It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Shares rank 4 of 8 sitcoms by recommenders
Recommended for dark, cringe comedy about terrible characters who still feel sympathetic. Critics agree the later seasons lose their edge as the characters become more awful.
Recommended for dark, cringe comedy about terrible characters who still feel sympathetic. Critics agree the later seasons lose their edge as the characters become more awful.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Dark humor with sympathetic terrible characters
“it's about terrible people getting their comeuppance, yet still being sympathetic despite their failings”
Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “Douglas Adams on the English–American cultural divide over "heroes"” “I love the dark humour in that series”
Comment from 29 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: See what readers who loved your favorite book/author also loved to read” Fully commits to its dark premise
“The genius of IASIP is to just lean all the way into this trope.”
Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “Douglas Adams on the English–American cultural divide over "heroes"” “I love the dark humour in that series”
Comment from 29 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: See what readers who loved your favorite book/author also loved to read”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Characters grow more awful over time
“As time went on, they become more and more awful.”
Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “Douglas Adams on the English–American cultural divide over "heroes"” Creators lose sight of original tone
“But I think the creators eventually lost sight of that”
Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “Douglas Adams on the English–American cultural divide over "heroes"”
Other sitcoms people recommend
The four most recommended other sitcoms, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Office | 23 | 14 | 62% | 7 | — | — |
| Red Dwarf | 20 | 2 | 91% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Utopia (Australian comedy TV series) | 14 | 1 | 93% | 9 | — | Approved |
| It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaThis page | 9 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
| Yes Minister | 9 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | — |
What people said
7 of the 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“despite them being great shows”
“Huffing, particularly gasoline huffing, is an area I only know through humerus Always Sunny bits”
“But I think the creators eventually lost sight of that”
“The genius of IASIP is to just lean all the way into this trope.”
“As time went on, they become more and more awful.”
“it's about terrible people getting their comeuppance, yet still being sympathetic despite their failings”
“I love the dark humour in that series”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.