It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

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Fandom
Name: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Abbreviation(s): IASIP, It's Always Sunny, Always Sunny, Sunny
Creator: Rob McElhenney
Date(s): August 4, 2005 – present
Medium: television series
Country of Origin: United States
External Links: Wikipedia, Official Website, IMDB
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an FX/FXX television sitcom following the exploits of five unethical and immoral friends. Its pilot ran in 2005, and in 2016, FXX commissioned the show through season fourteen.[1]. Season fourteen premiered in September 2019.[2] In December 2020, the show was renewed for four more seasons, becoming the longest-running live action comedy of all time.[3] The show moved from FX to FXX in 2013 for its ninth season.

Canon

The series follows "The Gang," a group of five depraved underachievers: twins Dennis Reynolds (Glenn Howerton) and Dee Reynolds (Kaitlin Olson), their friends Charlie Kelly (Charlie Day) and Mac (Rob McElhenney), and from season 2 onward Frank Reynolds (Danny DeVito), Dennis and Dee's (non-biological) father. The Gang run the dilapidated Paddy's Pub, an Irish bar in South Philadelphia.

Characters

Fandom

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia as a show existed for a long time before a transformative fandom formed around it. The show was reviewed by the AV Club[4]. In 2010, a subreddit was created /r/iasip. Early IASIP fans often shared screenshots, cosplays, theories and mock scripts in online forums. However there was very few works of fanfiction for IASIP prior to 2013.[5]

In 2013 there was a significant boost in fandom popularity and engagement, much of which was due to the film Pacific Rim, which featured (Charlie Day) as the leading role of kaiju scientist Newt Geiszler. Thus, many of the fics and fanworks (generally created in 2013) were very focused on Charlie Kelly.[6] Charlie Kelly/Mac (CharlieMac) was the most popular ship for these early writers, meta-ers, and artists.[7] The fandom soon changed drastically. Interest in Charlie and in writing about Charlie waned significantly as people trickled into the fandom who weren't there due to a connection to Pacific Rim at all.

IASIP experienced another influx of new fans in 2017. These fans were coming primarily from Sherlock fandom. Many were proponents of The Johnlock Consipiracy and may have been influenced by users such as graceebooks. Graceebooks and others pushed what some might call a tinhat idea that MacDennis was going to become canon by the series 12 finale. The was referred to as The MacDennis Conspiracy. An associated term is The Prophecy. This is the name commonly given by fans to The Chardee Macdennis Prophecy, which claims that Charlie/Dee and Mac/Dennis will become canon before the end of the series.

Due to the lack of centralized communities on Tumblr, communication and connection between fans is mainly done by utilizing ship tags. IASIP is very popular. There are many themed blogs, both gen and ship-focused. Fanfic is generally posted on Archive of Our Own and many other fanworks and fannish discussion appear on Tumblr.

Tumblr vs. Reddit

Today, Sunny fandom can be found on Tumblr, Twitter, and Reddit. However, the communities tend to be fairly separate, possibly due to a difference in demographics or interests on each platform. Fans on Reddit often view Tumblr fans are young and overly interested in romantic relationships. While fans on Tumblr view Redditors as dudebros who are oblivious to the LGBT subtext of the show.[8].

What Reddit thinks of Tumblr

The fandom on Tumblr isn't very big, but they are very dedicated. I've read through the Sunny tags on Tumblr and there are lots of people who are very much invested in any potential or perceived romantic relationships on the show (Charlie/Dee and especially Mac/Dennis). But the crowd on Tumblr seems to skew younger and gayer than this subreddit. Right now on Tumblr the current popular theory is that Dennis becomes the bar, if that gives you an idea of the fans on Tumblr.[9]

Gay/bi people on tumblr really want it [Mac/Dennis] to happen. I search for IASIP discussion on there and there are certain blogs that are dedicated to it. They think reddit is homophobic too, and will hate it. Side note: they also hate the Dennis is a serial killer theory. I guess because it competes against their Dennis is gay/bi theory? They're strange people.[10]

What Tumblr thinks of Reddit

[...] I’ve just browsed through the Sunny reddit page, and it’s left me wondering if a lot of redditors have a very superficial grasp on Sunny and it’s characters… or maybe we’re the ones who are all deluded on here, and we’re vastly over-interpreting rcg’s intentions? Like most things it’s probably a little from Column A and a little from Column B. [11]

Shipping

Most iterations of IASIP pairings exist in fanworks, but the most popular pairings have shifted over time. Some common pairings include:

By Feb 2014, there were 96 fanworks on Ao3, with 32 CharlieMac, 13 MacDennis, 7 DeeDennis, 5 CharlieDee and 3 MacDee fics.[12] Throughout 2014, Mac Dennis began to grow in popularity and eventually overtook CharlieMac as the most popular ship in the fandom.[13]

Within the span of two years, MacDennis became the fandom's juggernaut[14], with much of its rise in popularity attributed to new fans joining the fandom.

