‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’: Danny DeVito Reveals Why He Joined the Show

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia with Danny DeVito is one of the longest-running shows on television, and its unique brand of scumbag comedy remains as potent as ever. The show introduced a group of then-unknown comedic actors to a wider audience. But the inclusion of DeVito in the cast gave It’s Always Sunny some valuable cache at the beginning of its run.

In a recent interview, DeVito explained how he became part of the Gang.  

‘It’s Always Sunny’ fans can thank John Landgraf for introducing DeVito to the show

DeVito was a guest on the Always Sunny podcast hosted by co-stars Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day, and Rob McElhenney, as well as show writer and executive producer Megan Ganz. DeVito reveals that the show appeared on his radar thanks to his relationship with television executive John Landgraf. 

Landgraf co-founded DeVito’s production company Jersey Television before becoming the president of entertainment and later CEO of FX. After the first season of It’s Always Sunny aired, he called the actor to recommend the show. 

“So he sent me the eight episodes, and [Rhea Perlman] and I and the kids watched the show. I loved it. It was f*****g outrageous, just the way they are,” DeVito said. “And then I didn’t hear from anybody. Right, you know, like, I don’t talk to him all the time. All of a sudden, he calls me up, and he says, ‘Would you be interested in being on the show?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.'”  

He would only do the show if the character met his standards

The stars of It’s Always Sunny were initially skeptical about bringing DeVito into the fold. Still, Howerton and McElhenney quickly agreed to meet with the actor. As impressed as DeVito was by the first season, he would only agree to join the cast if they created a real role for him that didn’t lean on his celebrity or extensive resume. 

“I said, ‘If they come up with an organic character, something that was not just Danny DeVito coming into a show. If it was, if it made sense,'” he said. “And it was a good character. So they wrote me in, and of course, my two kids are tall and blonde [Sweet Dee and Dennis], and so I had to have, eventually, as we all know, my wife was a whore. So that was my first involvement in the show.”

Many people were surprised that DeVito was even willing to join the show considering his filmography and strong reputation in the industry. He chalks it up to an intuitive feeling after watching the show and meeting the people behind it. 

“People said to me, ‘Why, you’re gonna do that? That cable show? You know you can go to a network show [or] you gotta wait for movies to come along,” he said. “If you sit and let people do that to you, you’ll never do anything. You know, you gotta go with your gut feeling.”

Is the end of ‘It’s Always Sunny’ on the horizon?

The 16th season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is not far away. According to Kaitlin Olson’s Instagram, the crew wrapped filming early in March. The season will likely begin in the fall, just like the previous three seasons. 

Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton revealed some details about the upcoming season on an earlier edition of The Always Sunny podcast. Mac will be wearing a noticeable amount of facial prosthetics that will change his appearance and voice for “a very specific gag.” Fan-favorite minor characters like creepy Uncle Jack and the moms of Charlie and Mac will also return to the action. And Ganz, who directed the final two episodes of season 15, will get behind the camera again for two episodes. 

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has been an FX mainstay since 2005. But there is some evidence that the show is reaching its endpoint. Day, Ganz, and McElhenney created Mythic Quest for Apple TV, and Day has admitted that, after a decade and a half of absurd hijinks, the creative team might be running low on inspiration. 

“You know what it is, we’ve done a lot,” Day said on the Smartless podcast. “We’ve done a lot of these. I don’t know how long we can keep ’em up.”