Breaking Down the Season 18 Trailer!

Despite Sunny moving to Mondays, they’re still intent on releasing new information on Wednesdays, resulting in this Season’s trailer dropping the latest it ever has (relative to its premiere, that is). But it’s finally here, and it’s packed with punches (figuratively and literally), so let’s break it down scene-by-scene! What clips belong to what episode, and what’s still almost entirely unknown? 

First things first, the episode with a lot of trailer time, and the one that starts them off: The Gang Goes to the Ren Faire. This episode stands out very easily, thanks to the magnificent costumes every character is dawned in. If you’ve been keeping up with behind the scenes, you’ve likely already seen everyone’s outfits… everyone's except Dee's, that is. Thankfully, today’s trailer finally gave us a look at her in this episode, and she didn’t disappoint! 

We also got to see Mac mixing genres by pulling a few of his signature karate moves:

and we got a sighting of our first, new guest star this season, Nick Kroll (who I have to point out addresses Dennis as "my lord"):

(Funnily, one of the writers on Ren Faire is Rob Rosell, who is also a writer on Season 2 of Nick Kroll’s FX show, Adults, which will air in the middle of Season 18's run)

And of course we got a few good looks at the McPoyles, featuring a turkey leg chow down between Pappy (Guillermo Del Toro) and Frank:

Another obvious stand-out episode of this trailer was Frank Marries a Corpse, which is revealed to be a very literal title when we see Dee Weekend-at-Bernies-ing the corpse of Frank's Golden Bachelor bride, Samantha, down the aisle to what sounds like a new Charlie Kelly original, "She's dead!" 

And it looks like Mac will be the one to officiate the wedding (because even Cricket wouldn't be willing to marry a dead person..?):

Whatever killed her will likely remain a mystery until the episode airs, but the cause is likely not absent the involvement of the Gang, who are all heavily involved in the wedding, most of all Dee who is shown leading Samantha’s bridesmaids (all of whom are former lovers of Frank’s…awkward?):

Boy are those some... interesting bridesmaid dresses!

We see Uncle Jack pay Dee and Samantha a visit, seemingly to sign some legal paperwork (perhaps a prenup... with no doubt that Dee is there hoping she can somehow financially benefit from this (or objecting to it)...)

And Mac and Dennis also seem to have something cooking with Uncle Jack in this episode, as they're shown in Ms. Kelly's house meeting him (and his puppet), a moment we saw back when the season was filming:

Though it seems Frank could be equally at fault (or infected?) by whatever took Samantha out, as he looks very pale during the wedding ceremony, and this moment of him curled up on a couch seems to belong to this same episode, in which Dennis quips that they don't want the wedding to come off like a funeral:

Whatever goes down here, it definitely seems to lead to the 2nd episode of the premiere, Dennis and Dee Don't Get Rich (a.k.a. the April Fools script episode), which we know based on the script and the episode synopsis takes us to the Mummers Day Parade, and the canon with Bonnie and Samantha's faces we saw behind the scenes footage of, both of which we caught minor glimpses of in this trailer:

Dennis and Dee are dressed in funeral black, which was previously revealed in a BTS photo, but Charlie dressed as a mummer is a real surprise!

Another obvious episode featured in this trailer is The Gang Buys a Baseball Team, which we knew from an interview with Charlie months ago would feature the Gang buying a little league/youth baseball team, and shows Mac, Charlie, and Dee in uniforms:

Dee holding a glove and baseball in this shot might confirm my theory that the guys find a loophole in the Little League rules that allows Dee, as a girl, to pitch for their team as a player... (though they could just have her pitching in practice, I suppose)

Clips from The Gang Gets Tested reaffirm what we just learned in the episode synopsis: Dennis and Dee (and Mac) go to college following ADHD diagnoses (or lack thereof):

...But Frank's involvement in this plot is new information. He looks to be intent on taking advantage of the college environment, which begs the question... what's Charlie up to?

We got a brief glimpse at The War on Alcohol, which only confirmed what we all suspected... the Gang are joining the war on the side of alcohol:

And we saw some more of 2026: a Virtual Insanity, including a snippet which confirms Cricket's involvement in this episode!

Now we move on to those clips I cannot be 100% confident in, however I can say with 99% confidence that the "boys, boys, boys," moment belongs to The Guys Have a Sleepover:

And with 98% confidence that the Waitress' underwear being torn from her body also belongs to Sleepover:

Wow... a scene in Dee's bathroom!!