Since the show is made by the actors, and said actors are all friends and/or married, talking about the actors is very common. Interviews, pictures, tweets, and behind the scenes videos are regularly discussed by fans. Fan attitude toward it can vary from casual speculation to rpf. The most popular RPF ship is Rob McElhenney/Glenn Howerton, also known as glob, which is partially due to them playing Mac and Dennis on the show.

Common Tropes & Storylines

In a show about horrible people doing horrible things, it is perhaps unsurprising that IASIP fanworks are known for dealing with dark themes. This had led to controversy and wank in fandom as some disagree with headcanons or depictions in fanworks. Some common themes explored in Sunny works include:

  • Alcohol and drug abuse/addiction
  • Works featuring internalized homophobia, usually focus on Mac
  • Characters dealing with an eating disorder or body dysmorphia (usually Dennis or Dee)
  • Even within works featuring a popular pairing, the relationship may be shown to be manipulative, co-dependent or otherwise abusive

Many fanfiction titles resemble the format of IASIP episode titles.

Controversies & Criticism

Controversies in fandom often relate to the problematic aspects of the show or fanworks (such as ships or ship dynamics been deemed abusive). Many of the problematic elements have a basis in canon, and this can lead to fans suggesting that criticisms are not coming from "real" Sunny fans.

  • Discourse around Charlie's sexuality or asexuality. This wank intensified following the episode "The Gang Hits the Slopes", wherein Charlie has sex.
  • Discourse associated with mental illness headcanons for certain characters and if they were problematic.
  • Woobification of Dennis, as his characterization shifted to a focus on an interpretation of him as a softer, mentally ill man, much of this lead by beachdeath and other (newer) fans. Some perceived this as problematic due to the fact that he's a canonical rapist.
  • There have been ship war style antics between MacDennis and Charlie/Mac shippers - with a focus on portraying MacDennis as a more abusive and "wrong" ship for Mac.
  • There have also been arguments amongst MacDennis shippers about what is the right way to ship MacDennis, or depict their relationship in works. This wank may have included some fans been called abuse apologists.[citation needed]
  • Criticism and anti-shipping of incest ships, particularly Dee/Dennis, that seemed to accompany new fans entering the fandom.
  • Fic discourse arguing the right or wrong of using moral arguments to deem IASIP fanfic problematic. Much of these arguments related to the show's depictions of rape/incest/problematic elements, and questioned why these same elements were deemed unacceptable in fanworks.

Dennis is the Bar

On March 2, 2017, Tumblr user macdenenisofficial penned a meta positing that Dennis might become Paddy's Pub, in the season 12 finale episode, "Dennis's Double Life."[15] The meta is a crack theory built on an implicit textual tie-in between Always Sunny and the show Quantum Leap established in episode 12.01, "The Gang Turns Black." Using a recent article from The Monthly Spew published in 2015,[16] the author draws a further crossover connection between Quantum Leap and Doctor Who, positing that all three shows operate in the same fictional universe, in which inanimate objects (such as the TARDIS (Doctor Who)) can have sentience. Therefore it would be possible, canonically, for Dennis to become Paddy's Pub. The theory also draws on other textual aspects of Always Sunny, such as the repeated characterization of Dennis as "The Golden God."

The meta instantly gained a great deal of traction in Tumblr's Always Sunny fandom, generating numerous edits and memes referencing the theory [17] [18] [19] [20] [21].

Many fans characterized the theory as a fandom "coping mechanism" [22] which distracted from collective anxiety [23] over the approaching season finale. This anxiety was due to two possible narrative developments, the first being the potential canonization of the Mac/Dennis ship, which the series, and particularly season 12, appeared to be earnestly moving toward. The other possibility was that of Dennis being written off the show, which was hinted at in the promos [24].

The theory became popular enough that it quickly reached the attention of Glenn Howerton. On March 4, 2017 Howerton tweeted about the incident, stating: "Why is everyone asking me if Dennis 'becomes the bar?' I have no idea what that means. #Explain". [25]

Fandom Quirks and Trends

Glenjamin Howerton - In the early days of fandom, a popular text post[26] saying that someone thought 'Glenn' was short for 'Glenjamin' surfaced. Naturally, everyone started calling Glenn Howerton 'Glenjamin Howerton.'[citation needed] Since then, his nicknames have diversified into many amusing variations such as Glennifer, Glennis[27] (a play on how he did not want his character to be named after himself), and Glenetration.[28]

Glenn Howerton Photo Shitposts - Glenn Howerton has no idea how to take a picture that doesn't look like he's either a serial killing meth dealer or a weird dad who on the side probably kills people and sells meth. Nobody is sure if this is on purpose but everyone thinks it is hilarious.[citation needed] There is also a lot of discussion on Tumblr about Glenn's various haircuts, particularly around the time of the release of Archenemy.

oh my god he went to Julliard - This is a fandom joke about how Glenn Howerton went to Julliard, a prestigious school for acting, but ended up playing Dennis. It is commonly understood that he is both underutilizing and overutilizing his skills learned from Julliard on Sunny.

Example Fanworks

Fanart

Zines

Archives & Fannish Links

LJ Communities

Tumblr

References

  1. ^ Season 14 on the It's Always Sunny Wikia. Accessed on October 2, 2018.
  2. ^ It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on Wikipedia. Accessed on October 2, 2018.
  3. ^ Otterson, J. 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' Renewed Through Historic Season 18 by FX, Variety, 10 December 2020. (Accessed 17 April 2021.) (Archive link).
  4. ^ IASIP on avclub.com
  5. ^ As of February 2013, there were 11 fanworks in this fandom on Ao3. See Archived Link accessed 28 September 2018.
  6. ^ As of Aug 2013, immediately following the release of Pacific Rim, there were 17 works in this fandom. See Archived Link.
  7. ^ I wana know about how unpopular MacDennis was
  8. ^ shaking hands meme by globrights, 'the gays' and 'that one dudebro who finally figured it out after hours of discussing with other dudebros on that one reddit thread' shake hands on 'mac and dennis were jerking off together in the gang spies like us'
  9. ^ Comment on this craiglist ad, by Summeree, 2017
  10. ^ Comment on this craigslist ad by [deleted], 2017, accessed 14 Aug 2021
  11. ^ Tumblr post by lemonwrld, Aug 13 2021
  12. ^ See Archived Link to IASIP tag on AO3
  13. ^ As of Dec 13 2014, there were 66 Mac/Dennis works and it was the most popular pairing in the fandom. See Archived Link
  14. ^ As of March 2017, this fandom had 698 works in the following pairings on Ao3: *Mac/Dennis Reynolds (335), Charlie Kelly/Mac (89), Charlie Kelly/Dee Reynolds (61), Mac & Dennis Reynolds (56), Dee Reynolds/Dennis Reynolds (44), Charlie Kelly/Dennis Reynolds (25), Charlie Kelly/Scientist (19), Charlie Kelly & Mac (18), Dee Reynolds & Dennis Reynolds (11), Charlie Kelly & Frank Reynolds (4)
  15. ^ become the bar macdennisofficial.tumblr
  16. ^ Satirical news report - Dr. Who announces quantum leap crossover (Archived Link)
  17. ^ Dennis wants everyone to “please focus on the bar!!” meaning him emotionally. A tumblr text post by coffeeteaitsallfine.
  18. ^ Incorrect quote/Manip posted by areyoudrinkingsunscreen on Tumblr
  19. ^ FanArt with Dennis as an Animorph] by garfilth on Tumblr
  20. ^ The Office manip tagged Dennis is the bar by dirtfungus on Tumblr
  21. ^ Dennis Reynolds incorrect quote by absjxhxbdu-notabot-dnducbdjhlj on Tumblr
  22. ^ some people?? use dennis is the bar theory?? to cope??? a text post by mcpoyle on Tumblr
  23. ^ thank you @macdennisofficial (creator of the dennis is the bar theory) for bringing us together in this time of stress a text post by notsosweetdee on Tumblr
  24. ^ It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 12x10 Promo "Dennis' Double Life" (HD) Season Finale
  25. ^ twitter.com/GlennHowerton Why is everyone asking me if Dennis "becomes the bar?" a twitter post by Glenn Howerton.
  26. ^ The post was made on August 25, 2014.
  27. ^ Tumblr post by bottom-peteparker. Posted on August 29, 2017. Accessed on October 2, 2018.
  28. ^ Tumblr post by soepoe. Posted on April 6, 2016. Accessed on October 2, 2018.
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