It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is the longest-running live-action comedy series in American history and still delivers the same amount of laughs as it did in 2005, when it debuted on FX.
The Start
In 2004, McElhenney pitched Always Sunny to network executives by presenting them with a 26-minute short film titled Charlie Has Cancer. McElhenney, Day, and Howerton played self-absorbed actors competing for the same role as a terminally ill patient in the camcorder-shot pilot.
Humble Beginnings
The sole expenses for the pilot, which was also written and directed by McElhenney, were pizza and the camcorder it was shot on. No one was compensated for their work on the project. There being only $100 in total. Always Sunny was originally extended for four more seasons back in December 2020, thus the program will at least continue through season 18.
Even with a startup budget of $100, the show was a hit and continued on for even more. It’s certain that the cast and crew had fun and enjoyed making the series and hopefully, we would get to see more later on!