How a Show About Truly Terrible People Became the Defining American Sitcom

For me, the show is one of the few works of art made in my lifetime that are truly cathartic. For a half-hour at a time, I get to laugh uncontrollably at the human capacity for cruelty. The reason it has worked for so long, and remains so watchable, is not just the lengths “Always Sunny” will go for a laugh but also the fact that it doesn’t glamorize the cruelty: The gang is invariably depicted as ridiculous and almost impossibly stupid.
 
For me, the show is one of the few works of art made in my lifetime that are truly cathartic. For a half-hour at a time, I get to laugh uncontrollably at the human capacity for cruelty. The reason it has worked for so long, and remains so watchable, is not just the lengths “Always Sunny” will go for a laugh but also the fact that it doesn’t glamorize the cruelty: The gang is invariably depicted as ridiculous and almost impossibly stupid.
I've only seen an episode or two but it's on Hulu so I'll start. It's well rated:

 
It's another sitcom like, Married With Children or to a lesser extent Big Bang Theory where the creators sought to turn the sitcom formula on its head.
 
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