It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Glenn Howerton almost quit the show over fears that the long-running sitcom, now in its 17th season, had “peaked”.
The American actor has played Dennis Reynolds since its first episode aired in 2005, but was seemingly written out of the show in its 12th season, which aired in 2017. Fans were relieved to see his return in season 13.
Reynolds, 49, has now shed some light on why he considered stepping away from It’s Always Sunny.
Speaking at a panel celebrating the show’s 20th anniversary, Howerton said he “was worried that maybe we had sort of peaked or something”.
“I just was like, we’ve been doing this for a long time, and I think I was also anxious,” he said. “I had not figured out yet how to stretch myself and be able to do other things that I wanted to do with my career outside of the show.”
Howerton, who recently played a more serious character in the 2023 film BlackBerry, said he “was aching to do other things” and began “to feel a little boxed in, frankly”.
While he “never lost any appreciation for the show”, Howerton said he thought it would be best if his co-stars (Rob McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson, Charlie Day, and Danny Devito) quit while they were ahead.
“I just thought like maybe we should [end it], and then they were like, ‘We don’t want to end it,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, well I can’t stop you,’” he recalled.
It’s Always Sunny creator McElhenney revealed there have been several occasions on which Howerton has attempted to leave the show – but said they “kept writing him in” until he said he was “coming back”.
McElhenney recently filed a petition to legally change his name to Rob Mac due to concerns that those he does business with in “other regions of the world” are not able to pronounce his real name.
The 48-year-old filed documents in Los Angeles to officially make the change – but, according to his wife and It’s Always Sunny co-star Olson, their kids are not happy with the development.
“The kids are really not happy about it, because they have that last name,” she said of the decision. “And so do I, legally.”
Olson and McElhenney have been married since 2008. The couple share two young sons: Axel and Leo.
