| It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | |
|---|---|
| Season 5 | |
 DVD cover | |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Release | |
| Original network | FX |
| Original release | September 17 – December 10, 2009 |
| Season chronology | |
The fifth season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FX on September 17, 2009. The season contains 12 episodes and concluded airing on December 10, 2009. Beginning with this season, the series' aspect ratio was changed from 4:3 to 16:9.
This season sees the gang tackling the global recession in their own selfish, clueless ways, by exploiting the mortgage crisis and taking advantage of the nouveau pauvre homeless people living outside the bar thanks to the 2008 recession to growing the bar's brand by selling merchandise. The gang also follow up on last season's musical episode by putting on a wrestling show for American troops stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq, with Frank also dresses up as a trash man for his wrestling-for-the-troops persona.
In their dating lives, The Waitress announces her upcoming wedding, which sends Dee into a panic while Mac and Dennis introduce Charlie to online dating to get his mind off the fact that his days of stalking The Waitress are over once she says, "I do." Dennis introduces the gang to his manipulative guide to scoring with women, while Dee has an online relationship with a soldier who turns out to be a wheelchair user.
This season also sees Frank becoming more self-destructive and worried over his mortality: becomes a slobbering drunk, attempts to hang himself after losing all his money, has sex with Artemis (the strange actress from Sweet Dee's acting class), and tries to sleep with the same women as Dennis...after Mac has had his shot at them. The gang then decide to take a trip to the Grand Canyon as part of an item on Frank's bucket list—but the trip ends before it can begin after several unfortunate events. The gang then gets their taste of Hollywood stardom when M. Night Shyamalan films his latest movie in Philadelphia, wreak havoc at the 2008 World Series, and reignite a rivalry started ten years ago at a popular drinking contest.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | 1 | "The Gang Exploits the Mortgage Crisis" | Randall Einhorn | Becky Mann & Audra Sielaff | September 17, 2009 | IP05008 | 2.24 [1] |
| While Frank, Mac, and Dennis try their hand at real estate, Dee arranges to be a surrogate mother to a wealthy couple with a pool; Charlie faces off with a lawyer on the intricacies of the judicial system. | |||||||
| 47 | 2 | "The Gang Hits the Road" | Fred Savage | Glenn Howerton & Charlie Day | September 24, 2009 | IP05005 | 1.79 [1] |
| The Gang tries to expand their horizons by going on a road trip to the Grand Canyon. Despite the guys' attempts to leave Dee behind, the entire group travels in Dee's small car and the back of a U-HAUL trailer, making many stops along the way: bathroom stops, the Italian Market to buy furniture for the trailer and fruit for Charlie, and picking up a hitchhiker. | |||||||
| 48 | 3 | "The Great Recession" | Fred Savage | David Hornsby | October 1, 2009 | IP05007 | 2.01 [1] |
| Frank attempts suicide because of a recent financial loss he attributes to the recession. Mac and Dennis deal with the economic strain by making Charlie and Dee prove their worth; when they can't, Dee quits and Charlie gets fired. Dee then teams up with Frank, who feels better after financially cutting off the Gang, to start a business; the business fails and the good feeling flees. Mac and Dennis try to emulate the Dave & Buster's business model with newly-impoverished Americans who are residing in RVs by the bar. Meanwhile, Charlie tries to move back in with his mother but the condition that he must share a room with Uncle Jack drives him to choose a cardboard box. | |||||||
| 49 | 4 | "The Gang Gives Frank an Intervention" | Fred Savage | Scott Marder & Rob Rosell | October 8, 2009 | IP05006 | 1.51 [1] |
| Dennis, Charlie, and Dee stage an intervention on Frank because they no longer enjoy drinking with him; trying to become as depraved as possible, Frank tries to seduce his former sister-in-law (Nora Dunn), whom Mac also pursues while Dennis and Dee deal with their bizarre cousin "Gail the Snail" (Mary Lynn Rajskub). | |||||||
| 50 | 5 | "The Waitress Is Getting Married" | Fred Savage | Glenn Howerton & Charlie Day | October 15, 2009 | IP05004 | 1.61 [1] |
