Even while It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was becoming the clear hit it is today, star and co-creator Glenn Howerton was concerned the cast and crew might “wear out their welcome” before realizing it was time to end things.
Howerton appeared with co-stars Rob McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson, Charlie Day, and Danny DeVito on a panel celebrating the show’s 20th anniversary and its title as the longest-running live-action comedy in American TV history.
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. 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.
the actor explained how anxious he became as production began on the show’s 12th season
He quickly made it clear he “never lost any appreciation for the show,” but thought it would be better for the series to end sooner than later.
I just thought like maybe we should, and then they were like, ‘We don’t want to end it,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, well I can’t stop you.’
Fans of the FXX series might recall there was a lot of speculation about whether Howerton would come back for season 13 after season 12’s finale showed Dennis leaving for North Dakota to be a dad to Brian Jr. (he had, of course, given the child’s mother a fake name when they got together).
Also Read: It’s Always Sunny Star Rob McElhenney Explains ‘Kinda Douchey’ Choice To Change His Name
The decision looked like Howerton’s exit after he took the lead role in NBC’s comedy series A.P. Bio.
Conversation really should be about what’s going to happen with Dennis, not what’s going to happen with me, and that’s something we don’t have an answer to yet.
While speaking with Entertainment Weekly at the time Howerton said he had no intentions on leaving the show saying the
As promised, when season 13 debuted, Dennis had mysteriously returned to Philadelphia, apparently leaving his son behind. Still, Howerton was no longer involved in the show’s writing team for seasons 13 and 14.
McElhenney joked that “there were so many moments” when Howerton attempted to leave the show, but the team “just won’t let him because of the implication.” Fortunately, McElhenney adds, they “just kept writing it and kept writing him in [the show].”
And we’re like, he’s just gonna eventually say he’s coming back. That’s what happened.
the It’s Always Sunny co-creator declared
Howerton admitted he couldn’t resist the fact that the “gravity of Sunny” kept drawing him back.
I was like finding myself just having a lot of opinions about the episodes that you guys were writing, which is, you know, fair to say. And I just was like, ‘Oh, I think I need to get in there and get my hands dirty again.’ You know, I’d had a little bit of time off.
he recalled
It clearly worked out for the best. In 2021, A.P. Bio was canceled by Peacock after four seasons, following its earlier cancellation by NBC after just two seasons.
Meanwhile, It’s Always Sunny shows no signs of stopping. When EW visited the set in 2019, the cast shared their thoughts on whether the show would be ending anytime soon.
For us, we just have a short checklist: Do we still enjoy it, are we still having fun, are we still stretching ourselves creatively, and is the audience still there?. It seems like all those boxes keep getting checked, so we keep coming back.
said McElhenney
Season 17 of It’s Always Sunny is set to premiere on July 9, while season 18 is already in development.
Source: EW