And with all of those photos and gifs, there's only one moment left unaccounted for:

While it's near-impossible to know exactly what episode this belongs to, I'm putting my money on Gilligan's Island: a Conspiracy Theorist's Paradise. Frank looks incredibly paranoid, and if the episode really is away from Paddy's and vacation-themed (one of the bumpers in the trailer may have helped reinforce that idea), then the R.V. setting also adds to the potential vibe of that episode. Of course, it could also be Mac and Dennis Tear Their ACLs, as this trailer offered nothing for that episode, but unless they tear their ACLs due to someone coming to hunt them down and Frank is locked up trying to protect himself from a similar fate, that seems less likely...

So, after all that, it seems like we're missing at least one entire episode from this trailer. Could they be purposefully hiding something from us? (there's a noticeable absence of B plots present, however that's not strange for a Season trailer) or are they just not done editing? It's impossible to know, but the premiere date is creeping up on us fast! Hopefully we get another (or multiple) teasers as we move into August, because for as much as we got in this trailer, it is surprisingly little for the fact that we have ten (10) episodes this year!

Any thoughts on these new looks? I for one am living for the return of Mac with facial hair.... it's been too long...

Extra Innings Confirmed as Season 18's Airing Schedule is Revealed!

NOTE: This post was edited on 7/28/2026. A prior TV schedule indicated that Sunny would be airing two episodes a week for the entire season. This information was corrected on 7/27/2026. 

Season 18's airing schedule is now public, revealing a double premiere on August 17, 2026 followed by weekly episodes airing through October 12, 2026: 

As a reminder, each episode seems to be airing simultaneously on Hulu.

Now, you may notice that in the screenshot containing the airing listings, there are now two hyperlinked episode titles... which means we've got episode descriptions!

As predicted, Season 18 will premiere with "Frank Marries a Corpse" followed by "Dennis and Dee Don't Get Rich". The initial episode descriptions read, respectively, as follows:

"The guys help Frank with his cold feet ahead of his wedding to Sam. Dee tries to scare Sam off the nuptials with testimonies from The Waitress, Artemis, and Snail."

"The Reynolds twins push themselves to the limit to secure Sam's transfer of wealth. Charlie and Frank plan a proper memorial for Bonnie during the annual Mummers Parade."

If you're thinking these are quite minimalist descriptions, you wouldn't be incorrect—they don't even include the standard "written by" and "directed by" credits! Thankfully, that information (as well as more of the plot) is able to be filled in by us, having collected a lot over the course of Production. 

To see any and all relevant information to these episodes (and all the upcoming ones), head over to the Season 18 Updates page, which has now been revamped, similar to how episode information was set up during Season 17's airing! That page will be updated frequently, and also will be where I'll post future episode summaries as they drop, so be sure to keep an eye on it!

An Unusual Release Date/Time and a Plot-Packed Logline!

Today FX announced that Season 18 will premiere on August 17th, 2026 (confirming Leo McElhenney’s leak)! Interestingly, this date is a Monday, a first for Sunny (which originally aired on Thursdays but moved to Wednesdays in 2013, when they moved to FXX with Season 9). The episodes will once again air at 9pm, like Season 17, but unlike Season 17, they will also air at 6pm PST, which is great news for fans on the West Coast, who will no longer have to wait an extra 3 hours for new episodes! 

Also new is the fact that Season 18 is stated to air “on FXX, FX, and Hulu.” In the past, these releases have stated “streaming next day on Hulu…” the absence of that phrasing seems to imply that the episodes will air simultaneously on the streaming service and cable. While that would be quite unusual, a streaming drop at the same time as a cable airing would explain why FX has a simultaneous West Coast airing…(Well, if it’s true, you can bet I’ll be purchasing a no-ads plan from Hulu for August and September, though I hate the idea that not everyone will be watching "live" at the same time!)

Currently, it’s unclear if there will be a double-episode premiere like there has been for the last few seasons, but we’ll likely find out in the next week-or-so!

Along with the announcement of the premiere date, we also received a longline, which reads as follows:

