It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Almost Had A Much Shorter, Much Worse Title

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"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" holds a very particular record in the annals of TV history. It has produced more seasons than any scripted, live-action, American comedy series. Back in 2020, /Film reported that "It's Always Sunny" surpassed "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" as TV's longest-running live-action sitcom, but that was just in terms of its sheer number of seasons. As of this writing, "It's Always Sunny" has lasted for 178 episodes over the course of 17 seasons. That's definitely impressive, but it's worth noting that "Ozzie and Harriet" had longer seasons overall, running for 435 episodes over only 14 seasons. "It's Always Sunny" is not TV's longest-running sitcom.

Comparing the two shows, however, is utterly hilarious. "Ozzie and Harriet" was a show notorious for how clean-cut and square it was, while "It's Always Sunny" is about the worst human beings to ever draw air. Charlie, Dennis, Ronald, Deandra, and Frank (played by Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Rob Mac, Kaitlin Olson, and Danny DeVito, respectively) are seemingly incapable of having thoughts outside of their basest, cruelest instincts, and spend every episode fecklessly hurting others, each other, and themselves in vague attempts to succeed. 

The title of the series is, of course, ironic. For one, I'm pretty sure it rains in Philadelphia, but more so, the characters' lives are the opposite of sunny. They are essentially villains who don't know they're villains. They're all just a bunch of jerks. 

Indeed, in Kimberly Potts' history book "It's (Almost) Always Sunny in Philadelphia: How Three Friends Spent $200 to Create the Longest-Running Live-Action Sitcom in History and Help Build a Network," it was written that the show's original title was merely "Jerks." That's definitely to-the-point, but it's a lot less evocative than the ironic "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

Author Kimberly Potts heard the potential title straight from Rob Mac, Glenn Howerton, and Charlie Day, who also serve as executive producers on the show. For a brief moment, they were considering calling their series "Jerks," letting audiences know what they're in for. It seems, though, that "Jerks" was too forgettable, so they changed it to the more memorable and humorous "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and it struck. 

Back in 2007, series creator Rob Mac spoke with the New York Times and explained that the original pilot episode for "It's Always Sunny" was set in Los Angeles and that the main characters were all struggling actors. The FX network wanted Mac to change the premise and setting, as they felt that there were already way too many TV shows about struggling actors in L.A. 

Mac, a Philadelphia native, figured he could just transpose the characters to his hometown without dramatically altering the show's tone. If the main characters were still jerks, it seems they could live anywhere. Mac also followed FX's request that they no longer be actors. His solution was elegant and practical. "[W]e'll make it about a bar," he said, "because that's a job where you can have lots of free time and still have income that could explain how these people can sustain themselves." Naturally, the bar in "It's Always Sunny" is filthy, rundown, and terrible. Perhaps ironically, the show is still filmed in Los Angeles.

The pilot was rewritten, and the title changed. After the show's first season, the ratings were flagging, and FX famously brought Danny DeVito into the cast to boost the show's public image. DeVito fit right in, and the central five actors have been leading the show ever since. It could end at any time.