It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has been on for a long time, a really long time. The FX sitcom is actually the longest-running live-action comedy of all time as it approaches its 17th season, which will premiere on the 2025 TV schedule later this month. The cast seems to still have a blast making the show, and audiences are still loving it, so there’s no reason to slow down now. However, there was a time when Glenn Howerton, who plays Dennis on the show, was thinking about jumping ship, and he got candid about why.
Howerton participated in a panel alongside co-stars Charlie Day, Rob Mac (formerly McElhenney), Kaitlin Olson, and Danny DeVito, where they celebrated the 20th anniversary of the show. The actor got candid about feeling anxious around the time of the 12th season because he was wondering if the show had grown stale and “worn out its welcome,” as he explained (via EW):
I was worried that maybe, we had sort of peaked or something, and I just was like, you know, we've been doing this for a long time and I think I was also anxious.
It makes sense to feel that way, especially considering not many shows had gone on as long as they had, and there aren't many models for a successful show with that kind of longevity. Howerton also said that at the time, he was struggling with doing other projects outside of Always Sunny, and he felt like he was being put into a box. He said:
I had not figured out yet how to, stretch myself and be able to do other things that I wanted to do with my career outside of the show... I was aching to do other things and so I was starting to feel a little boxed in, frankly.
Thankfully, Howerton didn’t leave the show and was able to figure out how to balance multiple projects. Outside of Sunny, he recently participated in the miniseries Sirens for Netflix, between 2018 and 2021, he led the NBC sitcom A.P. Bio, and he also starred in the buzzy film Blackberry in 2023. The actor has clearly figured out how to wear a lot of hats and still maintain his role on the beloved sitcom, which he’s grown to embrace.
He also likely was able to embrace the uniqueness of his opportunity. What sets Always Sunny apart, and probably can speak to its longevity, is the fact that Howerton, Day and Mac all write on the show, and can dictate stories and the choices their characters make. They can make changes in the moment, and the three of them are also executive producers, so they have a lot of creative freedom. This kind of reach creatively is rare in television for an actor, and an opportunity he might have recognized when Howerton took some time off in Season 13 and started working on other projects.
Luckily, after he admittedly revealed he missed giving his two cents about the episodes of the show and having creative input, he returned to It’s Always Sunny. He asserted that he has always maintained his appreciation for the show, and is still having fun doing it, which is why he, and the rest of the cast, maintain their participation as long as FX will have them. Who knows what the future may hold, but at least for now, Howerton and everyone else are still on board for more.
You can see Glenn Howerton in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which is now streaming with a Hulu subscription. The show returns for its 17th season on July 9th with its Abbott Elementary crossover episode, so make sure to check it out. The whole gang will be back, and I can safely say we can't wait to see them all together again.
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