30 Best It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Episodes Ranked

Most sitcoms peak in the second or third season and then gradually decline in quality from that point forward. Think "The Office," "That '70s Show," and "Arrested Development." But FX's "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" – which follows the insane, selfish, and utterly hilarious exploits of the five buffoons who run Paddy's Pub — only gets better with age. For some reason, we just don't tire of watching Frank, Dennis, Dee, Charlie, and Mac stab each other in the back as they try to better their middling existence as owners of a dumpy Philadelphia bar. 

There's no shortage of riotously funny moments in the show's history, so we went diving into IMDb to find the greatest episodes of a series that's had us holding our sides for years. From absurd musicals to harebrained schemes and hilarious tantrums, here are the best episodes of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" according to IMDb.

The Gang might not like each other very much, but they do love to bond over two action-packed movie series: "Lethal Weapon," and the in-universe "Thunder Gun" series, which is exactly as preposterous (and awesome) as it sounds. In this episode, they're all on their way to the theater to check out the latest "Thunder Gun" movie. Unfortunately, the president is in town, and his motorcade has created legendary interstate gridlock. Most people might call it a day and try again the next weekend.

But as we all know, the Gang is not "most people." They instantly throw some ludicrous schemes together to make it to the theater on time. Charlie and Dee dive into the sewers. Frank commandeers a tour boat and ruins the paid experience for everyone on board by rocketing off towards the theater, all while dropping little pearls of local wisdom that range from untrue to uninteresting to completely inappropriate for a family event. Meanwhile, Mac tries and fails both to fit into the sewers with his friends, and to steal a bike. He ends up reuniting with Dennis, who's been stuck in traffic with the car, listening to tapes of him seducing women. Because of course he has been.

In this episode, Charlie and Dee get rear-ended at a light and get out to kick some ass. They don't get very far, though, as they become instantly infatuated with the two hot, wealthy siblings who ran into them and are now profusely apologizing. Next, they all couple up and get to know each other. Of course, when Dennis, Frank, and Mac realize that Charlie and Dee are getting invited to country clubs and mansions, they weasel their way into the action. It goes exactly as well as you'd expect. The gang makes such fools of themselves that the fact they're not being tossed out on the street almost breaks your suspension of disbelief.

But then it all comes together. The rich folks were just trying to show off their gullible peasant pets to their friends. The Gang catches wind of this and brings the whole house down at the party they've been invited to. Dennis reveals to the crowd that the wealthy son was trading stock secrets, and Charlie dumps Ruby Taft (Alexandra Daddario, of all people), who actually wasn't in on the cruel scheme, for the Waitress. Who then dumps Charlie. Again. See? It all comes around.

Luther, Mac's intimidating dad who's constantly in and out of prison, has made it clear — more than once, mind you — that he wants nothing to do with his son. After all, it's usually a scheme cooked up by Mac and his friends that gets him stuffed in the joint to begin with. When his parole is granted, Mac and Charlie, who'd tried to frame him to prevent his release, believe their lives are in danger.They then decide to fake their own deaths and go into hiding. Why wouldn't that be the first place their minds went to? They try a few things that naturally involve a poorly assembled suicide tape and destroying Dee's car via crashing it into a wall (with Mac still inside, who was supposed to have jumped clear at the last second), dropping hand grenades into the back seat, and unloading a handgun into the gas tank. Hilariously, the car survives all of this, but they figure it's enough to sell the narrative of their untimely demise.

Both the B plot, in which Dennis, Dee, and Frank find a glory hole in the men's restroom, and the second part of this storyline, in which Mac and Charlie's scheme unravels and Dennis and Frank go to the most disappointing orgy in the world, are worth watching. But Mac and Charlie trying and failing to blow up Dee's car is simply "Always Sunny" gold.

In this episode, the Gang, well, gets analyzed. Naturally, they're some of the most ill-adjusted, miserable patients their poor therapist has ever had the misfortune of trying to treat. And if you're wondering why people with so little class and self awareness would voluntarily submit themselves to psychiatric treatment in the first place, the answer is probably stupider than you would've imagined: they can't figure out who should clean the dishes. In fact, if you've been watching this show for more than a few episodes, it's probably exactly as stupid as you imagined.

