Member-only story
The Always Sunny Podcast Review
The Pitch:
An unofficial look-back from the creators of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
The Product:
Here at Podcasteroid, we’ve had a few things to say about celebrity podcasts lately. If you weren’t aware, there are a few of them. “Enough to go round” you could say. “Too many” is another take. You could even say there’s so many that they are strangling the life out of independent voices that first elevated and were elevated by the medium of podcasting.
A recent interviewee went so far as to compare them to aural trash…
So why, after all that are we featuring the Always Sunny Podcast? Well, much like Seth Rogen’s Storytime, because despite the over-saturation of “Hollywood guys talking to Hollywood guys” content out there, and all the negative impacts this type of show could have for the previously independent space, it’s a good podcast. It’s really fucking entertaining.
Each episode is a loose recap of an episode of the TV show, in order. I say loose because compared to fan-led recap shows, this doesn’t get into much of the actual minute by minute recapping you might be used to. Instead there’s behind the scenes info, pontifications on how the material has aged, and non-sequitors that any fan of the show should love.
Each episode is pretty close to 30 minutes and they drop on Mondays and Fridays, completely ignoring the ‘middle of the week’ launch logic of the podcasting industry, in what feels like the type of contrarian move that the owners of Paddy’s Pub would try to pull off.
Props have to go to whoever is producing these mostly freewheeling conversations and editing them down into a recognisable format that emerges after the first few episodes. Also very much on brand, is the fact this is one of the first shows in a long time that ‘just starts’ with the participants mid-conversation, usually off topic, and occasionally talking over each other.
This could easily have become a self-aggrandizing, bloated charade of a show. And it might not have much for anyone who has somehow missed all 14 (going on 15) seasons of It’s Always Sunny. But, if you’re even a casual fan, this podcast is a great companion piece to one of the best shows about terrible people on the air now or ever.
Can You Sleep To It?
I don’t think I could, but who am I to judge if it works for you?
Recommended Episode:
Honestly..start anywhere. If you have a favourite episode of the show maybe check that out.
