‘We Had A Lot of Arguments’: Charlie Day Says He Initially ‘Didn’t Really Want’ to Do A ‘Golden Bachelor’ Crossover on ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’

Frank Reynolds’ upcoming Golden Bachelor stint may have brought together a ragtag band of millennial wine girlies, Philly fuckbois and comedy nerds, but Charlie Day wasn’t always ready to accept a rose from the ABC reality show. 

Ahead of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Season 17 premiere, Day shared his initial reservations about teaming up with the long-running dating show, telling the L.A. Times he worried that collaborating with both The Bachelor and Abbott Elementary would be too much for one season. 

“To be perfectly frank, I didn’t really want to do both,” he explained during a recent interview alongside his co-star Danny DeVito, citing his preference for Always Sunny episodes with fewer “pop-culture references.” “I think you can do one or the other.”

In fact, even when he was finally convinced that a “Sunny character’s version” of The Golden Bachelor had the potential to be “funny,” he and Rob Mac and Glenn Howerton still “had a lot of arguments” about the concept, debating “how” and “whether” they should take on the Golden Bachelor.

“Rob and Glenn and I spend weeks and months really digging in and arguing and pushing each other out of our comfort zones in all sorts of directions,” he recalled of the Always Sunny team’s creative process. 

In the end, though, DeVito’s willingness to commit to the bit served as the driving force in getting Frank’s Golden Bachelor moment off the ground. “If Danny wasn’t so supportive, it would be really challenging,” Day explaiend. “Pretty much everything we bring to you, Danny, you say, Okay, I’m going to make this work.’ Golden Bachelor was a perfect example.” 

DeVito, while admittedly “not a Golden Bachelor watcher,” also got candid about his character’s experience leading the ABC franchise, detailing his excitement at the “opportunity” to try something new. “Once I got there and figured out what they had up their sleeve, I just went with it big time,” DeVito added, chalking up the episode to another example of how “being Frank is really wonderful.” 

“They push the envelope and come up with all these crazy things, and I go along with it,” DeVito continued. “And from the time my feet hit the ground, when I get there, I’m smiling.”