes up recognizable story beats from widespread movies with the collection’s personal slanted sensibilities. In “The Gang Will get Romantic”, the meld of romcom tropes and the actual model of psychopathy that takes maintain in Paddy’s Pub turns into actually hilarious, and even oddly candy, within the juxtaposition. The present’s nonetheless amusing and satirical when providing takedowns of fan reactions to current modifications in beloved movie franchises with reams of dialogue, however cuts deeper with its straight parodies and twisted homages.

New Faces, New Locations: The brand new season options extra new blood to assist hold the present going. In its early years, It’s All the time Sunny was penned by a daily roster of writers, which included loads of episodes from stars Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, and Charlie Day (in addition to David “Cricket” Hornsby). However Season 14’s scripts function a variety of bylines from writers who joined the present up to now few years.

Fortunately that features Neighborhood alum Megan Ganz, who wrote final season’s glorious #MeToo episode, in addition to Dannah Phirman and Danielle Schneider, who’ve penned nice installments like final 12 months’s “The Gang Beats Boggs: Girls Reboot” and the collection’ imaginative tackle a clip present. Season 14 additionally provides John Howell Harris, who labored with Kaitlin Olson on The Mick, to the author’s room. And whereas the season premiere is penned by McElhenney and Day, it nonetheless consists of Howerton’s directorial debut for the collection. That inflow of latest expertise and new roles does result in some tonal wobbliness in locations, however on the entire, it lets the brand new season really feel recent and enjoyable.

Rob McElhenney as Mac and Glenn Howerton as Dennis in It’s All the time Sunny in Philadelphia (FXX)

Mad Stacks and Name Backs: Relaxation assured, for those who’re a strolling encyclopedia of It’s All the time Sunny references and operating gags, you’ll discover loads to cheer for in Season 14. The brand new season sees new twists on acquainted bits just like the toe knife, Dee’s cupboard of characters, Charlie’s peculiar culinary fashion, and the standard raft of fowl jokes. The Waiter returns in his most substantial position but. And the second episode of the season is a sideways sequel to “Thundergun Specific”, replete with our very first glimpse at Thundergun himself.

However greater than these particular person gags, Season 14 is at its finest when it picks up on the collection’ surprisingly well-defined, more and more weird character relationships. The present makes good as soon as once more on Charlie and Frank’s (Danny DeVito) bizarre half father/son, half old-married-couple dynamic. It finds humor and plot factors within the misplaced affections and emotional manipulation between Mac and Dennis. And there’s even a riff and reversal anchored round The Gang’s lengthy historical past of relentlessly busting on Dee.

Past the present’s oddly trustworthy continuity, a part of what lets the collection hold cooking effectively into its second decade on the air is how clear its characters really feel and the way firmly-established their weird dynamics with each other are, one thing that the brand new season each channels and evolves.

The Verdict: Season 14 of It’s All the time Sunny doesn’t have a knockout punch in its opening parry like “Instances Up for The Gang” or “Mac Finds His Delight” (although the season premiere comes shut). There’s a couple of cracks within the basis right here, with a nominally Dee-centered episode that looks like a missed alternative and a handful of intelligent premises that nonetheless really feel like they depart some meat on the bone. Regardless of that, the brand new season nonetheless provides loads of leisure for followers who’ve been having fun with The Gang’s antics for all these years. The primary episode, specifically, looks like an on the spot basic, and the remainder of Season 14’s early choices every have enjoyable concepts and amusing gags to advocate them. Relaxation assured, for those who’ve been stopping by Paddy’s Pub all this time, there’s loads of good causes to remain a daily, if solely to attend and see what wild, surprising new concoction The Gang will give you subsequent.

The place’s It Taking part in? The Gang returns Wednesday, September 25th at 10 PM on FXX.

Trailer: