On January 6, Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered its 11th season, making it one of the longest-running sitcoms in cable history. Well-known for pushing the envelope with themes of race, guns, drug abuse, sexuality and violence, on Sunny the nihilism and vulgarity are complemented by pitch-perfect acting and some of the bravest, funniest writing on TV. The Gang - twins Dennis and Dee Reynolds, childhood friends Ronald Mac McDonald and Charlie Kelly, and financier/father figure Frank Reynolds - manage a Philadelphia dive bar, Paddys Pub. They are joined by a robust supporting cast including the incestuous McPoyle family, an unnamed coffee shop waitress, Dees friend and Franks bang buddy Artemis, the Gang's equally dysfunctional parents, and preacher-turned-street-urchin Rickety Cricket. Members of the Gang have opened a sweat shop in the basement of Paddys, tried out for the Philadelphia Eagles, attempted group dating, hosted a game of Russian roulette, gone on a manhunt, dug up corpses, run for office, been arrested for arson, and explored the sewers of Philadelphia. Mostly, though, they like to sit around the bar, hatch schemes and yell at each other. Remarkably consistent across its 10 seasons, Sunny has actually become increasingly innovative, artsy and ambitious over the years. With 114 episodes, choosing just one exploit from each season is a real challenge. But a show this good deserves a countdown.
Kyle Schmidlin is a writer and musician living in Austin, TX. He manages the news blog at thirdrailnews.wordpress.com. Follow him at facebook.com/kyleschmidlin or twitter.com/kyleschmidlin1.
