Although their characters have committed many crimes during the show’s now 17-season run, the greatest crime of all committed by the uber-talented folks behind It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was making fans wait a full two years between seasons 16 and 17. But, all of that is water under the bridge now, as the first two episodes of the milestone-marking 17th season are streaming on Hulu, and we simply can’t stay mad after laughing for nearly an hour straight. Of course, now that Season 17 has arrived, we can’t help but wonder if the wait between this one and the next will be as long as it was before. A handful of installments were given the greenlight all at once, with 18 being the last one to fall under that umbrella, so we know that the episodes are on the way — it’s just a matter of when.
Luckily, we’ve got a huge update for fellow fans, as Collider’s Joe Schmidt recently sat down with series star and overall national treasure, Danny DeVito, who opened up about the road ahead for the Gang and, more specifically, his own Frank Reynolds. Spilling the tea in the best way possible, DeVito told Schmidt, “We start at the end of January,” referring to the Season 18 production schedule.
As for Season 17, DeVito is just as much of a fan as the rest of us, as he added,
“I’m really excited about it. I want to watch it. I haven’t watched the episodes, but I’ve been hearing really great things about this season…”
And, according to the Matilda director and actor, the show is just as much of a joy to make as it is to watch, explaining,
“We’re going to go again next season. We just talked about when we’re going to start. And it’s something that you look forward to because it really is so much fun. I love these guys and Kaitlin [Olson] and Mary Elizabeth [Ellis] and Artemis [Pebdani], and everybody that’s on the show. And Lynne [Marie Stewart], we miss.”
Sadly, the Gang lost one of their own earlier this year, when Stewart passed away from cancer back in February. A true legend, many Sunny fans grew up with Stewart on their television screens thanks to her role as Miss Yvonne in Pee-wee’s Playhouse. On the FX series, she has appeared since the first season as Charlie’s (Charlie Day) OCD-riddled, neurotic mother, Bonnie Kelly.
What Lies Ahead For Frank
From hosting a beauty pageant with makeup done by the undertaker (he’s not a diddler!) to shaving off all of his body hair and slathering on hand sanitizer in an effort to avoid getting sick, DeVito’s character has been through it all since he first appeared in the title’s second season. As for what lies ahead, while he couldn’t spoil specific details, DeVito praised the creative brains of the production’s co-creators, Day, Rob Mac, and Glenn Howerton, explaining,
“I’m looking forward to it. Who knows what they’re going to do, because you never know. I mean, Charlie [Day] and Rob [McElhenney] and Glenn [Howerton] get into a writers room and, you know, it’s probably like, in the Wizard of Oz, you know, but reversed, hurricanes on the inside of the room. They’re on brooms. There’s shit flying by them, ideas and all kind of crazy stuff. And they know anything they want to do to Frank, they can.”
At the tail-end of the interview, just as he was winding down his chat with Schmidt, DeVito added in an ominous tone, “License to kill…?” So, now we’re hoping that either Frank becomes the new James Bond or DeVito himself is in the running.
The first two episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s seventeenth season are now streaming on Hulu.