‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ Wasn’t Originally Set in Philadelphia
Long before The Gang emerged as the sleaziest pub owners in Philadelphia, they held a very different occupation: the sleaziest aspiring actors in L.A.
In 2007, Glenn Howerton reflected on the show’s origins, revealing that the series was initially centered around a “group of best friends” with “little care” for one another all trying to make it big in Hollywood.
Though watching The Gang terrorize Tinseltown in the show’s DIY pilot episodes was enough to convince FX to greenlight the series, network execs still weren’t sold on Always Sunny’s SoCal setting. Instead of forcing the series to compete with entertainment industry shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, The Comeback, Extras and even Joey, the corporate bosses insisted on a change of both scenery and profession.
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“The network came to us and said, ‘We don’t want a show about actors,’” Rob Mac remembered of the show’s early days. “We said, ‘Fine, let’s put it somewhere else.’”
With L.A. out of the running, Mac returned to his roots, and offered up his hometown as the setting for his series. “I’m from Philly, let’s put it in Philly,” he recalled, noting that the idea of having The Gang run “the worst bar in Philadelphia” came shortly thereafter.
“We’ll make it about a bar, because that’s a job where you can have lots of free time and still have income that could explain how these people can sustain themselves,” he explained.
Two decades later, this move was clearly for the best — even if Mac’s new veneers do scream Hollywood.