| Jealous that The Waitress is marrying her former boyfriend Brad Fisher (Nick Wechsler), whom she cruelly dumped because of his acne—Dee tries to derail the wedding, enlisting help from Frank, Artemis, Mrs. Kelly, and Mrs. Mac. Fearful that Charlie will lose his mind and take it out on them, Dennis and Mac try to find him a girlfriend with online dating. Dee learns that The Waitress went to high school with her ("... you really are forgettable.") | |||||||
| 51 | 6 | "The World Series Defense" | Randall Einhorn | David Hornsby | October 22, 2009 | IP05014 | 1.61 [1] |
| The Gang describes the tribulations they endured during Game 5 of the World Series, hoping that the judge will clear them of all the citations they received. | |||||||
| 52 | 7 | "The Gang Wrestles for the Troops" | Randall Einhorn | Scott Marder & Rob Rosell | October 29, 2009 | IP05012 | 1.35 [1] |
| There's nothing more American than wrestling, so the Gang decides to put on a wrestling show for the returning troops; Frank wants to go along as the Trashman, but the others disapprove. Meanwhile, the soldier (Travis Schuldt) Dee has been chatting with online is not what she expected. | |||||||
| 53 | 8 | "Paddy's Pub: Home of the Original Kitten Mittens" | Randall Einhorn | Sonny Lee & Patrick Walsh | November 5, 2009 | IP05011 | 1.99 [1] |
| When a merchandising convention comes to town, the Gang tries to develop marketable products, such as Kitten Mittens, Nudey Pens, Dick Towels, and "Shot"guns in an attempt to build the Paddy's brand, and try to blackmail The Lawyer into helping them. | |||||||
| 54 | 9 | "Mac and Dennis Break Up" | Fred Savage | Scott Marder & Rob Rosell | November 12, 2009 | IP05003 | 1.87 [2] |
| Mac and Dennis decide to spend some time apart after Dee compares them to an old married couple; Charlie lends his feline expertise to help Dee get her cat out of a wall. | |||||||
| 55 | 10 | "The D.E.N.N.I.S. System" | Randall Einhorn | David Hornsby & Scott Marder & Rob Rosell | November 19, 2009 | IP05013 | 1.49 [3] |
| Dennis reveals his foolproof seduction system to the Gang; Charlie tries to use it on The Waitress but doesn't quite grasp the concept; the Gang tells Dee that her boyfriend from The Gang Wrestles for the Troops is using the system on her; Mac and Frank reveal their parts in the system. | |||||||
| 56 | 11 | "Mac and Charlie Write a Movie" | Randall Einhorn | Glenn Howerton & Rob McElhenney | December 3, 2009 | IP05009 | 1.89 [4] |
| When Dee gets a part in the new M. Night Shyamalan film, Mac and Charlie seize the chance to pitch their movie script, Frank takes on the role of a talent agent, and although Dennis participates, he spends the whole time typing on his phone. | |||||||
| 57 | 12 | "The Gang Reignites the Rivalry" | Randall Einhorn | Dave Chernin & Charlie Day | December 10, 2009 | IP05010 | 1.68 [5] |
| After a 10-year ban from a local drinking competition, "Flipadelphia," the gang tries to reignite their old rivalry with another local bar. Needing serious practice, the guys head to Dennis' old fraternity house at the University of Pennsylvania to get their game up to speed, only to find new rivals. Meanwhile, Dee hones her skills on her own. | |||||||
The fifth season received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 94% with an average score of 8 out of 10 based on 17 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Gang comes to accept their rotten lot in life and It's Always Sunny settles into a morbidly pleasurable groove as a comedy of foiled dreams and dunderheaded schemes." [6]
| It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Complete Season 5 | |||||
| Set details | Special features | ||||
Technical specifications
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| Release dates | |||||
| Region 1 | Region 4 | ||||
| September 14, 2010 [7] | February 29, 2012 [8] | ||||
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and developed with Glenn Howerton for FX. It premiered on August 4, 2005, and was moved to FXX beginning with the ninth season in 2013. It stars Charlie Day, Howerton, McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson, and Danny DeVito. The series follows the exploits of "The Gang", a group of narcissistic and sociopathic friends who run the Irish dive bar Paddy's Pub in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but spend most of their free time drinking, scheming, arguing amongst themselves, and plotting elaborate cons against others, and at times each other, for personal benefit, financial gain, revenge, or simply due to boredom or inebriation.
