| "The Gang Gets Racist" | |
|---|---|
| It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode | |
 | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | John Fortenberry |
| Written by | Rob McElhenney Charlie Day |
| Production code | 1P01001 |
| Original air date | August 4, 2005 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"The Gang Gets Racist" is the premiere episode of the American situation comedy series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Directed by John Fortenberry and written by Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day, the episode originally aired on FX in the United States on August 4, 2005.
The pilot episode introduces the four characters ("The Gang") around which the show revolves: Dennis Reynolds (played by Glenn Howerton), Deandra 'Sweet Dee' Reynolds (played by Kaitlin Olson), Charlie Kelly (played by Charlie Day), and Mac (played by Rob McElhenney).
Plot[edit]
As Charlie, Dennis, and Mac start closing up Paddy's Pub, Dee brings a friend from her acting class, Terrell. Charlie, Dennis, and Mac are surprised by Terrell because he's African-American, which is not what they expected. Hearing several stories from Terrell, a club promoter, pulling in hundreds of people, they discuss at a coffee shop how they should hire Terrell in the hope of profit for the bar. While discussing the possibility, Charlie air-quotes Terrell about his parties having "niggers hanging from rafters". The Waitress from the coffee shop, who Charlie has a crush on, overhears this and claims that Charlie is racist and mocks him, saying that he's Adolf Hitler. After the Waitress leaves, they all decide to hire Terrell.
Later in the day, Mac and Charlie visit a local college campus to make new black friends. Mac fails to fit in as he's awkward around them. Charlie, on the other hand, bonds with them very well in a game of dominoes. Charlie receives a phone number from one of the students, Janell, who shows interest in him. Charlie doesn't show interest in Janell because he believes he and Mac should focus on befriending black men, not women. Mac realizes the real reason is that he's only obsessed with the Waitress and creates a scene on campus to show that Charlie keeps a picture of her in his wallet and threatens to rip it up. Charlie convinces Mac not to rip it up by saying he'll call Janell later.
Terrell shows up at the bar with a crowd of people. The gang is surprised by the number of people, making it Paddy's most successful night. However, they realized by Mac's cousin, Brett, that they are now running the hottest gay bar in Philadelphia. Mixed opinions arise from the gang. Charlie and Dennis are in favor of the bar becoming a gay bar mainly due to the money from it. Dee is against the change, deciding to go into Terrell's house and yell at him about why he didn't inform her about him being gay due to her passion for him. Mac's also against it and agrees with Dee, stating that the original idea of the bar is to get laid. The gang decides to take a vote, but Charlie and Dennis rig it by exempting Dee because Dee isn't one of the owners of Paddy's Pub, making Mac the only one opposing it. Therefore, Paddy's Pub remains a gay bar.
Charlie decides to have a date with Janell at the coffee shop. However, he only brings Janell to prove to the Waitress that he isn't racist and tries to get a date with the Waitress. The Waitress declines, as this isn't his first time trying to ask her on a date. Janell comes over to ask what's wrong with Charlie and the Waitress, and the Waitress informs her about Charlie's motivations, about using her to prove that he's not racist and to ask someone else for the date. Janell punches Charlie's eye and threatens him about never seeing her again. Charlie goes to Paddy's Pub to heal his eye, and Dee hears about the story with him and Janell.
While back at the bar, Dennis has seen more outgoing with the gay men. Mac and Dee create a plan to make Paddy's Pub return to normal. Dee decides to get her friends from her acting class and tasks Mac to get Dennis unconscious. After getting Dennis blackout drunk by constantly asking him about the method of taking a tequila shot, he wakes up naked next to a blonde man and a black man coming out of the bathroom. Dennis is horrified and tells the gang to stop the gay bar experiment. Charlie is still obstinate about changing the bar to what it originally was. While informing Terrell about the decision, Dee appears with Janell, who is revealed to be Terrell's sister.
Charlie insults Janell in front of Terrell, and Mac makes a racist statement about how all black people are related, causing the room to become extremely discomfiting. The episode then cuts to Mac and Dee counting the money earned and how they're back to normal. Mac thanks Dee for turning the bar to normal, but Dee informs that she couldn't get in touch with her acting friends, inferring that Dennis' sleeping with men was an intoxicated decision by him and not staged by Dee.
Reception[edit]
Vulture's Larry Fitzmaurice said the pilot episode "makes no bones about establishing the show's capacity to offend," observing that it was "impressive to witness in the rearview how much Always Sunny has stayed true to its roots even as it's added embellishment after embellishment."[1]
References[edit]
- ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry (2018-09-05). "Every 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' Episode, Ranked". Vulture. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
