Summary

• The missing Always Sunny episodes were taken down due to the gang's use of blackface, brownface, or yellowface.
• Despite the controversy, It's Always Sunny hasn't been canceled and continues to push boundaries with its humor.
• Fans will have to resort to buying DVD sets to watch the banned episodes as they are not available for streaming.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is missing five installments from streaming platforms and fans want to know why the services had those Always Sunny episodes removed. Following the It's Always Sunny blackface episodes controversy, fans have noticed these specific It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia missing episodes on Hulu and Netflix. Despite all the controversy surrounding the series, It's Always Sunny hasn't been canceled, and since starting in 2005, the show has sured a whopping 16 seasons and is confirmed to reach at least its 18th season.

The It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia missing episodes were all pulled for the same reason. It's not all that shocking to find the often controversial It's Always Sunny facing this issue. After all, the "Dee Day" Always Sunny episode only further proves that the series is about a bunch of out-of-touch narcissists running a bar in Philadelphia; it's not supposed to be tasteful. However, the Always Sunny blackface episodes definitely pushed the limit and brought a lot of heat showrunners' way.

The Five Missing Always Sunny Episodes

Hulu And Netflix Removed The Episodes From Streaming Options

For newcomers to the series, the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia missing episodes are proof that this wild show continues to try to push the limits of what's funny. In fact, It’s Always Sunny is known as a mockery of narcissistic, immoral, sociopathic individuals, but some episodes in which the gang’s insensitivity crossed the line have led streaming services and DVD sets to remove them entirely, even if such problematic scenes were in the name of satire.

It’s not uncommon for streaming services to remove episodes after they have already aired on television, with the decisions largely coming from backlash by audience or executives once educated on why it would be more beneficial to remove them than to keep them on. This debacle largely occurs with comedy shows, even less risqué modern ones like The Office or Black-ish.

Considering It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s characters are purposefully some of the most problematic figures on television, some of their satirically horrible acts were too much for Hulu to keep on their services, leading five It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia missing episodes to be removed:

While Hulu has exclusively been home to the controversial black comedy series in the US since 2017, it wasn’t until mid-2020 that the service removed the overly-problematic episodes. Each It’s Always Sunny episode is missing for the same reason: the gang’s controversial use of blackface, brownface, or yellowface. Although the characters will sometimes call out one another’s racism, each has at one time or another shown a level of prejudice, whether willfully ignorant or not, that makes their use of the historically racist practice unsurprising.

It's Always Sunny Had Episodes Taken Down Over Blackface Controversies

The Show Used The Controversial Blackface To Poke Fun At Its Ignorant Characters

The reason there are five banned episodes of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is remarkably straightforward considering how many lines the show has crossed over its 16 seasons. While all of the instances are fictional representations of white characters donning blackface — rather than the It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia cast portraying black characters in the show — it still crossed the line.

In “America’s Next Top Paddy’s Billboard Model Contest,” Dee Reynolds dresses up as her bit character Martina Martinez, a Latina woman who she very racistly portrays with brownface. While the abhorrent jokes Dee makes don't reflect the views of the show, they are still offensive. “Dee Reynolds: Shaping America’s Youth” was removed because Mac uses blackface to portray Danny Glover’s character in the Lethal Weapon movies, though the gang does have an extended scene discussing how racist it is.

It’s Always Sunny is actually adamantly opposed to the bigotry of its main characters.

In “The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 6,” both Mac and Dee extensively don blackface as they make their home-movie sequel. Dee’s racist brownface character Martina Martinez returns in “The Gang Recycles Their Trash,” leading to its removal. In 2019’s “Dee Day” episode, Dee makes the gang reenact her comedy characters, which includes Frank dres in brownface for Martina Martinez and Mac using yellowface to portray an Asian character.

While the Always Sunny blackface episodes are abhorrent, many have criticized Hulu and Netflix for removing the episodes when the characters' countless other racist, sexist, and offensive actions are still streamable. Additionally, many have recalled how most of It’s Always Sunny's ing characters clearly condemn the actions of its main characters, which is where the humor actually derives from. The show's plotlines make it obvious how horribly ignorant, immoral, and wrong the gang continually is while never allowing them to succeed in life.

As a whole, It’s Always Sunny is actually adamantly opposed to the bigotry of its main characters. However, there isn’t just one controversial blackface portrayal on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia - there are at least five. While the comedy show’s use of the practice is a form of self-aware mockery, removing such episodes reminds the series that so many uses may be going overboard, even in the name of satire. The gang even bases an extremely meta "Lethal Weapon 7" episode around this in It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia season 15, episode 2, “The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7."

How Did The Always Sunny’s Controversies Escape Cancel Culture?

