It is perhaps worth putting in a slight disclaimer about this uber-black comedy: it is not for everyone. While the title and theme music might give off the impression of a happy-go-lucky sitcom, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia seems to revel in morally ambiguous characters and depraved plotlines.
To give you an idea of the sort of thing we are talking about, the first season alone contains episode titles including ‘Charlie Has Cancer’ and ‘The Gang Finds a Dead Guy’. To write this off as a low-brow and crass piece of trash television that relies on controversy to find its laughs would be missing the point. The plot of each episode is largely stand-alone, and centre around the exploits of ‘The Gang’, made up of Charlie, Mac, Dennis, Deandra, and, latterly, Frank.
While the situations are undoubtedly funny in their own right, it is the characters that make the show work. Believable enough to not be caricatures, and nice enough to not be totally detestable, you end up rooting for them – even if you wish you wouldn’t.
Image : Global Panorama @ Flickr