U.S. sitcoms often come and go, but It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has been on the air for a long time. There are some sitcoms that last longer than they should, but the majority of viewers agree that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has gotten funnier as time went on.
The series premiered on FX in August 2005, and the show is still pumping out new seasons to this day. The show finished its thirteenth season in November 2018, and the fourteenth season is thought to premiere sometime in 2019. The series was created by Rob McElhenney, who also stars on the show as Mac. The rest of the gang is played by Charlie Day (Charlie), Kaitlin Olson (Dee), Danny Devito (Frank), and Glenn Howerton (Dennis), the latter of whom also developed the show with McElhenney.
The show has grown a big fan base after being on the air for close to 14 years and has even been nominated for a few Primetime Emmy awards. With there already being 13 seasons on the air, there have been a ton of continuity and production errors on the show. Most of these mistakes are often insignificant to the plot and don’t affect the quality of the show, but are still errors nonetheless.
Here are the 25 Mistakes Only True Fans Noticed In It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
Charlie Gets Hit
Slapstick comedy has been in U.S. culture for decades, and movies and TV shows still depend on it to this day. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has incredible writers to deliver hilarious jokes, but sometimes slapstick comedy slips into the show.
One of these moments came in season 2 episode 5, when Mac hits Charlie over the head with a glass bottle. During the training montage scene, Charlie isn’t supposed to see the bottle coming, but actor Charlie Day can be seen bracing for the impact right before the bottle hits him.
The Broken Door
The fifth season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia began its run in 2009, and the season opener was home to a few continuity errors. One of these mistakes comes when Dennis, Charlie, and Mac kick open a family’s front door and absolutely destroy it.
Later on, when Frank is talking with the lawyer, the door is seen in the background again, but isn’t nearly as damaged as it originally was. Originally the door is seen to be completely demolished, but in the next scene it only has two holes and is still functional.
Liam’s Arm
In season 3 episode 5, the gang finds themselves in a bit of an intense situation, as the McPoyle Brothers and sister Margaret hold them hostage at Paddy’s. During one of the scenes, Liam tells Ryan to stab someone to prove how serious they are, but Ryan ends up stabbing his brother instead of one of the Paddy’s employees.
Ryan proceeds to pour milk on his arm before walking away to take care of it. When he turns around, it is quite apparent that his left arm is pinned behind his back since his shirt has a big bulge in the back.
Visible Set
Like most movies and TV shows, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is filmed on a lot of sets. This became apparent in season 2 episode 4 when part of the outside of the set is actually seen in the episode.
During the scene when Dennis and the waitress go to the back office of the Pub, the camera is at a slight angle which reveals that the set doesn’t have a ceiling. Even one of the stage lights can be briefly seen in the shot, which definitely has no business being in a bar.
Carmine’s A Place For Steaks
Over the years, the gang has found themselves in a lot of situations that most people would never find themselves in. In season 10 episode 4, the employees at Paddy’s Pub try to pass a health inspection, but also try to trick a delivery truck into giving them a truckload of free steaks.
They do this by disguising the bar as Carmine’s A Place for Steaks, and Dennis even paints a sign with this name on it. When Charlie walks into the bar in one scene, Dennis has the complete restaurant name written out, but in the next shot the words “For Steaks” are missing.
Magical Coffee
Danny Devito joined the cast of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia at the beginning of season 2, but in episode 10 of season 2, Dee is on Myspace and finds someone who is claiming to be her and Dennis’ father.
When Dennis walks over to the computer, he doesn’t have anything in his hands, but in the very next shot, he has a cup of coffee in his hand. Some may think that it is just Dee’s cup that she had in front of the computer, but in one shot, Dennis and Dee’s cups can both be seen in the same shot.
Cup Flipping Skills
Since getting intoxicated is a popular pastime for a lot of people, there have been a lot of drinking games invented over the years. As owners and employees at a bar, the gang probably keeps up to date with drinking games including cup flipping. In season 5 episode 12, Dee is seen practicing the cup flipping game.
In one of the shots, all of the cups are upright, but in the very next shot, one of the cups is knocked over. Since the shots are supposed to be continuous, there wouldn’t have been time for Dee to flip it over.
Throwing Water On Dennis
During the events of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the main characters often get on each other's nerves, yet they still remain close friends. With that in mind, Dennis and Mac decide to spend some time apart from each other in season 5 episode 9.
In one of the scenes, Mac throws a glass of water on Dennis. Scenes usually aren’t filmed in one continuous take, and that became apparent during this scene since the water stain on Dennis’ shirt continues to change between shots of the scene.
A Wizarding World Newspaper
Season 4 episode 1 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia included two different storylines. One focused on Mac and Dennis tracking down their high school rival named Rickety Cricket, while Charlie and Dee are convinced that they tasted human flesh after Frank tricks them.
In one scene, Frank takes a few plates of meat off of the bar and, in between shots, the pages of a newspaper change. The items on the plates also change between shots at a few points. The images in the newspapers in the Wizarding World often move, but this is closest the Muggle world will ever get to moving pictures in newspapers.