It's Always Sunny Has Pushed Boundaries For Decades

It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia isn't in the crosshairs of cancel culture for several reasons — perfect timing, how it consistently remains funny, and how it has noticeably evolved, all of which also factor into how well the series continues to connect with fans. Indeed, before It's Always Sunny started making truly profound points and was mostly just hilarious filth, political impact wasn't as high on lists of audience demands.

Today, following the rise of awareness of the societal effects of the media, the edgy humor of Always Sunny remains, but it's also more apparent that it's there, so viewers can laugh at the detritus of the human spirit. Excluding the season 15 episode in which It's Always Sunny mocks being censored and takes shots at Hollywood hypocrisy, this can be observed elsewhere in the show's later seasons.

While It’s Always Sunny season 13, episode 10, "Mac Finds His Pride," is filled with gay jokes, it's also the long-awaited climax of Mac and his father's story arc, a bittersweet release in which Mac embraces his true self at the cost of losing what remains of his father's respect. Meanwhile, season 15’s “The Gang Buys A Roller Rink” finally shows their true origins, in the process revealing how Mac and Dennis have always taken advantage of Charlie.

Not every episode of It's Always Sunny perfectly balances the line between profound and funny, but these episodes are enough to make most audiences more curious and entertained than offended. As evidenced not just by its general reception, but also by the many different It's Always Sunny fan theories that continue to crop up online, the nuance isn't lost on the show's fans. Although the love of the fans isn't enough to prevent It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia from having episodes removed from streaming, it's enough to prevent this long-running comedy from getting canceled — at least for now.

Why It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Has So Many Controversial Moments

The Show's Satirical Style Makes It Clear What Is Being Mocked

A question for many, especially those unfamiliar with It's Always Sunny, is why the show's now-removed episodes were made in the first place. There are dozens of professionals involved in the creation of a TV show, so it's fair to wonder why these It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia weren't stopped at any point between the writer's room and making it to the air.

The creative team behind Always Sunny has never balked at using shocking plotlines to convey their message.

There's a simple explanation for why It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia has so many controversial episodes — satire. It's Always Sunny is, at its core, a show that seeks to hold up an honest mirror of American culture. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia especially focuses on Hollywood, but over its almost two decades on air, it's proven that nobody is exempt. The four central characters in IASIP aren't presented as aspirational figures.

They're manifestations of the worst personalities our society can create, and the often-ludicrous rationale Charlie, Mac, Dennis, and Dee provide for their reprehensible conduct is some of the most astute commentary on Western cultural norms currently on television. Unfortunately, such an approach means taking risks. The creative team behind Always Sunny has never balked at using shocking plotlines to convey their message — which, in the case of the banned It's Always Sunny episodes, is a critique of the commodification of Black American culture — but sometimes these needle-sharp takes hit a little too close to home.

There's always a risk that the message will be lost on some viewers too, and that they may see the humor as something to imitate rather than reflect upon. Regardless, the banned moments haven't had It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia taken off-air, and the consensus is that the show is trying to be a force for good in the world.

It's Always Sunny Isn't The Only Comedy Series With Missing Streaming Episodes

South Park And Community Have Also Pulled Episodes

The Always Sunny episodes removed from streaming aren't the only ones, and other similarly satirical TV shows have had episodes removed too. With five episodes of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia removed from streaming, it's only one behind the notoriously controversial South Park, which has six. South Park's episodes pulled from streaming include "200" and "201," which satirize Comedy Central's refusal to depict the Prophet Muhammad, which also led to "Super Best Friends" being pulled too. Along with those two shows, Scrubs and 30 Rock have each had a number of episodes removed from their respective streaming services.

Community, a show about a group of outcasts in a community college, has had one episode pulled from streaming services. "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons" was removed because of Ben Chang's use of blackface. Similar to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Chang is ridiculed for it, with Shirley calling his "dark elf" outfit a "hate crime," but just because the show points it out first doesn't mean it isn't offensive.

As audiences become more socially aware, it's only normal that old TV episodes will be looked at through a 2020s lens, and what might have ed as biting satire years ago can easily be considered highly controversial by today's standards.

Is There Anyway To Watch These Episodes?

DVD Remains The Ony Option To View The Controversial Episodes

For those looking to rewatch the It's Always Sunny banned episodes, it has been made quite difficult to do so. While there are plenty of funny episodes available that capture the show's boundary-pushing humor, they have taken the stance of removing these titles from streaming options very seriously. Hulu is the only streaming platform with all 16 current seasons of the show available, but these five episodes still remain unavailable to watch.

Those hoping to catch these episodes by buying the show on Apple and Amazon will also be disappointed as the same episodes are not available to buy individually or as part of their respective seasons. However, there is an option to see the episodes by buying the seasons on DVD. The show did not go so far as to recall its DVDs to remove the controversial episodes and there are still sets of It's Always Sunny seasons and entire box sets available for purchase.