Frank needed to have a rationale for joining the gang, but as soon as DeVito read his first script, he fell in love with his character.
“I don’t know what it is about Frank,” he once swooned to the New York Times. “He’s got the Midas touch, but he misses living in squalor. The one line that got me hooked to do the show was that I had a scene with Charlie Day, and I say […] ‘Let me come and live with you, man. I miss living in this Bohemian style.'”
Frank’s logic might be totally backward, but there is a logic there. This kind of twisted reasoning is the fuel that runs the non-stop comedic machine that is “It’s Always Sunny.” The gang is constantly doing things that defy all common sense, but we can always follow their trail of logic, however misguided it might be. They aren’t just outrageous — they’re outrageous for a reason.
“We work really hard to make sure that our stuff just isn’t like, ‘Yeah, that’s a funny joke,'” Howerton elaborated to Collider. “It’s gotta feel like there’s something more happening, so there’s a little depth to it. One of the things that we pride ourselves on is that you can watch the show multiple times and get more from it because that’s what we challenge ourselves with. Coming up with ideas though, there’s a lot of stuff to prey on. There’s always something crazy going on.”
Whether it be a child’s beauty pageant or biting the ear off of a mall Santa, the “Sunny” creators have no shortage of nonsensical ideas. The only question is how to fit them all in. Luckily, with 16 seasons in the books, they don’t seem to be stopping any time soon.