Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson, the married co-stars of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," have started letting their two sons, ages 13 and 14, watch the show – with supervision.
"We really make a concerted effort to talk about the complexities and nuances of satire," McElhenney, who recently changed his name to Rob Mac, told the New York Times. "They're well-versed in that."
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Season 17 of the sitcom, which includes the second part of the "Abbott Elementary" crossover and a "Golden Bachelor" plotline, premieres Wednesday on FX. I
The Times dug into some of the difficult topics "It's Always Sunny" has portrayed over the years and how its characters mesh together as part of a lengthy feature that declares the show "the defining American sitcom."
In its nearly 20 years on the air, "It's Always Sunny" has tackled a number of taboo themes, including but not limited to molestation, cannibalism and incest. But Mac and the writers on the show weren't ones to shy away from them.
"It's difficult to suggest that some areas of exploration are verboten and some are not," said Mac, who is from South Philly. "I think you're either all in or you're all out."
The relationships on the show, however dysfunctional, are central, with star Danny DeVito, who plays Frank, going as far as comparing it to "Matilda," the 1996 movie he produced based on Roald Dahl's novel, because both are about "found family."
But creator Mac, who plays a character of the same name, had a slightly different view, saying the initial idea was somewhat of a reverse "Friends." While the NBC sitcom centered on the idea of friends that are there for one another no matter what, "It's Always Sunny" is about a group of people who are stuck with each other, because no one else wants to hang out with them.
"(It's) the idea of friends that would never be there for each other, that would sell each other out at a moment's notice and were always looking out for themselves well before they were looking out for anybody else," Mac said.
That theme played out in the episode used to pitch the show to TV executives. Dennis, played by Glenn Howerton, visits Charlie, played by Charlie Day, to ask for some sugar – only to find that Charlie has just been diagnosed with cancer. But Dennis still wants the sugar and has to figure out how to request it, despite the circumstances.
It was enough to sell John Landgraf, the former FX president of entertainment, on the show. He found its humor to be ahead of the curve.
"It was before the internet age, and yet the trolling and jackassery and self-proclaimed expertise that defines internet culture is really at the core of these characters," Landgraf said.