It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 15 Confirmed

The sun continues to shine for the Always Sunny crew and FX.

FX today officially renewed longtime comedy It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (which airs on sister network FXX), bringing the show’s run up to a truly mind-bending 15 seasons. The news was first reported by Deadline and then confirmed by FX’s social media channels. The 15th season is expected to arrive sometime in 2021. FX also announced renewals for high-profile series Atlanta, Mayans MC, What We Do in the Shadows, and more. 

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was conceived in the early 2000s by struggling actors Charlie Day, Rob McElhenney, and Glenn Howerton. After successfully filming a short about a man’s quest to borrow sugar being derailed by his friend’s cancer diagnosis, the trio developed the concept into a pilot. FX, a network best known at the time for gritty cop drama The Shield, bought the show and now 15 years later the “gang” of Charlie (Day), Mac (McElhenney), Dennis (Howerton), Dee (Kaitlin Olson), and Frank (Danny DeVito) continue to terrorize the City of Brotherly Love

As for any show going into its 15th season, the renewal comes with a broken record or two for It’s Always Sunny. After tying The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet as the longest-running live-action comedy series of all time, Sunny will hold that mark by itself once season 15 airs. 

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 15 was always expected. McElhenney revealed last month that writing on the season had already begun. At the 2019 TCA summer press tour, McElhenney also shared with reporters sage advice he got from Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Larry David about creating long-running sitcoms. 

“I was expecting a comedic breakthrough and he said ‘don’t be an idiot, never stop, just keep doing it. Greatest job you could ever want, and if you do a final episode they’ll destroy you for it. You hate to see the things you love stop.’” 

If that weren’t enough, the finale of It’s Always Sunny season 14 all but confirms that the producers were down for more. The bizarre Waiting for Guffman in a laser tag facility episode finds the characters pondering doing the same thing over and over again and coming to the conclusion that they don’t want to stop. 

In recent years, the cast and crew of It’s Always Sunny have branched out into new opportunities. McElhenney, along with Sunny producers/writers David Hornsby and Megan Ganz, created Mythic Quest for Apple TV+. Howerton stars as a disgruntled teacher on A.P. Bio. Day, Olson, and DeVito have all acted in numerous other projects. Come 2021, however, the gang will reunite once again.