"TV's longest-running live-action comedy series is going into extra innings - we're back to a full 10 episodes, babyyy. That's right: an extra two weeks of shenanigans from your favorite Paddy's Pub perpetrators proprietors. In season 18, "It's Always Sunny" continues its return to its roots, with 10 jam-packed setups only the Gang could find themselves in. Charlie (Charlie Day), Mac (Rob Mac), Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Dee (Kaitlin Olson), and Frank (Danny DeVito) are wrapped up in salvaging inheritances from a dead woman, surviving tent encampments and the great inside-outside divide between the haves and have-nots, withstanding job loss at the hands of workplace automation, embracing a newfound appreciation for neurodivergence, questioning the fabric of society against conspiracy theories, and of course - the biggest elephant in the room - outlasting the public's pendulum swing against drinking. Not to mention battling nerds, LARPers, and a particularly petulant McPoyle clan at the Renaissance Faire or sportswashing their way back into the good graces of their community by sponsoring a Little League team. All the while trying to maintain order in their personal lives and at Paddy's, which have become increasingly lawless and erratic. Get ready for some of the series' most outrageous moments yet, with loads of star cameos, as well as nods to both iconic Philly traditions and other classic TV sitcoms – the season’s writing took place in the Lagoon Building of CBS Radford, the original site of “Gilligan’s Island”. It's art imitating life imitating art. So, step right up to the plate and brace yourself for one hell of a swing. The Gang may be into their 50s and 80s now, but their behavior is more out of control than ever. Who said with age comes wisdom? That person sure is a jabroni.”

Since we already know all of the episode names (and have a chunk of behind the scenes information), we’re able to parse quite a bit of this! The following will contain spoilers we learned from filming, so read forward with caution:

The Gang “wrapped up in salvaging inheritances from a dead woman,” is very obviously related to Frank Marries a Corpse and Dennis and Dee Don’t Get Rich (which we know thanks to Rob’s April Fools prank deals with Dennis and Dee attempting to get something from someone, and we know of two “dead women” thanks to on-set leaks showing a joint-funeral celebration for Bonnie and Samantha). I’d bet that this is a two-episode premiere, along the lines of Season 6’s Mac Fights Gay Marriage and Dennis Gets Divorced, which hopefully gives us Carol Kane as a returning guest star in Ep 1 before they kill her off to give us the “Frank Marries a Corpse” cut-to-title payoff. Predictably, we will also see Charlie face the death of his mom, Bonnie, in these two episodes, with Lynne Marie Stewart having passed away last year. 

Moving on to "surviving tent encampments and the great inside-outside divide between the haves and have-nots..." these words are very reminiscent to me of the scenes we saw on Welcome to Wrexham, which we know belong to 2026: a Virtual Insanity. 

The next clause, "withstanding job loss at the hands of workplace automation,” feels like it also could belong to this episode, but I am not as sure about that. There is a viable theory that Virtual Insanity is an a.i.-related episode, and a.i. certainly is a leader in "workplace automation" causing job layoffs, but how the Gang could be impacted by this is a question to be raised before jumping to any conclusions. Short of Frank splurging on an automaton, how can the Gang's jobs at Paddy's (bartending, bouncing, cleaning, and waitressing) be at risk due to a.i. integration? I think there's more to be seen with this one, however it's hard to figure what other episode it could belong to based on titles alone.

Potentially, it could be The Gang Gets Tested, however "embracing a newfound appreciation for neurodivergence," very much seems to belong to that episode (though it could be both!), given the fact that, when Gets Tested was revealed as an episode title, there was a lot of back-and-forth discussion between fans as to what kind of test the Gang could be undergoing... well, seems the neurodivergent kind is the answer! (Though, Wrexham did show Rob/Mac in a more college-looking setting for testing than a mental health-type setting, so it's possible we still have some wires crossed.) 

The Gang "questioning the fabric of society against conspiracy theories," must belong to the episode with "conspiracy theorists" in the title: Gilligan's Island: A Conspiracy Theorist's Paradise, which we still don't know much about, other than the director, Heath Cullens, confirming it is indeed a Gilligan's Island episode. The end of this new logline stating the writing took place on the Radford lot is interesting, perhaps hinting that they were able to borrow some shooting locations as well? Only visuals will confirm whether or not this does, indeed, take place on an island (but, to further "conspire" that it does, Heath Cullens also mentioned he didn't shoot much in Paddy's this Season). 

The War on Alcohol is obviously what "outlasting the public's pendulum swing against drinking," is in reference to, which we don't have a lot of information on, other than a few small clips from shooting which show the Gang dumping out non-alcoholic beer, so this written tease doesn't do much other than confirm they are indeed going to war against alcohol on the side of alcohol. 

Similarly, "battling nerds, LARPers, and a particularly petulant McPoyle clan at the Renaissance Faire," confirms the title The Gang Goes to the Renaissance Faire, but doesn't give us much new information, as we knew based on costuming that the McPoyles belonged to that episode. This does confirm the Gang will be facing off against the McPoyles during their time there, but did we expect otherwise?

