'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' Season 18 Degeneracy Rankings
With ‘Always Sunny’ returning for season 18 on FX, it’s time to take stock of the horrors The Gang has inflicted on others…and why we love them for it.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is now old enough to drink.
Season 1 of the generation-definiting FX comedy premiered on Aug. 4, 2005, so this month marks its 21st birthday. To celebrate, the show is premiering its 18th season on Monday, Aug. 17 at 9PM ET on FX and FXX, which adds to its tally as the longest-running live-action sitcom in American history. All of its stars have leveraged the show’s success to launch their own careers, and all of them have been wildly successful.
Meanwhile, The Gang – Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Dee (Kaitlin Olson), Charlie (Charlie Day), Mac (Rob Mac), and Frank (Danny DeVito) – have hardly grown up at all. We don’t mean that in a physical sense; we mean their characters remain deeply, cripplingly immature. Their selfishness is so extreme, they scan as toddlers. Their schemes are so idiotic, it raises questions about the lead levels in Paddy’s Pub. Their callousness toward the emotions of others is so cavalier, their behavior could be cited in the DSM-5. In summary: They are terrible people, and we love them for it.
But who is the most terrible? We’ll leave it up to you to decide, but here’s the best arguments for and against each of them. To watch new episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 18 with Sling, use the link below to subscribe to Sling Select with FX.
Dennis Reynolds
https://youtu.be/ItsiZLCWZ0c?si=DLcX6wJzdkpEtdng
Arguments for being the worst:
- The D.E.N.N.I.S. System: He actively relies on emotional abuse, manipulation, and intimidation to sleep with women, demonstrating zero empathy for the wreckage he leaves behind (the second “N” stands for “Neglect emotionally”; ‘nuff said).
- The "Implications": Dennis actively traps women on a boat in the middle of the ocean so they feel forced to sleep with him out of fear for their safety.
- Premeditated Malice: Unlike the rest of the gang, who often hurt people by accident or out of selfish negligence, Dennis hurts people intentionally. He relishes the psychological torment of others and is frequently hinted at being an actual serial killer.
The argument that he's NOT the worst:
Dennis is probably the most deeply unwell member of the Gang, exhibiting traits of antisocial personality disorder. However, you could argue his complete lack of empathy is a pathological condition he has no control over, whereas the others choose to ignore their consciences.
Frank Reynolds
Arguments for being the worst:
- The Vietnam Sweatshop: He ran an illegal sweatshop in Vietnam (bad), subjected his workers to horrific conditions (terrible), and fed the dead workers to the living ones in a soup (full Cartman).
- Pitting His Children Against Each Other: He routinely manipulates Dennis and Dee, once tricking them into digging up their dead mother just to settle a petty score.
- Financial Devastation: He uses his immense wealth to destroy lives on a whim, like when he framed innocent rival bar owners, getting their liquor license revoked and burying them in $75,000 of debt.
The argument that he's NOT the worst:
Frank is driven by pure, chaotic hedonism rather than targeted malice. Unlike Dennis, he doesn't usually set out to psychologically destroy specific individuals; he is just violently reckless in his pursuit of money, drugs, and weird experiences.
Dee Reynolds
https://youtu.be/HVGWeZsS6sc?si=j_OBxXKExCKtcwgB
Arguments for being the worst:
- The Stripper Incident: In "PTSDee," she elaborately tricks a male stripper into performing a sexually explicit dance for his own teenage daughter, purely out of spite because he didn't find her attractive.
- Serial Manipulation of Men: She routinely uses and abuses men who actually care about her (like Ben the Soldier or Matthew Mara before he became Cricket) until they are broken.
- Setting Her Roommate on Fire: She was institutionalized in college for setting her roommate on fire, proving she is capable of severe, unprovoked physical violence.
The argument that she's NOT the worst:
Dee is arguably the most tragic figure in the Gang. Her horrific actions are almost always born out of extreme insecurity, desperation for approval, or a desperate need to lash out after decades of relentless emotional abuse from her brother, her father, and her friends.
Charlie Kelly
Arguments for being the worst:
- Violent Outbursts: He is capable of shocking physical violence, like when he beat a child nearly to death for stealing his bike, or when he kidnapped and tortured a little person he believed was a leprechaun.
- The Waitress: He has relentlessly stalked, harassed, and terrified the Waitress for over a decade, ruining her life in the process.
- The Ruby Taft Betrayal: In "Charlie and Dee Find Love," he successfully seduces a beautiful, kind, wealthy heiress solely to use her as a pawn to make the Waitress jealous, before dumping her in the most callous, humiliating way possible.
The argument that he's NOT the worst:
Charlie is deeply ignorant, largely illiterate, and suffers from severe delusions. Many of his worst actions (like torturing the "leprechaun") happen because he fundamentally does not understand reality or social norms. He is more feral than evil.
Mac (Ronald MacDonald)
https://youtu.be/NvTYA4U99wM?si=WZ3D7Xfb1eBXt5bA
Arguments for being the worst:
- Hypocrisy and Bigotry: For much of the show, Mac uses his extreme, performative Catholicism to judge, condemn, and oppress others, despite breaking every rule he claims to champion.
- Child Endangerment: He and Dee once knowingly sent an unconscious child down a water slide, resulting in the child drowning. Guys, don’t worry, the child survived!
- The Dog Incident: He starved a dog to death and (allegedly) chopped it up and fed it to Dennis in a bowl of mac and cheese just to win an argument.
The argument that he's NOT the worst:
Mac is widely considered the least competent and least intelligent member of the Gang. His terrible behavior is almost entirely a defensive overcompensation for his massive insecurities, his daddy issues, and his years of closeted homosexuality. He is usually too stupid to pull off the truly devastating schemes the others manage.
In the end, the awfulness of each character is a sliding scale that varies by episode. And if the first two episodes of season 18 are any indication, there will be plenty of weight on the scale this season. Use the link below to subscribe to Sling Select with FX and watch new episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 18 with Sling.