I'll admit, I've been a little concerned for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia for the past few years. After eleven seasons of phenomenal television (its first season is a little weak), the thirteenth season was inconsistently great, the fourteenth was weak, and the fifteenth middling. After spending over a decade (almost two by 2025) with some of the worst people in the world, their jokes and character beats had become a little predictable. As funny as it is to watch Charlie (Charlie Day) be illiterate, Dennis (Glenn Howerton) be insane, and Mac (Rob McElhenney) and Dee (Kaitlin Olson) be generally pathetic, the show was becoming worn.
So when Always Sunny returned this week, I honestly had no idea what to expect. The first half of season fifteen (the season was bifurcated) was the worst the show had ever been, and it was a disturbing possibility that it could get even worse, relying on gimmick episodes and jokes where characters make stupid decisions because they took figurative language literally. (Isn't that just Charlie and Mac's job? Dennis, Dee and Frank aren't that smart, but are smarter than them.) So if you're a fan of this show like I am, I'm delighted to inform you that season sixteen's premiere is honestly great.
"The Gang Inflates" is a (mostly) excellent return to form. While Mac and Dennis grumble about having to rent furniture, Frank blames it on inflation. ("You guys do understand what inflation is, right?" he asks when Mac and Dennis seem lost. "Yeah, absolutely. For the sake of argument, pretend we don't," Dennis replies.) Mac takes Frank's explanation literally and buys a bunch of inflatable furniture. Commence episode. (He also takes into account Charlie's ramblings about "nut" and buys a big tin of nuts, because yeah, that's what Mac would do in that situation. He spends most of the episode having a severe allergic to reaction to them, but the Gang does what they do in most life-threatening situations and just kind of ignore it.)
This ends up being one of those "Frank takes advantage of how stupid the rest of the Gang is" episodes, and those are always fun. If you ignore the idea that Dennis would ever take financial advice from Charlie "Pirate Door" Kelly, the episode is consistent, funny, and feels like a good re-introduction to the world of Always Sunny.
By the end, everyone is in debt to Frank except Charlie, the only one who knows him well enough to know never to take money from him. Dennis gives his remaining money to Charlie in hopes of him turning a profit, so of course he spends it on the last existing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-brand snack cakes. Before Dennis can lose his shit, Frank takes notice of them, takes an interest, and Charlie trades them for the rest of the Gang's financial freedom.
This is kind of a rushed conclusion, yeah—to the episode's credit, I initially thought it came out of nowhere until I rewatched it and saw it opened with Frank and Charlie espousing their love of TMNT. Recent seasons have had this problem where the episodes just kind of end, but until its conclusion, "Inflates" was both funny and sound. (It helps that it's always funny to watch Charlie eat inedible things—those cakes don't sound like they will go down well.)
In the season's second episode, "Frank Shoots Every Member of the Gang" is a bit weaker than "Inflates." Always Sunny loves to make their titles the biggest joke of a given episode (my absolute favorite is "Mac and Charlie Die"), so from this title, I wasn't expecting it to be an episode that splits the Gang up. After Frank accidentally shoots Dennis and Dee while out to dinner (his haphazard use of his revolver continues to be one of my favorite running jokes), they decide they need to finally take their father's gun away from him.
It's the better paced and funnier plot of the episode. The Reynolds twins drive Frank around the city to do his favorite things (piss on fire hydrants, play with his homeless bridge friends, etc.) so they can coerce him into giving up his gun. ("I'm worried he's going to kill himself before he becomes old and senile enough to write us into the will.") The "Frank is actually a dog" joke was funny until Dennis and Dee just...explained the joke to the audience. I wish the writers would stop doing that, another trend in recent seasons I dislike. When they take him to the Jersey Shore, Frank assumes they're there to kill him and take his money, but of course he's fine with this. ("You can leave me in the ground. Gruesome, for the kids to see!")
Mac and Charlie go on the road with their mothers to collect their inheritances—Mac's is a series of his letters his grandfather wrote to his estranged father and uncle during wartime, while Charlie's is...a jar full of dead people's teeth. (On brand for this show, I guess.) Mac, of course, is oblivious to the fact that his uncle is the father figure he's spent the entire series chasing—the guy goes on and on about how he just wants someone to play catch with, and of course Mac doesn't get it. (He's gay like Mac as well; "What is this guy's deal?" Mac whispers to Charlie, not getting this either.)
The resolution of this episode is rushed as well, but the journey is fun enough even if the destination is a bit weak. Everyone convenes back at the series' main setting, their bar, and Frank's mishandling of his gun leads to himself, Charlie and Mac getting shot, because I guess they have to justify that title somehow. (It's shoehorned in, as though the writers came up with a funny title and realized by the end of what they had written that they had to make good on their promise.)
So, Always Sunny is back, and despite a bit of a rushed conclusion on both episodes, they both manage to be naturally funny. I just hope the rest of the season can follow suit.
These episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia are now available on Hulu.