It's (Not) Always Sunny in Philadelphia

  In the hit comedy show, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, crazy antics and adventures take place throughout the twelve seasons of the series. The cast of a family and two childhood friends entertains the audience with various amounts of episodes that are not only hilariously funny but also point out moral and political issues our society faces. This show is a good example of what a satire should look like with constant hinting to controversial issues. A satire is known to have comedic base with a splash of emphasis on moral goodness. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia does just that throughout the series, by being able to call out certain immoral and inappropriate aspects of society. The creators of the show do this in a way where the characters aren't aware of their intended mentions of political issues or their effectiveness once its said. This creates an easy flowing stream of satire that the audience are able to understand on an intellectual level.
  Another key aspect of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, is the nihilism present in the series. This show takes on a different path compared to the popular sitcoms airing or have aired while the show has been on air. An avid watcher of the show could make the observation that the show is half satirical and half nihilistic. The wildness that goes on in the show is due to the characters' ideologies and how they, most of the time, view life as meaningless. They tend to take on a more pessimistic perspective by immediately shifting to a negative conclusion prior to even solving a problem. Each character has gone through an episode where they have had a cynical view on an event occurring in their lives. The other characters fueled these cynical thoughts by either agreeing or adding on to the negative thoughts. This is usually how the relationships in the cast goes due to the lack of empathy, hopefulness, and care of others and the world around them. This leads the characters' lives to have no progression or growth throughout the series. A good example of this is the lack of success the bar has compared to other businesses around it.
  In one episode of season nine of the show, the self-titled gang (Dennis, Dee, Frank, Charlie, and Mac) go to a bar that has won muliptle awards for being of top quality. As they look around at the lively, well lit and clean bar, they begin to wonder why their own bar hasn't received the same amount of success. As a constant watcher of the show, you would quickly be able to understand why their bar has not gained any popularity. The dark, unclean and very unpleasant workers of their bar are to blame for the lack of customers. This is due to the characters unwillingness to care for anything but themselves while keeping a despairing point of view.
  The series as a whole beautifully incorporates nihilism in an already satirical setting without the overspilling of one onto the other. The balance of the ability to point out political issues in a way that calls out the wrongdoings of society, while still keeping the characters' personality as cynical and nihilistic is the reason why the show is able to be on for twelve seasons.