It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Season 16 Episode 5 Features A Major Philly Celebrity
This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."
"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is mostly filmed in Los Angeles these days, but that doesn't mean that they can't occasionally have some major Philadelphia celebrities pop by every now and then. Season 16 seems to be one for the "Always Sunny" record books, though, because they've brought in a couple of Philly's heavy hitters! In "The Gang Gets Cursed," Mac (Rob McElhenney) almost gets to have his long-dreamed-of game of catch with Philadelphia Phillies and LA Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley, bringing the sports star back to the series for the first time since "The Gang Gets Stranded in the Woods" all the way back in season 6, and now there's another major Philly sports hero in "Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab."
Sure, "Breaking Bad" stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul also appear in the episode as versions of themselves and that's a whole lot of fun, but for Philly sports fans, the guy Mac and Dennis (Glenn Howerton) run into in a club bathroom is a much bigger star.
It's Gritty!
In the episode, Mac and Dennis are trying to pitch their alcohol brand to Cranston and Paul when Mac thinks that he sees Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts go into the bathroom. They follow him into the bathroom and pitch their idea to the closed bathroom stall door, only to be shocked when Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty steps out instead. Dennis is flabbergasted that Mac could confuse a human man with a giant orange monster, but then Mac tries to pitch their lifestyle and alcohol band to Gritty anyway. The funky orange monster has become beloved by more than just Flyers fans, as his funky design and outrageous antics have made him one of the internet's most beloved mascots. In fact, his appearance was even teased on McElhenney's Twitter, where fans went nuts for a potential cameo.
Gritty isn't the first Philly mascot to be featured on "Always Sunny," however. In the season 3 episode "The Gang Gets Invincible," Charlie (Charlie Day) gets into a fight while dressed as Green Man with the Philly Phanatic, the mascot for the Philadelphia Phillies. Fans of the series were hoping for a Green Man and Gritty face-off, but unfortunately, Charlie was busy with Cranston and Paul. Hey, there's always season 17. Maybe we can get a Gritty/Phanatic/Green Man cage match for the ages!
New episodes of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" premiere Wednesdays on FXX and are available to stream the next day on Hulu.