Finally, "sportswashing their way back into the good graces of their community by sponsoring a Little League team," confirms The Gang Buys a Baseball Team as an act not done out of boredom or spur-of-the-moment interest, but done as a result of the Gang fucking up somewhere or something else. We saw during filming that there were Frank's Fluid's products advertised across the baseball field, so they are clearly trying to make their fronts look legitimate in conjunction with Paddy's own image. (I have been hoping this episode would be reminiscent of The Gang Gives Back, and this tease only seems to confirm it!)

"All the while trying to maintain order in their personal lives and at Paddy's, which have become increasingly lawless and erratic," seems like a blanket statement to cover the general in-betweens/vibe of this Season, along with the mention of "their behavior [being] more out of control than ever," but I will use that to mention the other two episodes which seem to have no direct reference to them in this logline: The Guys Have a Sleepover and Mac and Dennis Tear Their ACLs. We saw a tiny teaser of what seems to be Sleepover, and ACLs is all but confirmed to be the Die Hard Episode, so there's certainly still a lot missing from this teaser-packed log line. 

(And barring ACLs and Sleepover, as an educated guess/interpretation, I think it’s possible the order of descriptions here is in order of the episodes’ airing dates (as Season 17's was), and interestingly the description order here lines up pretty well with production order…! But of course, the airing order still remains to be revealed)

And just like that, Season 18 is a month away and information is about to come barreling toward us! Over the next week, I will revamp the Season 18 Updates tab to have pages per-episode where everyone can find the latest information and any updates as they come in. Keep an eye on IMDb for actors to start posting their credits, but remember anyone can update that website, and nothing is official unless or until it's posted by a verifiable source!

Does anyone have a favourite episode yet? Mine's still Baseball (especially given all the logline fodder!)

-Seth

Heath Cullens Reveals His Season 18 Episodes (new info & confirmations)!

 Thanks to Nathan Greenie of Always Sunny Daily's, latest podcast episode, some new Season 18 information (and minor confirmations!) has come to light from Heath Cullens, a veteran Sunny director, who returns to Season 18 for 4 episodes!

Heath Cullens' 4 episodes in Season 18 are:

• Mac and Dennis Tear Their ACLs
• 2026: a Virtual Insanity (#1804)
• Gilligan’s Island: A Conspiracy Theorist’s Paradise
• The Gang Buys a Baseball Team

(And, by visual of the slate provided in the podcast, we can confirm that one of those 3 unassigned episodes is #1806, written by David Hornsby.)

Overall speaking about Season 18, Heath shared that they have some "big swings" and it's a very "expansive" season, being really big in scale and busy. He said, at least for his episodes, there's not a lot of time spent in Paddy's, because there's a lot going on out in Philadelphia. 

On The Gang Buys a Baseball Team, this is a really big episode with a lot going on, with the majority of it taking place on the baseball field (check out a small piece of the episode we got from fans on site during filming). He said it's very funny and is very topical in a number of ways. He also said "Charlie turns in a pretty bonkers performance" (unclear if he's talking Charlie Day's acting performance or if Charlie Kelly himself performs) and that Charlie Kelly lovers will really like this episode, as he does a lot of insane stuff in it!

He didn't say much about Gilligan’s Island: A Conspiracy Theorist’s Paradise other than "there's some Gilligan's Island going on" and that it's a great Mac and Charlie episode.

Interestingly, he knows about the leaks and theories we have, so when discussing Mac and Dennis Tear Their ACLs, he brought up the Christmas aspect. He said "um" about half a dozen times and then said he can neither confirm nor deny it's a Christmas episode, but he doesn't think they're going to wait until Christmas to air it, so in addition to that somewhat confirming it is a Christmas episode, that hard confirms that ACLs is, in fact, the episode in which Mac and Dennis are racing in Christmas sweaters (not that we had much doubt lol), which is very likely the Die Hard episode.

For 2026: A Virtual Insanity, other than the "not so subtle" nod to Jamiroquai, there is a reference to a somewhat niche film in this episode, and there's some "really standout Dee stuff" and "great Mac and Dee stuff." (We know from Welcome to Wrexham that there's a lot going on in that episode, and some later-published paparazzi pictures also showed us Mac and Dee together.)

He didn't work on Ren Faire but he said he was on set for a bit of it and that it's going to be a really fantastic and funny episode.

Heath shared that Season 18 isn't as weird as he's gotten with it before (some of his prior episodes include Hits the Slopes, Chardee Macdennis 2, and Dennis Takes a Mental Health Day), but there's a lot of variety, a lot of energy, a lot of excitement, and fans are going to be pleased. He also implied that Nate Corddry would make an appearance in Season 18, and that one of his episodes this season has a unique end credits sequence. 

