The Gang is coming back to Philly for a live taping of ‘The Always Sunny Podcast’
Tickets for the show in "Flip, Flip, Flipadelphia" go on sale this week.
The Dayman, the Nightman, and the Green Man will cometh to the Mann Center in Fairmount Park this fall for a live taping of The Always Sunny Podcast.
Featuring South Philly native Rob McElhenny, creator and star of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and costars Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day, the podcast is a wild ride and freewheeling retrospective about their hit TV show, the longest-running live-action comedy series in history.
“We’re bringing The Gang back home to Philly and this time to the Mann and we can’t wait to meet back up with our fans and have the best time ever,” McElhenny said in a news release. “There’s nothing we enjoy more than being with all of the amazing Sunny fans out there especially if we can do it in Philly!”
The Sept. 23 performance at the TD Pavilion at the Mann, cohosted by series writer Megan Ganz, will feature an “evening of hilarity, memories, and perhaps some surprise guests,” the release said.
I’m not sure what it would take for show costars Danny DeVito and Kaitlin Olsen to be among those surprise guests, but I am sure someone in Philly is willing to do anything to make it happen (climb a greased pole, bathe in Whiz, just name your price Frank and Sweet Dee).
McElhenny, Howerton, and Day came to Philly last September to tape their podcast at the Met. When the first date sold out, they added a second show, which turned out to coincide with the Eagles home opener. Throughout the performance, a scoreboard screen kept fans apprised of the game and Eagles chants were shouted after every touchdown.
That day, Sept. 19, was declared by the city to be “It’s Always Sunny Podcast Day in Philadelphia.”
Live recordings of the podcast were also held recently at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, and the Royal Albert Hall in London.
“Due to overwhelming fan demand, we’re bringing The Gang back home to Philly for a giant hero’s welcome — a celebration of all things Philly with Rob, Charlie, and Glenn — this time at the Mann, where it will be bigger, better, wilder, and crazier,” Geoff Gordon, president of Live Nation Northeast, said in the release.
The TV show hasn’t filmed in Philadelphia since 2016 and the entire cast hasn’t had a public performance here since 2009, when they put on a production of “The Nightman Cometh,” at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby.
The 16th season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered last week on FXX with two back-to-back episodes, “The Gang Inflates” and “Frank Shoots Every Member of the Gang.”
According to TV Guide, on this week’s episode, “The Gang Gets Cursed,” they learn their bar, Paddy’s Pub, is going to be featured on the TV reality series Bar Rescue. It’s unclear if Bar Rescue host and master yeller Jon Taffer will appear on the show, but there will be one cameo Philadelphians won’t want to miss: Chase Utley.
McElhenny’s character, Mac, has long wanted to “have a catch” with the former Phillies second baseman, but whether that happens in the episode remains to be seen.
In real life, McElhenny had a catch with Utley on field at Citizen’s Bank Park in June 2019, during Utley’s retirement ceremony, and again last year, when Utley threw the first pitch of Game 4 during the World Series to McElhenny.
A ticket presale for the event at the Mann will begin 10 a.m. Wednesday at LiveNation.com and thealwayssunnypod.com. General ticket sales open to the public at 10 a.m. Friday.