When the sixth season of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” premieres tonight, Dennis will claim to have feelings again, eventually leading him to marry. In a future episode, Sweet Dee will learn that she’s pregnant. And Mac will meet his father figure, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley.
If it all sounds like the natural progression of a comedy about a group of single friends, stop worrying: As is always the case with the Gang, everyone is motivated by their own craven interests.
But according to Rob McElhenney, who plays Mac, the show and its notoriously amoral characters are simply out for laughs, not to shock or offend anyone. “We deal with a lot of very sensitive issues,” he says. “And I think that often, it’s very easy to get very mean-spirited — specifically with this show, because of the personalities of the characters — and it’s very important to us that the show itself never comes across as mean-spirited.”
While no one will gain a sense of decency, one key element might be missing. “We put Green Man on the back burner,” says McElhenney of the recurring gag. “Just because we want to make sure that it doesn’t start to seep into every episode of our lives.”