In the therapist's chair, everything spills out. Frank melts down recounting his youth in a mental hospital. Mac melts down about his weight. Charlie melts down about being a lowly janitor and getting no respect. Dee melts down when the therapist refuses to believe she really was the original choice for Rachel MacAdams' role in "The Notebook," and Dennis doesn't melt down at all. Not for good reason, mind you, as he's the sickest member of the Gang by at least a full order of magnitude. It's because he believes, despite his complete lack of professional education and experience, that he's a peer of the doctor, and tries to help her analyze his friends, on whom he keeps meticulous dossiers. It's one of the darkest episodes of the show, but still filled with gut-bustingly hilarious moments.

In this episode, Frank runs into Dennis at a stop light, causing him to spill cereal all over the inside of his car. Dennis demands payment, and Frank denies responsibility (because who eats cereal in a car?).

Naturally, the gang decides to settle things in court. And by court, we mean an idiotic farce they throw together in the bar itself, where Charlie defends Frank, Dee defends Dennis, and Mac stands at the front and more or less presides over the affair, even though he has no clue what he's doing. In fact, to give you an idea of how legally competent the gang is, they can't even agree on who the defendant is, try to acquit Frank via a document that states he doesn't have "donkey brains" (which he got at an asylum as a kid), and eventually wind up listening to Mac try to disprove evolution by pointing out times when scientists have been wrong in the past. Amazingly, as Legal Eagle points out, it isn't even the most ludicrous legal-based story on the show.

It is, however, the funniest. Somehow, some way, the gang combines their moronic ideas and ends up coming to something approaching a reasonable solution to the situation. Unfortunately, this competency test results in Frank rear-ending Dennis a second time, so everyone decides to stick Dee with the bill. Because of course.

Keegan Michael-Key plays this episode's equivalent of Steve Harvey, who quickly comes to learn that the Gang are only winning a match of this "Family Feud"-style game not because of competence or a good grasp of general knowledge, but by dumb luck.

Dennis, obsessed with appearing high class on TV, frequently berates his teammates despite almost never getting an answer right (choosing to give snobby answers rather than correct ones). Frank has no qualms describing his nauseating personal hygiene habits. Dee bounces between smashing the podium button, making outrageously inappropriate sex jokes, activating a fart machine, and collapsing from hunger (she was starving herself to look good). Meanwhile, Mac has no idea how to play and Charlie's bizarre answers always end up being on the board, because, as he recalls at the end of the episode, he'd taken the survey in a mall a few weeks earlier.

Everyone has a role to play that perfectly highlights their uniquely moronic personality, making "The Gang Goes on Family Fight" an almost perfect episode of "It's Always Sunny."

In this Season 2 classic, Frank (who's just been introduced for the first time a few episodes prior) is ruling Paddy's with an iron fist. Sick of his tyranny, Dennis and Dee quit their jobs to live the high life, planning to use welfare payments to bankroll a life of leisure. Frank replaces them with some workers from a welfare program, who he treats like slaves, and Mac and Charlie lift his credit card and embark on a gluttonous spending spree that ends with a sex worker-filled party.

The best storyline here, though, and still one of the most shocking ones on the entire show, all these years later, is the one in the title. Dennis and Dee try to scam their way to welfare payments by faking crack addictions. When they're informed of the blood test requirement, which must show the drug in their systems, they head out to get their hands on some. Unfortunately for them, they instantly become addicted and miss their appointment. It would be tragic if it wasn't so well deserved and hilarious.

Who doesn't love a good cross-country road trip? Especially to the Grand Canyon? Well, you might want to rethink things if you're stuck in the car with the five ne'er do wells of the Gang. Originally, only Mac and Dennis were to accompany Frank on this late-life bucket list journey, as Charlie was too scared to leave Philly and Dee is, well, a giant bird that nobody thought to include. But before you know it, all five members are piled into Dennis' Range Rover, drinking, crossing off other bucket list items along the way, wrecking the car while trying to run a bicyclist off the road, stealing Dee's car and almost losing it, stopping by antique shops and filling the trailer, picking up and hitting on hitchhikers (looking at you, Dee), and more.

