‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ to Return for a Record-Breaking 15th Season, Will Address the Coronavirus

“The Gang Breaks a Television Record” should be the subtitle for the upcoming season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which has officially been picked up for its 15th season. This historic renewal makes the show the longest-running live-action comedy series in American television history; it will finally overtake The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, which has held that record since it went off the air in 1966.

And in case there was any doubt, the Sunny gang is going to address the coronavirus pandemic in the new season. Read the statement from creator Rob McElhenney below.

Deadline reports that It’s Always Sunny has been renewed once again, though the outlet claims it will be broadcast on FX even though the series moved over to FXX back in 2013. FXX seems to be on solid ground during the pandemic, but with Disney shaking things up in the streaming world (see: FX on Hulu) and the coronavirus still impacting Hollywood in a huge way, I’ll be curious to see if this series eventually makes another jump to a different home under that same corporate umbrella.

Meanwhile, EW points us to an interview that creator Rob McElhenney did with NME just a few days ago, in which he was asked what a theoretical quarantine episode would have looked like had COVID-19 shut down production of Sunny instead of McElhenney’s AppleTV+ comedy Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet. (The latter show just produced a remote episode, which hit the streaming service on May 22.) Here’s how he responded:

“Well, we actually do have an episode called ‘The Gang Gets Quarantined’ [season nine, episode seven] where we quarantine ourselves in the bar. I think there’s a big flu going around Philadelphia or something like that. When we come back, don’t worry, we will address all this in the way only Sunny can!”

Here are a few clips from “The Gang Gets Quarantined” episode:

McElhenney also revealed that they were in “active negotiations for seasons 15 and 16” of Sunny – and again, remember that this interview was conducted a few days ago. They’ve since been given the go-ahead for season 15, but even though season 16 has not been confirmed yet, he has said several times that he has no interest in wrapping up the show any time soon. “I’ll do it forever. If people keep watching it and we keep having fun, why would we ever stop?”