And because of course it's a heightened issue on everyone's minds after not having to worry about a renewal for 3 seasons until now, Heath Cullens shared that he's fairly confident Season 18 will not be the last. He believes FX has an appetite for more Sunny, and while RCGKD do have other projects, they all still enjoy making the show and the vibes remain positive toward more seasons!

As of today, there's still no known release date for Season 18 (despite Rob's kid echoing an August premiere), but I suspect we'll hear within the next month! The official Instagram account is most likely the first place where that will be revealed. 

I highly recommend everyone checks out the entire podcast. Heath Cullens shared a lot of stuff outside of Season 18 information, going into detail about his entire career on the show and all of his episodes, and it was really interesting to hear all about! 

Welcome to Wrexham Gives Us a NEW look into Season 18's Production!

 Rob McElhenney's 2nd FX show, Welcome to Wrexham, is currently airing its latest season. The show is a documentary and airs yearly to align with the latest soccer season, typically following Rob around across various months and highlighting his dedication as an owner of the club. This Thursday's episode, Hell Week, highlighted just how stretched Rob's schedule tends to be, taking us back and forth between his Wrexham obligations and his time filming Season 18 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. 

Lucky for us, FX took the opportunity to push some cross promotion, giving us a great look at what was happening over a week in March on the Fox Lot (and beyond) for Sunny's latest season! While the segment overall was pretty short, the documentary featured many half-second clips, leading in with slates, for a few of the upcoming episodes:

By and large, #1804 was featured (which we know from the WGA was written by Rob Rosell and Vanessa McGee), showing a truly bizarre combination of scenes, from a Cricket-dwelling-looking location to the return of the Season 16 finale's antagonist, Tsuma:

Now if you're wondering "what is happening?" after looking at all of those shots, you're definitely not alone (I mean, Mac's bare ass is out, guys (Wrexham added that peach, not me)... and potentially... more?), but one great clue from these shots is the hat Dennis is wearing. If you think it looks familiar, you're probably familiar with the song "Virtual Insanity" by Jamiroquai (and if you aren't, go check out the song), and with that tip-off, you're probably able to put two and two together. This fever dream of an episode must be 2026: a Virtual Insanity. 

(And as you may be able to see, the slate also names the director of the episode, Heath Cullens, who has been a regular director these past few seasons!)

The final scene of the first "highlight reel" of Rob's filming in March shows Mac in a classroom:

This is likely to be The Gang Gets Tested (given the, you know, test Mac seems to be taking) and in a fraction of a frame from this shot, we can see the scene starts with a "7," marking it as #1807, which is written by Charlie Day and Keyonna Taylor. (Unfortunately, the name of the director isn't legible in any frame.)

Seconds later in the latest Wrexham episode, Rob's schedule is "highlighted," and the schedule superimposes various moments from Sunny's filming, giving us a sneak peek at what very obviously is The Gang Goes to a Ren Faire!

 

COSTUMES!!                                                                  (KNIGHT MAC!!!)      

Again, Wrexham was gracious enough to include the slates in these miniature clips, so we are able to confirm that the Ren Faire episode is #1808, written by Dave & John Chernin and Rob Rosell, and directed by Richie Keen (who returns after being absent from Season 17)!

The schedule also gave us a brief look at a slate for #1802, which we already know the writer/director pairings of thanks to Rob's April Fools prank, but catch a few details of Mac sitting down at a dinner table:

Finally, we got a look at Rob watching a Wrexham game while on a break from filming (or waiting to be called). In this moment, we see him in a tux and bolo tie, identical to that of some of the first behind the scenes photos we got of the new Season. Andrew Friedman (Uncle Jack) is visible behind him, and also looks to be dressed in the same wardrobe we saw months ago!

(Ft. Showrunner!Charlie)

And with all of this new information, you can be damned sure I went and updated my spreadsheet! As a quick reminder (or for those who haven't seen this thing before), the green is what we now know (with all but FX's confirmation), the yellow is more-than-likely, and the white is an informed guess (but hinges on vibes):

Given how many pieces of the puzzle we can now confidently fit in, I am much more heavily leaning toward David Hornsby having written The Guys Have a Sleepover (and ICYMI: the GIRLS seem to be having a sleepover, too!), hence why I've slotted that episode into #1806, and surely the Wrexham-forward title The Gang Buys a Baseball Team has to have Rob penning it, no?

Any thoughts on what these new pictures tell us about the latest season? Let me know! It truly seems like a chaotic masterpiece to me.