Those who have seen It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia surely know it’s not exactly a family-friendly show. The Paddy’s Pub gang has been known to be overly destructive, extremely offensive, exploitative and irredeemably immoral people. So it wouldn't be wild for married Sunny co-stars Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson to shield their kids from their show. As it turns out, though, their son is actually a fan, and Olson had a funny take on why they allow him to keep watching it.
Olson recently spoke at a panel, and an attendee shared a snippet of it to TikTok. It was there that the actress revealed her teenage son, Axel, is watching the raunchy FX comedy, just in time for It's Always Sunny's 17th Season to premiere on the 2025 TV Schedule. While he is not unfamiliar with the show’s vulgar content, having visited the set growing up, Olson admitted the real reason she lets him watch, and it may or may not be humorously vain:
I don’t go back and purposefully watch, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like that my 14-year-old is watching Sunny now, and there’s nothing we can do, he’s 14. But he loves it so much. When he was little, he used to sneak scripts, we would find them in his room. And, now, he’s watching it. Rob and I found ourselves like standing – I’m making dinner like, ‘oh I’m about to – oh don’t turn away I’m about to say something.’ So I do like it.
Though Olson could not be more unlike her character in real life, this is such a Dee Reynolds answer. Dee would certainly be caught watching herself on TV. I shouldn’t be surprised, since she and her hubby wrote the damn show but, man, do I wish I had two comedians as parents.
The Hacks actress is even a good sport when people publicly yell at her in front of her kids like she’s Sweet Dee, and she says her boys find it hilarious. It seems McElhenney and Olson are very proud and appreciative of their successful sitcom and are happy to share it with at least one of their two kids now that they’re old enough.
Though Olson could not be more unlike her character in real life, this is such a Dee Reynolds answer. She would be caught watching herself on TV. I shouldn’t be surprised, since she and her hubby wrote the damn show, but, man, do I wish I had two comedians as parents.
The Hacks actress is even a good sport when people publicly yell at her in front of her kids like she’s Sweet Dee, saying her boys find it hilarious. It seems McElhenney and Olson are very proud and appreciative of their successful sitcom and are happy to share it with at least one of their two kids now that they’re old enough.
I’m not going to just skip past the part where Olson says Axel used to "sneak scripts" into his room ,though. Clearly, their son has been a fan of Sunny for a lot longer than they thought. I can’t say I blame him, because the show is hilarious. However, I definitely don’t think a child should be reading that kind of content.
Even the best Sunny episodes are hilarious mostly because of how inappropriate and ridiculous they are. Look no further than Charlie’s musical, The Nightman Cometh, and the D.E.N.N.I.S. System -- in which Dennis details how he traumatically manipulates women into sleeping with him -- to get a sense of how wild the show is.
Content like this is why It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is not on network TV unlike Abbott Elementary. The two Philadelphia-based comedies could not be more different, but they crossed over during the most recent season of Abbott. The two shows are due for their second crossover installment, set in Sunny’s specific comedic style. Since Abbott is a family friendly show, Olson issued a friendly heads up to all regular viewers of Abbott, warning them about Sunny’s NSFW content. However, I wouldn't be surprised if the entire McElhenney-Olson clan will be sitting down together to watch the highly anticipated episode as it airs.
If you are of an appropriate age to witness the Gang’s shenanigans, Seasons 1-16 of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia are available to stream with a Hulu subscription. Proceed with caution, and be prepared to laugh as well as cringe.
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