‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ Fans Think That Ryan Reynolds Made Rob McElhenney Less Funny

If Mac suddenly starts staring into the camera and making meta jokes in Season 17 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the fandom already knows who to blame.

Back in December 2023, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia creator and star Rob McElhenney posted a video of him and his Always Sunny partner Glenn Howerton answering questions at a Q&A about the series. In the clip, which McElhenney hilariously scored with “The Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel, Howerton sports a massive smile on his face while watching his longtime friend, colleague and co-star start to answer a question. Then, when McElhenney name-drops his Welcome to Wrexham partner Ryan Reynolds, Howerton’s smile disappears like it’s on the last step of the D.E.N.N.I.S. system.

Ever since McElhenney poked fun at his Always Sunny partner’s well-timed facial expressions eight months ago, fans of the show who aren’t as enamored with McElhenney and Reynolds’ international entertainment bromance have been sharing their over-interpretations of Howerton’s sudden frown. According to a large group within the Always Sunny fandom, Howerton’s sudden change in demeanor in the viral clip is proof that he believes that McElhenney has been pulling too much of his focus away from the longest running sitcom in American history to play real-life Football Manager with Deadpool.

Late Wednesday, one anti-Wrexham Always Sunny fan’s feelings on McElhenney’s new best friend shot to the top of the show’s subreddit with a since-deleted post of McElhenney's video with the title, “I Didn’t Want to Say It But I Felt It Needed to Be Said: Ryan Reynolds Made Rob Less Funny.”

The sentiment that McElhenney’s non-Sunny ventures with the non-Dennis-Dee-or-Frank Reynolds have detracted from the FX franchise’s quality isn’t exclusive to a contingency of the show’s subreddit either. For instance, when McElhenney tweeted a picture of himself in costume on the set of Deadpool vs. Wolverine last week, one Always Sunny fan scored a quarter-million views by commenting, “This is why they cancelled the podcast.”

In that same thread, another irate Always Sunny follower referenced McElhenney’s Instagram post from December, asking, “Did you see that interview clip where Glenn’s face turns when Rob starts gushing about how great Ryan Reynolds is?”

Then, earlier this week, the popular Always Sunny fan account “female dennis reynolds” posted this video with the caption, “going back in time to prevent rob mcelhenney to ever meet ryan reynolds,” with one commenter joking that male Glenn Howerton could have said the same thing.

However, as is the case with all internet fandoms, the online Always Sunny following isn’t a monolith, and there has been significant pushback to the narrative that Reynolds is ruining the show, especially in the viral Reddit post. One such commenter replied to the OP’s claim Reynolds is the reason McElhenney isn’t funny anymore, saying, “Not even close. Rob making his character nothing but ‘gay’ made him less funny.”

Another Redditor opined, “It’s not Reynolds’ fault. They clearly didn’t know what to do with Mac after he came out, so they leaned really hard into him being gay. S16 gave me hope that they’re gonna normalize him a little bit more.”

More still suggested that McElhenney has simply been making an effort to distance himself from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and that his partnership with Reynolds is the side project he chose to replace his life’s work as the center of his attention. That theory, however, strains credulity when you consider that almost every one of McElhenney’s social media posts that doesn't feature Reynolds is some kind of BTS Always Sunny content or a throwback of him picking up his real-life wife by the crotch in the incredible sexual harassment episode.

Ultimately, what fans perceive as a drop in quality from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and a lack of commitment from McElhenney could just be their natural resistance to the inevitability of change and the sad trend toward decline that all sitcoms experience in later seasons. After all, the man went through two total body transformations just for the bit. Until he goes full burn victim for Deadpool 4, maybe we should just let Mac have his fun.