Filming Begins! (with a hint?)

Wednesday, February 11, 2026 marks the start of filming for Season 18 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Rob has finally decided to give us a peek into its existence with an Instagram post!

Kaitlin and Glenn are also tagged in the post

The post was made by Rob and is a "joint post" with Charlie, Glenn and Kaitlin, clearly taken in Mac and Dennis's kitchen (which could either be where they're shooting, or a location chosen for the caption). But the location of the slate is less interesting than the brand new Season 18 logo on it.

It's hard not to believe there's a hint in this design, because when Season 17 began shooting, we got a few glimpses of that logo, and it featured a golden rose. While we didn't know it at the time, speculation brought us close to the idea that the rose meant something, and perhaps could be a reference to a theme or episode. As we now know, it was indeed that, a direct reference to the Season finale, The Golden Bachelor Live. So it's almost impossible for us not to immediately begin speculating on what the confetti could mean. 

Some are worried this could indicate "final," but to me, confetti is good news. It's thrown when celebrating good, or new, things. The New Year. Birthdays. Parades. Even Weddings...

And, interestingly, another photo of a different slate (also with the confetti logo and also in Mac and Dennis' apartment, confirming they are actively filming there) revealed a bit more of the first scene's surroundings, including what looks to be the neck of a champagne bottle:

From John Tanzer, on Instagram

(There also look to be champagne flutes to the left side of the frame...) 

This seems to indicate that the first scene they're shooting is a scene that calls for champagne, traditionally brought out for a celebration and potentially related to the confetti logo. (I emphasize potentially because this logo is for the entire season, not just this first scene, so it's a stretch to say the champagne glasses are indeed connected to the confetti). (It's also important to note that they don't necessarily shoot in order or air in the order they shoot AND we don't have an episode number attached to either slate, so this could be the first scene of episode 1 or the first scene of episode 8")

BUT if we do want to go out on a limb here and say they're carrying on from that big Season 17 finale moment into the first scene of Season 18, it is certainly not a stretch to believe the confetti and champagne are associated with a wedding [reception] between Frank and Sam (or perhaps for this scene, given the location and Danny's IG not being tagged in Rob's post, an after party). A wedding would definitely be grand enough to call dibs on this Season's design, and it would make logical sense given how Season 17 left off. (It's also something very interesting to throw us into and see how the Gang's relationships shift with someone new.)

However, it's also Sunny and they don't necessarily need to pick up from the end of 17, a crazy line from Frank about how Sam "didn't work out" would be enough to tie a bow on that plot. (Of course, I still expect the dynamics are altered this Season based on all of those last two episodes of 17.) So if this is something brand new (i.e. unrelated to last season), and the confetti is hinting at a different big episode of the season, I am personally rooting for either a New Years episode (though a NYE episode would likely delay Season 18's airing until late fall/winter) or one of the Gang's (*cough* Dennis and Dee *cough*) 50th birthdays (Charlie just celebrated his this Monday, and Glenn will celebrate his toward the end of filming)! 

Hopefully with a little time the episode titles will reveal what this is all about (as I don't see RCG sharing too many spoilers during filming this year, given how quiet the writers room was)!

Anyone have any other wishes for the grand confetti plot?