Almost exactly 13 years ago, when I was still a freelancer for this site, I wrote a piece about how FX’s hit “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” owed a great debt to “Seinfeld” in its comedic embrace of characters that could politely be called misanthropic. The quartet of characters at the center of one of the most beloved comedies of all time—Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer—fits snugly into the structure of “Sunny” and their leads: Dennis, Mac, Dee, and Charlie.
At the time, I marveled at “Sunny” having a legacy that lasted nine seasons. Next week, they launch their 18th season. At the time I wrote, “The most important element to both shows was merely to stay true to their characters, which “Sunny” has done consistently for almost a decade.” Now that it’s closer to a quarter-century, the legacy of “Sunny” feels even more impressive.
What’s most striking about “Sunny” in 2026 remains that confidence—for all eight episodes of their 18th outing, it feels like the writers and performers are prioritizing what makes them laugh over anything else, which they’ve really been doing for a generation now. The worst thing that can happen to a comedy is desperation, something that often seeps into the writing late in a run when a desire to please a fan base or focus groups overrides innate comedic sensibilities. The “Sunny” team long ago gave up on getting the right amount of critical acclaim for their efforts, and they know that their fan base remains constant because they share a sense of humor with Glenn Howerton, Rob Mac, Charlie Day, and Kaitlin Olson.
The 18th season of “Sunny” does much of the same thing as the last dozen or so seasons, intertwining commentary on the state of things with the idiocy of the show’s beloved characters. It’s almost hard to believe that the show took this long to get to how the Paddy’s Pub team would respond to the rise of non-alcoholic beers, but “The War on Alcohol” is arguably the season standout (an episode at a Renaissance Faire featuring Nick Kroll and the McPoyles is close). It’s a wonderful example of how these idiots literally fight to live in the past, not just in terms of wanting an ABV in their beer but in the way they look at the modern workplace. A bit between Charlie and Mac about how all factories are built around molten lava, and men who eat lunch out of paper bags on steel beams, is a reminder that so much of the stupidity in this world is based on outdated thinking that’s been warped by pop culture.
Nostalgia works its way through a lot of the 18th season of “Sunny,” including an extended (and slightly unsuccessful compared to the rest of the season) spoof of “Gilligan’s Island,” along with a superior, hysterical riff on “Back to School,” with Danny DeVito in the Rodney Dangerfield part. There’s also an episode built around Jamiroquai, which I’m guessing no one under 30 has even heard of. The characters on “Sunny” were always a little bit stuck in the past, but it’s amplified in self-aware ways as the cast enters their fifties. They’re no longer the youthful idiots as much as they’re approaching grumpy old men territory, yelling at clouds as the world enters its virtual insanity era.
At this point, there’s a comforting consistency to “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” In a time when so many shows slowly fade into the pop culture background, here’s one that’s been funny for two decades and counting. There was a natural concern when the show crested double digits that it would start to lose its edge, but there have been only a few episodes in the last few seasons that didn’t work. The 18th season has way more hits than misses, which isn’t true for most comedies that have run a third as long. While there may have been some natural worry about fading quality at one point, there’s no reason to believe this show doesn’t have a few more years in it. Let’s push last call on this one as long as possible.
Entire season screened for review. The 18th season premieres on FX on August 17.