The Refilling Drink
Since Paddy’s Pub isn’t always the most profitable bar in Philadelphia, the gang often goes through elaborate schemes to make a quick buck. Just that happens in season 2 episode 8, when Dennis decides to run for office so that people will pay them to quit.
In one of the scenes, Dee is talking to a comptroller in an office, and the comptroller’s wife throws a drink in Dee’s face. In the following shot, however, the drink is back in the original spot and is full again.
Mac’s Grip
The final episode of season 1 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia makes light of a very serious matter when Charlie’s elementary school teacher is put on trial. During one of the scenes, Mac shows a picture of himself to Dennis and Dee.
During the scene, Mac is holding the picture so that one of his fingers is wrapped around the top of the photograph. In the following shot, Mac is holding the image by its side and is using two fingers to do so. Since this is meant to be a continuous shot, this is just a continuity error.
A Magical Hammer
Paddy’s Pub usually isn’t very profitable, but season 4 episode 8 takes that to a whole new level as the gang realizes they have been named the worst bar in Philadelphia. The gang tries to change this by abducting the person who reviewed the bar, but accidentally abducts the writer’s neighbor instead.
During one scene, the gang is talking by the bar, and a hammer mysteriously appears out of nowhere on the bar top. It then disappears for a few shots, before Charlie pulls the hammer out from underneath the bar near the end of the scene.
Dee’s Nail Polish
Like any TV show or movie, the characters in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia often alternate between different outfits and designs between scenes. In season 4 episode 8, Dee even changes in and out of nail polish in between scenes, but she wasn’t meant to.
When the gang opens the trunk to reveal the person they abducted, Dee is wearing black nail polish, but once they go inside, she doesn’t have nail polish on anymore. Later on, when they abduct the second person, she has nail polish on again.
Visible Cameraman
Many people felt the effects of the economic crisis in 2009. The season opener for season 5 made light of that situation by having Frank buy a foreclosed home. An argument between Frank and the residents of the home breaks out in one scene, but another mysterious person can be seen on the left side of the screen.
This person isn’t supposed to be part of the scene and is actually a cameraman who wasn’t quite clear from the other camera’s view. It isn’t a small portion of him either, as viewers can clearly make out that it is another person standing on the side of the shot.
Charlie’s Molotov Cocktail
Molotov cocktails are often portrayed in movies and TV shows in an inaccurate way. In season 3 episode 1, Charlie tosses a Molotov cocktail inside of a cop car, but drops it light enough so that the bottle doesn’t break. Even if the bottle didn’t break, the car would have immediately caught on fire since Charlie explained that he soaked the inside of the car in gasoline.
At least ten seconds pass so that Charlie Day can deliver his line, but in reality, the car would have caught on fire right as he was throwing the explosive into the car.
Magical Cars
Season 2 episode 5, “Hundred Dollar Baby”, starts off with a bang as the gang gets mugged on the street in Philadelphia. At the beginning of the shot, there aren’t any cars in the background, but that changes in the next few shots.
The camera switches to the mugger, and when it goes back to the gang, there are three cars parked on the side of the street. The cars weren’t there before, and since it was supposed to be a continuous shot, there wouldn’t have been any time for one car, let alone three cars to appear.
Mac’s Exercise Bike
During season 12 episode 6, the gang visits an arbitrator to find out who owns the rights to a lottery ticket. During the episode, Mac pitches his idea for a new exercise bike and even has a unique tagline for his creation.
When Mac delivers his line, he pumps his left fist into the air, but in the next shot, his right hand is in the air. The shot in between shows the other characters at a table, so Mac could have quickly put his other hand up, but it is likely just a continuity error.
Dee’s Buzzer
In season 10 episode 8, the gang gets to play on a game show. The episode was well-received and comedian Keegan-Michael Key even makes an appearance as the game show host. That being said, the episode still has a clear continuity error.
In one scene, Dee hits her buzzer and it goes flying off the table and disconnects completely. In the next panning shot, the buzzer can be seen still attached to the table, as it is hanging off the side and is still attached to a cable.
Peanut Crumbs
At the beginning of season 2 episode 10, Dee is exploring Myspace, back when that website was still popular in 2006. Mac is standing at the bar eating peanuts and drinking a beer, for which Dennis scolds him since it is so early in the morning.
For continuity purposes, there isn’t anything wrong with him drinking beer, but the peanuts do become an issue. There are peanut crumbs on the bar in one shot, but in the next, the crumbs disappear. Throughout the entire scene, the bar goes from being completely clean to there being a mess from peanut crumbs.
The Disappearing Ashtray
Often times continuity errors come in the form of objects disappearing and reappearing in between shots. Since the gang works at and owns a bar, there are often ashtrays scattered around their property. In season 3 episode 3, there is a red ashtray that appears when Charlie and Frank are signing a contract.
The ashtray is missing for the majority of the scene, but when Mac walks in and talks about a welfare program, the ashtray reappears on the table where it originally was when the scene started.