It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia can be a little tough to get into. It's not the show's unrelenting assault on political correctness that's so initially off-putting (characters find out they have a Nazi grandfather, pick up girls at abortion rallies, and make terrorist threats – among other things). Thanks to great writing, that element of the show manages to work just fine. The problem is that each dude has a particular douchy look to his face that makes it really easy to doubt that they're actually funny. But funny they are, and while the show didn't become an obsession for us like it has for some friends, we had fun with the first and second season.
The ironic sitcom takes place in a divey Irish pub in south Philly run by three guys and one of their sisters. Boundary pushing antics ensue and, eventually, Danny Devito joins the cast and adds his own brand of irreverent tastelessness to the frequently R-rated shenanigans — don't be fooled by the cover of the DVD, DeVito doesn't comes along until the second season.
The pilot was famously shot on the cheap – on Letterman one night, DeVito claimed that it only cost $85 to produce – and it's pretty awesome that such a truly independent and admirably subversive show has gained such a cult following and has been afforded so much freedom from the F/X suits, who've just renewed it for a sixth(!) season.
But what do you think?