The Big Picture
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
thrives on offensive, outrageous storylines from the beginning.
Though the gang is constantly getting into trouble, their most dangerous endeavor involves Dee and Dennis trying to live off welfare and ending up addicted to drugs.
The show cleverly tackles race, classism, and drug addiction with humor and satire.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has sixteen seasons and it’s still going, holding the record for the longest-running live-action sitcom of all time. In the more than a decade and a half since its premiere, the FX series has succeeded by giving audiences a show that looks like your traditional sitcom on the surface, only to let its characters go wild with the craziest shenanigans imaginable. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiathrives on being offensive and over-the-top, while getting away with it because whatever horrible thing the gang does will always come back to bite them.
The gang has done some very dangerous things over the last few decades, but one episode early on in the series’ run tops them all, when brother and sister, Dennis (Glenn Howerton) and Dee (Kaitlin Olson), come up with what they think is the most brilliant way ever to mooch off the federal government.
Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Five friends with big egos and small brains are the proprietors of an Irish pub in Philadelphia.
Release Date August 4, 2005
Main Genre Comedy
Seasons 16
Studio FX
A History of the Gang’s Most Dangerous Moments on ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia didn’t start tame and then take risks with its storylines as time went on. Oh no, the series got down in the dirt with every offensive storyline they could come up with from the very beginning. The gang of Dennis, Dee, Mac (Rob McElhenney), Charlie (Charlie Day), and Frank (Danny DeVito) have no qualms about putting themselves or others in physical danger if it means that they’ll gain something from it.
You name it and they’ve done it. One episode had Frank set Dee on fire — not once, but twice — while Charlie recorded it in an attempt to get famous. When the friends found a baby in a dumpster in one episode, they decided to keep it and make it a model. They once kidnapped a restaurant critic to get Paddy’s Pub a glowing review. Dee faked a baby’s death to try to get out of an audit. They even broke into a family’s home and held them captive while demolishing their house in an attempt to become home makeover specialists. All of that pales in comparison, however, to the time Dee and Dennis got the brilliant idea to do crack cocaine so that they could get welfare money.
Dee and Dennis Decide To Live Off of Welfare
Image via FX
The episode in question is the third entry in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s second season. In the episode, Frank now runs Paddy’s Pub, and with Dee and Dennis sick of being bossed around, they decide to quit. As they walk out, one of those perfect title cards appears on the screen: “Dee and Dennis Go on Welfare.” They decide to get unemployment, at least for now, while they take the time to live their dreams. They’re gonna work hard! Dennis is going to become a veterinarian, and Dee is going to become a Broadway actress. Then Dee learns she’ll be getting a free $400 a week from the government to do nothing. “That’s more than we make at the bar.” Dennis says in shock. “Okay, new plan. We’re gonna go on unemployment.”
The next time we see the brother and sister, they’re on a stoop listening to Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” on a boombox while drinking alcohol out of a brown paper bag, enjoying the unemployed life. There are some racial implications hinted at here, something It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has been known to do and will do many times in this episode. Mac sees them, and he of all people becomes the voice of reason, telling them that they can’t live like this because unemployment runs out. Dennis isn’t worried. When that happens, they’ll just go on welfare. “You guys can’t go on welfare!” Mac yells. “It’s reserved for people who need it, you know, like poor people who need some help.” (Look at you, Mac, acting like a grownup adult.) Dee and Dennis sing along to the music, completely ignoring him.
Dee and Dennis go to the unemployment office, where we see stereotypes like an obese guy and a Black man asleep in a chair. Mac and Charlie are there working on their own scheme, thinking they can pick up people hanging out there and have them work at the pub for free for a tax break. Mac goes off on Dee and Dennis again, telling them that they can’t get welfare because it’s reserved for people who need it like drug addicts and the mentally disabled. “Mac, we’ve got it covered,” Dennis says. Dee then pulls out a bike helmet and puts it on backward. The siblings confidently stroll up to the counter, where Dennis shamelessly tells the woman there, “Hello, I’m a recovering drug addict and this is my retarded sister that I take care of. I’d like some welfare please.” What could go wrong?
Dee and Dennis Accidentally Get Addicted to Drugs
To the surprise of no one, the woman at the welfare office isn’t buying it. She tells Dennis that they’ll need paperwork from a doctor to prove Dee’s disability and blood work to prove Dennis’ crack addiction. Leaving the office, Dee is angry. Welfare is her key to making it to Broadway. Dennis doesn’t know what they should do. Dee does. “If they wanna play rough, we can play rough. Let’s go buy some crack.”
Dennis then drives them to a rough neighborhood where they park and discuss the doctor’s appointment Dee made. When a large Black man walks up to Dennis’ window, they jump out of shock, sputtering, “You scared us. Oh, not because you’re black. We’re not racists.” The man at the window is a drug dealer. When he asks Dennis to put the window down, he does just a smidge. Dennis tells him “One please,” before continuing that they’ve never done crack cocaine before and don’t know how much to get. The dealer tells them he’ll give them two for one for just $200, obviously conning them out of their money.
Dennis and Dee are seen next waking up in their apartment at 4 pm the next day. They got so high that they slept for over a day and missed Dee’s doctor’s appointment. They both look awful, their skin pale, their eyes sunken in, their bodies shaking. Dennis is curled up on the couch and Dee is in a chair. “I think I may have peed in my pants,” she admits. Since they need cocaine in their system, they decide to get high one more time before another appointment. They go back to the dealer and get another two-for-one special deal. This leads to them hanging out in a rundown alley with a mangy stray dog, Dee shaking and talking really fast while Dennis is barely able to stay conscious. He says he’s going to buy a bunch more crack when he gets that welfare money. He might be miserable and look like he’s dying, but he’s addicted. Charlie and Mac then pull up in a limo, wearing top hats with beautiful women on their arms (don’t ask). Dee and Dennis ask them for money, but their friends just laugh at them, roll up the window, and drive off. It’s not too difficult to see the message being portrayed here.
The last we see of Dee and Dennis, they’re walking down an alley back to Paddy’s, both gaunt and shuffling like zombies. It takes all the energy they have to speak. Dee says they should go back to work. Dennis agrees, sort of: “Just for a little while, until we have enough money to buy some more crack.” They plan out how they’ll get on welfare and become a veterinarian and a Broadway star. Dee suggests that they also think about rehab. Her brother agrees. “Soon. Not now. In a couple of days,” Dee tells him.
Seeing how Dee and Dennis aren’t dead in the next episode, we know they make it. Still, they do almost kill themselves with a crack cocaine addiction, all just to score some free money. That’s dangerous, but what is smart is how such an outlandish story was told. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia took a look at race issues, classism, poverty, the welfare system, and drug addiction all while making you laugh. The gang might be the dumbest people alive, but they live on one of the smartest shows.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia on Hulu in the U.S.
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