The first season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. The season contains 7 episodes and concluded airing on September 15, 2005.
The second season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FX on June 29, 2006. The season contains 10 episodes and concluded airing on August 17, 2006.
The third season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FX on September 13, 2007. The season contains 15 episodes and concluded airing on November 15, 2007.
The fourth season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FX on September 18, 2008. The season contains 13 episodes and concluded airing on November 20, 2008.
The sixth season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FX on September 16, 2010. It is the first season of the show to be filmed in high-definition. The season contains 14 episodes and concluded airing on December 16, 2010, with the hour-long Christmas special. An additional episode called "The Gang Gets Successful" was produced for this season, but was not aired, despite scenes from the episode being included in promotional material for season 6. It was later re-edited with new scenes to create the season 7 episode "How Mac Got Fat".
The seventh season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, premiered on FX on September 15, 2011. The season contains 13 episodes, and concluded airing on December 15, 2011.
"The Nightman Cometh" is the thirteenth and final episode of the fourth season of the American sitcom television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It is the 45th overall episode of the series and was written by co-creators Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, and Rob McElhenney and directed by Matt Shakman. It originally aired on FX on November 20, 2008.
The eighth season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FX on October 11, 2012. The season consists of 10 episodes, and concluded airing on December 20, 2012.
The ninth season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on the new channel FXX on September 4, 2013. The season consists of 10 episodes, and concluded airing on November 6, 2013. The ninth season was released on DVD in region 1 on September 2, 2014.
The tenth season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FXX on January 14, 2015. The season consists of 10 episodes and concluded on March 18, 2015. The tenth season was released on DVD in region 1 on January 5, 2016.
The eleventh season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FXX on January 6, 2016. The season consists of 10 episodes and concluded on March 9, 2016.
The twelfth season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FXX on January 4, 2017. The season consists of 10 episodes and concluded on March 8, 2017.
The thirteenth season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FXX on September 5, 2018. The season consists of 10 episodes and concluded on November 7, 2018.
The fifteenth season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FXX on December 1 and concluded on December 22, 2021. This season had next day availability on FX on Hulu and FXNOW. The season consists of eight episodes and makes the series the longest-running live-action scripted comedy series in American television history, surpassing The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
"The Gang Goes to Ireland" is the fifth episode of the fifteenth season of the American sitcom television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It is the 159th overall episode of the series and was written by main cast members Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Glenn Howerton and directed by executive producer Megan Ganz. It originally aired on FXX on December 15, 2021, airing back-to-back with the follow-up episode, "The Gang's Still in Ireland".
"The Gang Carries a Corpse Up a Mountain" is the eighth episode and season finale of the fifteenth season of the American sitcom television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It is the 162nd overall episode of the series and was written by executive producer Megan Ganz and directed by Richie Keen. It originally aired on FXX on December 22, 2021, airing back-to-back with the previous episode, "Dee Sinks in a Bog".
"Dee Sinks in a Bog" is the seventh episode of the fifteenth season of the American sitcom television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It is the 161st overall episode of the series and was written by executive producers David Hornsby and Rob Rosell and directed by Pete Chatmon. It originally aired on FXX on December 22, 2021, airing back-to-back with the follow-up episode, "The Gang Carries a Corpse Up a Mountain".
The sixteenth season of the American comedy television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered on FXX on June 7 and concluded on July 19, 2023, consisting of eight episodes. This season has first on demand availability on FXNOW and next day availability on Hulu.
"The Gang Goes Bowling" is the seventh episode of the sixteenth season of the American sitcom television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It is the 169th overall episode of the series and was written by series creators and main actors Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton, and directed by executive producer Megan Ganz. It originally aired on FXX on July 12, 2023.
