‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ Season 18 Episode 8 Release Date, Time, Where to Watch and Preview
‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ is nearing the end of its current run, and the upcoming episode is titled “Mac and Dennis Tear Their ACLs.” It is scheduled to air on Monday, September 28, in the usual 9 p.m. ET slot on FX and FXX. Here is what viewers need to know about timing, streaming options and the story ahead.
The comedy centers on a group of self absorbed friends who run the failing Philadelphia dive bar Paddy’s Pub. This year the series returned with ten episodes, up from eight in each of the previous three runs. It also holds a record for longevity among live action sitcoms.
Release Date for the Latest Episode
The episode lands on Monday, September 28, which keeps the comedy on its regular Monday schedule. The network listing describes the series as airing on Mondays from 9 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Eastern, so viewers should expect a half hour comedy.
The season premiered with two episodes on August 17, and installments have followed weekly since. That steady cadence has carried the Gang from a wedding storyline to a college campus and beyond.
The preceding installment airs on September 21. It sends Mac and Charlie after the mystery of why ‘Gilligan’s Island’ never reached one hundred episodes. It shares its writer, David Hornsby, and its director, Heath Cullens, with the episode that follows. Writing for the season took place in the CBS Radford building that served as the original site of ‘Gilligan’s Island.’
Two more episodes follow on October 5 and October 12, and their titles have not yet been announced. That places the season finale two weeks after this installment.
Air Time and Where to Watch
For the season, FX set a start time of 9 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. PT. The network’s listing for this episode places it at 9 p.m. Eastern on FX and FXX. West Coast viewers can therefore tune in at 6 p.m. Pacific.
Episodes are available on the FXNOW website and on Hulu the same night they air. TV Fanatic also lists Hulu alongside FXX and FX as a place to watch on Mondays. That gives viewers several ways to keep up without a traditional cable box.
Viewers outside the United States can stream the season on Disney+. FX confirmed that arrangement in July when it announced the premiere date.
Episode Preview and Plot Details
After a Christmas card catastrophe, Charlie ends up caring for a bedridden Mac and Dennis, and he weighs which of the two is the source of all their ideas. Meanwhile, Dee and Frank are tired of sitting at the bottom of the communication ladder and decide to turn the tables.
IndieWire reports that the episode splits the Gang into two groups, with Dennis and Mac laid up in their apartment and only Charlie available to help. Frank and Dee, in the meantime, try to work out what their friends were plotting before they were hurt, and the whole affair ties back to a Christmas card competition.
The review says the episode is not quite a bottle episode but shares that feel, with a few new sets, including one that relies on CGI trickery. It also singles out a scene built around the rules for watching a movie with Dennis and Mac.
Rotten Tomatoes lists Danny DeVito, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney among the cast, along with Mary Elizabeth Ellis as the Waitress and David Hornsby as Cricket. The script comes from Hornsby, and Cullens directs.
Critic Reception and the Road to the Finale
The same review frames the episode as a welcome reprieve after seven installments of disquieting hijinks. It describes this one as the only episode of the season not designed to provoke maximum disgust, and it calls the episode a very good one.
The season holds a 100 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Reaction to recent weekly episodes has been more measured. TV Fanatic said the sixth episode took a stab at workplace values with mixed results, while Telltale TV called it an okay episode that is funny enough.
Telltale TV also noted that Charlie has been disgusted by his friends two weeks in a row, and it floated the idea that he could eventually leave the Gang. With that in mind, watching Charlie play caretaker to Mac and Dennis should be a telling test of how far his patience stretches.
FX has promised star cameos and nods to classic sitcoms across the season, though this installment keeps its attention on the core cast. With Charlie left to judge whether Mac or Dennis is really the source of every Paddy’s Pub scheme, which of them would you name in the comments once the episode airs?