When they wake up the next morning, they find themselves not in the midwest like they expected, but back at the bar. Dee's car is missing, of course, because Charlie told the hitchhiker they'd picked up en route to drive them to the Grand Canyon because he was too scared to do it himself, and everyone else was asleep in the back. Whoops.

It's an all-time classic episode that begins and ends at the only place we'd ever want to be with these buffoons: Paddy's Pub.

After Mac is sent to Frank's old house to grab his toupee, he's seduced by Barbara, who wants revenge against her ex-husband. This unleashes a landslide of sexual back-stabbings in which multiple characters attempt to sleep with various people's mothers, thus enraging people who loved them and inspiring them to get revenge by keeping the sex train going. The Waitress gets involved. Mrs. Kelly gets involved. Dee, who's trying to get her job back (she'd quit in the previous episode to go on welfare), gets involved too. Frank and Mac are at the center of it, as is Dennis, because of course he is. It's an explosion of classless hijinks that ends in outbursts and fistfights. And, honestly, as hard as it is to be betrayed like this, it's hard to do anything but laugh at these stupid, reprehensible people as they keep getting what's coming to them. Having older women tell a megalomaniacal Dennis they're not attracted to him, thus sending him into a spiral of self-doubt, is particularly funny and satisfying. 

It's probably not surprising that the members of the gang never had a proper Christmas growing up, and therefore, they don't know the meaning of the holiday as adults. Interestingly, Mac and Charlie thought they'd had normal, healthy Christmases as kids. But neither Mac's family's penchant for breaking into other people's homes and stealing presents (which he'd thought was a fun neighborhood tradition) nor Charlie's mom's tradition of bringing multiple "Santa Clauses" back to her room if they agreed to get young Charlie a present were, in fact, normal or healthy ways to celebrate.

Dennis and Dee's problems with Christmas as kids, of course, can be traced back to their father, Frank, who used to buy whatever they wanted ... and then give it to himself. He thought rubbing his ownership of their presents in their faces was hilarious, and they never forgave him for it. Apparently, he did it to others, too, including his old business partner, Eugene, who he also once defrauded. Hoping for revenge, Dennis and Dee track Eugene down and discover he's converted to Christianity and has long since forgiven Frank. Except, you know, not really — he was just pretending so he could get Frank to lower his guard and kill him. It doesn't work, but everyone is hilariously miserable by the end of the episode, one that also include a fantastic claymation sequence and the iconic moment of a naked Frank emerging from a sofa.

When most people are bored, they throw something on TV or read a book. When the gang is bored, they play Chardee MacDennis, a psychotic, violent, three-level game in which the teams drink heavily and deceive, shout at, and abuse each other. Each round begins with the competitors feigning respect before screaming at each other like lunatics. Cheating is allowed if you don't get caught, but asking questions and cursing are against the rules. The prize is that the winning team gets to stomp on the others' game pieces. Needless to say, things get pretty insane. At one point, Frank has to eat the raw ingredients of a cake in order to escape a dog crate he'd been placed in.

As Charlie points out in the beginning of the episode, it's less of a game and more of a war, and as Dennis points out, he and Dee have never lost to Mac and Charlie. This time, however, Dennis and Dee get caught cheating, which allows the trailing team to tie the game just before the buzzer goes off. Mac and Charlie have victory in their sights for the first time, and Dennis and Dee are afraid their winning streak will be snapped at last. However, Frank flips a coin, which gives the win to Dennis and Dee. They stomp Mac and Charlie's pieces yet again in one of the funniest endings the show has ever had.

