‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ Season 18 Episode 3 Release Date and Time Confirmed

Fans of Paddy’s Pub finally have their weekly appointment back on the calendar. The eighteenth season of ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ premiered simultaneously on FXX and FX on August 17, 2026, and consists of ten episodes. With the season underway, attention has quickly turned to when the third episode will actually hit screens and how to catch it.

The Gang, played by Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, series creator Rob Mac, Kaitlin Olson, and Danny DeVito, has returned to the failing dive bar for another round of chaotic misadventures. With a longer episode order this year, the release rhythm looks a little different from recent seasons, which is exactly why viewers want a clear breakdown of episode three’s arrival.

‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ Season 18 Episode 3 Release Date

Episodes one and two premiered together on August 17, and following that premiere, one new episode has been rolling out weekly through October 12. Based on that pattern, episode three lands on Monday, August 24. New installments are being released weekly on Mondays at 6 p.m. PT and 9 p.m. ET.

The show airs across both linear channels, FXX and FX, before making its way to streaming, with international viewers able to catch it on Disney Plus. U.S. viewers who miss the live broadcast can stream the episode on Hulu starting the day after it airs, while the show is available globally on Disney Plus on the same schedule. That gives fans multiple ways to keep up without needing a cable package.

FX has not published a complete official episode by episode schedule with all titles and dates, so the specific August 24 date for episode three follows the weekly pattern shown by current listings rather than a confirmed network calendar. Viewers who want certainty closer to the date should keep an eye on official FX and Hulu listings as the week approaches.

Season 18 Release Schedule And Episode Count

This marks the first time since season fourteen that ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ has returned to a ten episode season, after seasons fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen each ran eight installments. That extra pair of episodes gives the writers room to stretch storylines further than the show has in years.

The season also arrives roughly one year after season seventeen wrapped, a faster turnaround than the two year gaps fans had grown used to between recent seasons, and the first time since season fourteen back in 2019 that a new season has landed just one year after the last one. That quicker pace has been a welcome surprise for longtime viewers used to waiting.

‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ remains the longest running live action sitcom in American television history, a title it now holds by a wide margin. The season was effectively locked in back in December 2020, when the show was renewed for four additional seasons that were designed to carry the series up through season eighteen.

Behind the scenes, the season is executive produced by series creator Mac alongside Day, Howerton, Michael Rotenberg, Nicholas Frenkel, David Hornsby, Rob Rosell, Scott Marder, Dave Chernin, John Chernin, and Vanessa McGee, with FX Productions producing. That consistency in the producing team is a big part of why the show’s tone has held steady for so long.

Where To Stream ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ Season 18

Viewers without traditional cable can still watch live through services like DirecTV, Fubo, Hulu Plus Live TV, and YouTube TV, with Sling Blue also carrying the channels in select markets. That flexibility matters for a fanbase that has increasingly moved away from linear television over the years.

For those catching up after the fact, the series lands on Hulu for on demand streaming a day after the linear broadcast in the U.S., while Disney Plus handles that same next day availability for viewers outside the country. That dual approach keeps domestic and international fans on roughly the same timeline.

Seasons one through seventeen of ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ are also available to stream on Hulu, along with Hulu content on Disney Plus for bundle subscribers. That makes it simple for newer viewers to binge their way through nearly two decades of Paddy’s Pub before catching up with the current season.

What Episode 3 And The Rest Of Season 18 Have In Store

Episode three, titled ‘The Gang Gets Tested,’ finds Dennis and Dee getting diagnosed with ADHD, while Mac notably does not receive the same diagnosis. It is a premise that plays directly into the show’s long running habit of turning personal chaos into a group ordeal.

The broader season also features Frank preparing to get married while Dee and Dennis try to claim a large inheritance, on top of the group wide ADHD storyline. The season’s trailer has also teased Renaissance faire antics and a wedding among the chaos still to come.

The season continues to follow Charlie, Mac, Dennis, Dee, and Frank as they wade through problems tied to money, automation, conspiracy theories, baseball, and LARPing, with the Gang once again trying to twist nearly every situation into an opportunity for themselves. That description alone suggests episode three’s ADHD plot is just one thread in a season packed with the group’s usual self serving schemes.

With Frank’s wedding, an inheritance battle, and a group ADHD diagnosis all unfolding within the first few weeks of the season, which storyline do you think is going to cause the most damage at Paddy’s Pub before the season is through.