It's Always Sunny's Charlie Day Confused His Co-Stars With An Improvised Line
The stars of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" are very funny people, and since three of the central gang are also writers on the show, they have an extra-intimate understanding of their characters. That means that they're able to really riff and ad-lib with the best of them, tweaking their scripted lines to make them even better or coming up with new bits wholesale if the inspiration strikes. What's on the written page and what's been added or adjusted on-set used to be a bit more secret, but since the guys co-host "The Always Sunny Podcast," where they talk about the making of the series, fans now get to know exactly who's responsible for some of the series' funniest moments.
On an episode where co-producers and stars Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, and Rob McElhenney (along with writer and co-producer Megan Ganz) discussed some of their biggest, funniest bloopers, the gang revealed that one particular ad-lib didn't just end up in the final cut because it played so well for audiences, it also completely broke the actors in the moment. Ganz and the guys had a little chat about a totally improvised line in the "It's Always Sunny" episode "The Gang Recycles Their Trash" where Day totally confused and cracked up Howerton and McElhenney, and it's a doozy.
'He doesn't even get us, man'
In "The Gang Recycles Their Trash," which isn't available on streaming along with four other episodes because of racially insensitive material (a subplot involves Kaitlin Olson's character Dee in brownface), Mac (McElhenney) and Dennis (Howerton) are talking to Charlie (Day) about something and he sort of zones out. They then have a side-bar discussion where they say that he's not listening and doesn't understand them, to which Charlie says "Yeah, he doesn't even get us, man." Originally Dennis had more to say, segueing into his next point, but Day's improvisation was too good to toss. On the blooper reel for the season, the first take where Day used the improvised line makes Howerton and McElhenney look confused and taken aback for a second before bursting into laughter.
They ended up writing the line into the show, with Dennis trying to explain to Charlie that they're actually talking about him, and it's a riff that they've played on throughout the series any time Charlie isn't totally paying attention. It's not the first time that a bit of improv had a major impact on the show, though. A few seasons earlier, in the episode "Mac and Charlie Write a Movie," Mac's closeted homosexuality was all kicked off with an improvised line about how much he hates women. The "Sunny" gang manages to make good scripts great with their performances, and sometimes even change the whole course of the show.
The gang that riffs together, stays together
There's a looseness to the filming of "It's Always Sunny" that allows the cast to really explore the possibilities for different ways to make everyone laugh, and that's a part of what's made it one of the best comedies on television. The show has run for a record-breaking 16 seasons, and if creator McElhenney takes the advice of fellow comedy showrunner Larry David, it will run forever.
There have been some great improvisations over the years that led to some truly hilarious moments, and hopefully, there will be many more. McElhenney knows how the show will end, if it ever does, but for now, at least we know there will be two more seasons and two more rounds of chances for the gang to make one another laugh (and give us all the giggles in the meantime.)