In this "Always Sunny" episode, the gang is fed up with being underappreciated and ignored by the Restaurant Bar Association (RBA), which distributes an annual award to eateries around town with the best atmospheres, themes, and unique menu options. When they call to complain, they're informed by a representative that previous attempts to reach and include Paddy's Pub in the running had been rebuffed (the forms had always been returned covered in urine, fecal matter, and racial slurs). The gang insists they were only kidding and are determined to participate for real.

They begin by scoping out the competition. Sudz is a preppy, colorfully lit establishment in which the staff members play characters and act out sappy, sitcom-like scripts about love triangles between each other in order to entertain patrons. The gang finds this gimmicky and obnoxious, but they can't deny it's popular with both repeat guests and with the RBA.

So, they decide to implement a darker, edgier version of this approach back at Paddy's, with predictably hilarious and disastrous results. Nobody can remember lines, ad-libs go into offensive territory, and the vibe attracts the wrong type of crowd. In the end, the gang realizes they are indeed the reason for their own lack of recognition but decide they'd rather be unpopular and true to themselves then fake it for money.

It all starts with a bet. Frank insists that Mac and Dennis, who've moved to the suburbs to get a place for a reasonable price, won't be able to hack it for a full month on account of their being "city scum." They insist they can. If Frank wins the wager, they have to sleep in bed with an old man for a year. If they win, Frank pays their rent for the same amount of time.

Turns out, Frank is right. Mac and Dennis' initial excitement at the change of scenery quickly evaporates when they're forced to confront long commutes, malfunctioning smoke detectors, obnoxiously polite neighbors, and repetitive meals from Mac, who plays housewife while Dennis works. Both remain determined to last out the month, but their sanity and their relationship begin to spiral out of control.

And then, just when they're about to murder each other, Frank, Dee, and Charlie arrive to congratulate them on their victory — the month is over. Dennis and Mac are suddenly friendly again ... until they realize that Frank only agreed to pay their rent at this place for a year. They take the loss to avoid 11 more months of hell.

There's plenty to enjoy in this episode, but the best parts are Dennis' temper tantrums, which get more and more over the top as he loses his mind. Any Dennis meltdown is worth a watch, but these are probably the funniest.

Whenever the gang goes to some kind of professional to settle their disputes, it never ends well. Therapists, lawyers, and judges alike have given up on these hysterical psychopaths in disgust and shock. Fortunately for us, this "Always Sunny" episode is no different, although it does have an important ending.

In the beginning of "Hero or Hate Crime," Mac is chasing a scratch-off lottery ticket that's slipped out of Dee's purse when a piano almost falls on top of him. Frank saves his life by shouting out a warning to him that includes a certain slur for gay people. Yes, that one.

The gang goes to an arbitrator to determine both who owns the scratch-off ticket (which nobody has even bothered to activate, making it likely worthless) and to settle whether or not Frank is, as the title suggests, a hero for saving Mac's life or a bigot for involving an offensive slur in the process. The ownership of the ticket itself is a mess to sort out due to various revelations. But it's the second issue that makes the episode memorable, in that Mac finally admits he's gay. Both we and the gang had suspected it for some time, but it was a disarmingly triumphant and heartfelt moment nonetheless.

We know, we know. One-shot scenes can be a little gimmicky. But look no further than the opening of "Touch of Evil," that ambush scene from "Children of Men," and ... let us check our notes here ... an episode of FX's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" for proof that it can be mesmerizing when done right.

It might seem weird that the high-water mark of a show known for being riotously funny is one of the least traditionally funny episodes there is. That's not to say that Season 10's "Charlie Work," in which Charlie frantically gets the pub in shape for an in-process health inspection without the inspector realizing, isn't hysterical. It is. There are plenty of hilarious lines and moments, like the opening scene when Charlie rushes to warn everyone about the impending surprise inspection and stumbles upon the rest of the gang stuffing dozens of chickens into cages to pull of an air mileage scam (don't ask).

But it's the mind-blowing craftsmanship of the episode, featuring the aforementioned, unbroken, seven-minute inspection sequence that make it so memorable. It's one of those things they must've rehearsed a hundred times to pull off so seamlessly, and it shows.