The Gang spill their guts
The Always Sunny Podcast review
Rating – 
Let’s get one thing straight. I love It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Actually, I love it apart from the first series, but the guys themselves will admit that that was the weakest of the lot. When I heard about this podcast I went all giggly with anticipation about what paint sniffing, rum ham, toe spoon hilarity would ensue. This opening paragraph probably has enough fanboy fawning for the whole review, but please read on, dear subscriber.
So what’s it about?
For those who don’t know, It’s Always Sunny… is a sitcom following five truly awful human beings who run an Irish pub in Philadelphia. Brother and sister Dennis and Diandra (Dee) are from a wealthy family and are shallow and arrogant. Mac is a confused macho “bro” and Charlie is an illiterate dogsbody who gets all the “Charlie work”. The fifth member of the group is Frank who appears from series 2, played by Danny DeVito, he’s Dennis and Dee’s philandering father.
This podcast however is only slightly about all that. Charlie Day (Charlie), Rob McElhenney (Mac) and Glenn Howerton (Dennis) get together to talk about every episode of the sitcom so far. Think of it like a director’s commentary on a dvd. They admit from the outset that they don’t really know what they are doing, and I don’t think there’s been an episode so far where they’ve actually followed this premise. Joined by writer Megan Ganz, who acts as an arbiter of sorts, and tries to keep them in line. They get sidetracked, go off on tangents and try to make each other laugh with outrageous and offensive comments.
Is it any good?
Amongst all this chaos, there are some very interesting little nuggets of trivia though, which makes me wonder whether the guys are truly being themselves, or being some kind of mixture of the actors and the characters and the whole thing is very carefully planned indeed. Or maybe I’m giving them too much credit and they just really are very close to the characters they created. There are a few moments that stand out to me immediately. Charlie singing a song that made everyone cry, Rob recounting how when he was a kid, his mother would coat him in vinegar before he went to the beach, and Glenn’s uncanny CCH Pounder impression. The last one is mind blowing, and should have been the exclamation when he got to live his childhood fantasy of kicking a door in.
This podcast is as much an autobiography of the actors as it is an analysis of the show. Some of the stories of their childhood could really have been written for the show, especially one about Glenn accidentally hanging himself at church camp for a joke.
The humour here is very broad, and crude. A lot of people will find it offensive. I’m a mucky pup though so I find it hilarious. It’s also a treat when guests show up. Kaitlin Olson (who plays Dee, and is also Rob’s wife) shows up for a few episodes as does Charlie Day’s wife (The Waitress) and David Hornsby (Rickety Cricket). These episodes breathe even more life into the series, as there are more options to digress into hilarity.
Final thoughts
Having waxed rather lyrically about the genuis of this podcast, this is only really recommended for fans of the TV show. I mean, it’s literally a podcast discussing the TV show, so if you’re not familiar with that then it’ll be a pointless exercise. What I would do though is recommend you go and watch the TV show first. Then listen to the podcast. That’s a two for one offer I’m sure you’ll love (unless it turns out you hate the TV show).
You can get the Always Sunny Podcast here: