Danny DeVito On Pushing The Envelope On It’s Always Sunny: ‘When I See I’m Going To Eat A Turd, I Go Like Wow, Man.’

Every time It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia debuts a new season, part of me thinks it’ll be impossible for the episodes to go beyond where previous installments have, and then I’m quickly reminded how naive that is. Any TV show with main characters like Dennis and Frank Reynolds knows no bounds for crazy, gut-busting moments. Lest anyone think Danny DeVito is only involved because he lost a series of increasingly heightened wagers (possibly at a dog track). He in it to win it.

Speaking with the L.A. Times about Season 17 shaking up the 2025 TV schedule — Frank was turned into cake before going off to find potential matrimonial bliss via The Golden Bachelor — DeVito and co-star Charlie Day were asked about Frank and Charlie’s incomparable on-screen dynamic, and what they’re able to discover about it with each new season that arrives. The Taxi vet put the onus for chaos on Charlie, saying that Frank is more of an enthused follower. In his words:

Any number of Always Sunny eps feature Dennis and/or Dee wrapped up in some quasi-nefarious scheme where the ends don't justify the means, and it's usually tied entirely to the characters' pride and pleasure as opposed to anything objectively worthwhile or beneficial. Such as, say, the aforementioned dog track episode, or the siblings' failed plot to sleep with former friends in an installment that added to my list of all-time favorite Dennis quotes.

For most intents and purposes, though, Dennis and Dee (and even Mac, usually) do largely strive for the "normal way," as Danny DeVito put it. Which really just means their general A-to-B-to-C process is normal, while A, B, and C are all highly abnormal ideas in any given scenario. But 95% of the words that come out of Charlie's mouth are pure lunacy, and those are the harebrained ideas that DeVito says Frank sinks his teeth into.

Oh, and since we're on the topic of Frank sinking his teeth into thinks, it's a good time to showcase the rest of DeVito's thoughts as follows:

I mean honestly, is comedy even comedy anymore if a turd isn't being eaten? The act of eating (presumably) fake dog food in the fifth episode led to a glorious gag-off between Kaitlin Olson and Glenn Howerton, all for Frank's rabble-rousing glee. Not a whole lot of moments where Frank gets to make those same near-vomit faces, which is a crime, really.

It sounds like he'd be up for it if someone asked him to do it, though, and that's what really matters. For instance, Danny DeVito would not have been the person to pitch Frank going on an ABC reality show, but once he heard the idea, he understood the assignment.

Sometimes his feet are bare when they hit the ground, along with the rest of his body parts. Sometimes his feet are hitting the absurdly filthy ground somewhere in the bar or his shared hellhole with Charlie. Sometimes they hit parts of the ground that no one can ever speak of without shuddering for minutes at a time. That's our Frank!

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Season 27 finale will air on FXX on Wednesday, August 20, and can be streamed the next day with a Hulu subscription.