Now, before anyone flies off the handle about this, we’ve gotta state quite clearly that this yarn leans fairly heavily on the “might” part of that headline. At this stage things appear to be vague and up in the air, and we’re definitely not going to get *definitive* confirmation one way or the other anytime soon.
That said: Oh please god no no no no no no no no no no no no.
‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘ airs its season 12 finale today in the US, and the show is already signed on to produce two more season for FX.
So while it’s absolutely guaranteed that we’ll see a season 13 at some point, the bad news is that it won’t be for a good while, and the even worse news is that there’s a chance Dennis Reynolds will not be in it.
Glenn Howerton spoke to The Wrap about the end of the show’s current season, explaining that the production will then go on an “extended hiatus” before coming back for season 13. And whether or not the psychopathic, almost definitely a serial killer Dennis makes an appearance in S13 remains up in the air.
“I’m not being coy. I’m not just trying to spin a mysterious tale here. It will be an artistic decision on behalf of myself, Rob [McElhenney] and Charlie [Day] as to whether my character comes back, more than a logistical decision.”
“I want to service the show as best I can, and if we decide the best thing for the show is for Dennis to leave, or at least leave for a while for whatever reasons we come up with, then that’s what we’ll do. If we decide it really is best for the show for my character to come back in some capacity then that’s what we’ll do.”
Howerton didn’t expand on the reason behind this potential departure and show hiatus, but it’s likely due to the fact that the entire core cast is extremely busy these days. Charlie Day is in high demand as a comedic actor, Kaitlyn Olsen is currently starring in her own FOX sitcom ‘The Mick,’ Rob McElhenney is busying himself as the director of the upcoming ‘Minecraft‘ movie, and just today we’ve gotten confirmation that Howerton himself has booked another gig.
Glenn is set to star alongside Patton Oswalt in a new NBC comedy pilot from ‘SNL‘ writer Mike O’Brien and executive producers Seth Meyers & Lorne Michaels.
The pilot, which (obviously) has no guarantee of getting picked up for a full series, centres on Howerton as a cynical Ivy League professor who “loses out on his dream job and goes to work as a high school biology teacher where he imposes his unorthodox teaching style and uses the kids to plot out revenge on those who wronged him.” So, y’know, stepping out of the shoes of one sociopath and into the shoes of another, basically. Oswalt will be playing the role of the high school’s principal.
The final episode in ‘It’s Always Sunny‘ S12 is entitled ‘Dennis’ Double Life,’ which sounds like it could go some of the way towards explaining Dennis being written out of the show for a while.
As for whether or not the series can hold itself up without its most dangerous and maniacal cornerstone, time will tell.
Though if the show simply countered that with an entire season of Mac and Charlie staring at each other from across a room, I’d be all freakin’ in.
“Yeah, dude. Charlie’s lookin’ right at me.“
Source: The Wrap.
