Who’s the most pathetic character on It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia?
Let's attempt the impossible and count down the long-running sitcom's most wretched personalities
TV Features Charlie Kelly
You’d think that after 18 years, TV’s longest-running sitcom would have jumped the shark more than once. But over its run, Rob McElhenney and Glenn Howerton’s filthy comedy has never so much as strapped on a pair of water skis.
Now in its 16th season, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia is still firing on all cylinders, following the misadventures of four sociopaths and an idiot who are firing on no cylinders. (Yes, that’s a terrible car metaphor. Just go with it.) What makes the show’s staying power even more remarkable is that Mac (McElhenney), Dennis (Howerton), Dee (Kaitlin Olson), Frank (Danny DeVito), and Charlie (Charlie Day) have barely evolved as people over the years. It should get old, yeah, but it never does.
A huge part of Always Sunny’s appeal is that the Paddy’s Pub crew and the people around them are the most pathetic lot you’ll ever meet. But without an ounce of self-awareness between them, they don’t have the foggiest idea how awful their lives are. With that in mind, here’s our rundown of how the characters we love to hate—and hate to love—have fared over the past couple of seasons, ranked from least to most wretched.
39 Comments
OK, but how about you guys actually return to doing recaps/reviews for the new season of Sunny instead of farting out another slideshow?
im honestly not sure i watch any show they do a recap for, other than secret invasion. its incredible how far from the old days this site is (and thats not to bash the staff- they have to cover what their corporate bosses force them to do)
it’s crazy to think sundays used to have the traffic to handle two entirely separate game of thrones reviews.
HUNDREDS of comments on Walking Dead within an hour of it airing
And…well, if you’ve already watched the show…then what’s the point of the recap? Reviews, yes: for people who might want to know what a show’s about. Recaps? In the age of streaming/piracy? It’s not like anyone can really miss an episode these days.
Me clicking on the article: “Wow, finally something that must not be a slideshow, since there are only the 5 main characters to compare”Me, seconds later, seeing a slide titled “The Monkey Bartender” : …
I was less surprised they made a slide for the monkey bartender than a slide for Bryan Cranston.
To be fair we did run off like 5 of the previous recappers
“This 16-year-old show should feel old but it doesn’t and everything they do is gold” is not the most nuanced critical analysis I’ve ever heard.
I’d argue most of the COVID episodes were pretty terrible, between the ones where the gang was behind the election outcome/January 6 outfits and the trip to Ireland.
I thought they’d really lost the magic but this season has been really good. It’s like they all decided to give a shit again.
Frank v Russia has been the best so far.And guess who penned it?Megan Ganz. Of course.
No Waitress?
Who’s the most pathetic writer on The AV Club?
Schimkowitz
If you’d told me a couple years ago that someone would beat out Barsanti for the title… what a time to be alive
5. Mac McDonaldImagine posting a list of Sunny characters and not knowing mac’s real first name.
Wait a second, your first name is Ronald?
No McPoyles?
This, and I think there can be no #1 other than Rickety Cricket. The entire character is designed to be the embodiment of pathetic.
Considering where Cricket started and how far he’s fallen. And how he still manages to get a little lower each season.
I kinda get the feeling that this was written by someone who doesn’t exactly understand what the word “pathetic” actually means.
Yeah, I mean, Frank chose to live a life of squalor just because he wanted to.Father Matthew Mara didn’t choose to have his entire world torn apart by Dee and then tortured by the gang as he descended into “street rat” life.
I don’t know how they’re ranking pathetic characters and they didn’t do McPoyles, Maureen Ponderosa or Gail the Snail. I’m thinking this writer hasn’t actually watched the show.
Gail the Snail : Mom, I’m sexually active now. Get over it! Donna : You’re 33 years old, you’re supposed to be sexually active!
Hey Frank, I’m giving this guy a handy under the table. Jealous?
That’s what happens to Chloe when you close CTU.
Her time as a hacker in London really messed her up.
The writer only watched this season and last season. The article didn’t refer to anything earlier that I noticed, outside of Cricket’s issues with stray dogs.
Cricket, no contest.
How does the waitress not even crack the list?
why are all the examples from the last two seasons? seems like an odd choice
Here to ask where the waitress is
C’mon, Cricket has to be the obvious #1
I can’t be too shocked that a slideshow article is sloppily put together, since it will likely be lost to the ether in a few days, but is the majority of this listicle based solely on the last two seasons.?!? It really seems so. I wasn’t expecting some major IASIP lore drop, but this just seems lazy.
This slideshow is a complete catastrophe. Every reference seemed to be from seasons 15 & 16.
Yeah, it’s like this writer (Jenna) had never seen the show before but got tasked with making this listicle about it, then did a quick cram session of some random episodes from the latest 2 seasons only, and then boom: we get this (perhaps Chat GPT-assisted) mediocre slideshow thing.
Presumably this slideshow is the result of a “content marketing” pitch around Cranston’s tequila brand
I think Frank is probably way down this list, as he seems to have embraced what a complete evil shithead he is and appears to be comfortable making loads of money out of it in the worst, shittiest ways. He will go further than anyone else and also seems to have the smarts to actually fool people out of their money.