The sports category has moved to a new website.

Rob McElhenney Just Explained Why It Took Mac So Long to Come Out on 'Always Sunny'

The 14th season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premieres on September 25, making it the longest-running live action sitcom on American television alongside The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Season 13 concluded with a format-busting extended dance sequence which turned the show on its head: while the Gang have experimented with musical numbers before, it's always been in the service of the show's transgressive comedy. This, however, was an earnest moment in which Mac (played by series creator Rob McElhenney ) finally found the means with which to express himself and affirm his identity as a newly out gay man.

Always Sunny's Rob McElhenney on Making Mac Gay

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone , McElhenney spoke about the decision to show Mac coming to terms with his sexuality on-screen so late in the show's run, when the characters' various traits had all otherwise become entrenched to the point of being stunted.

"It was actually born more out of his intense, ultraconservative, right-leaning principals," he said. "We were looking at Mac at one point, and I was like, 'He is such an arch-arch Catholic conservative when it suits him, and when it doesnt, he drops that.' And most of the people I know in that camp tend to be fairly homophobic. So we began going down that road: Lets satirize that hard Christian conservative who is also intensely homophobic. OK, so whats the next step from there? And thats when I thought, 'Lets just make him gay.' What we realized is, if you look back over the seasons, it almost worked retroactively."

Gags about Mac's sexuality had long been one of the show's many running jokes, but just as the show had skewered racist and sexist viewpoints before, so too were viewers invited to laugh at the characters' homophobic comments, not with them.

"The joke wasnt that Mac was gay, obviously. That would have been demeaning and offensive," he said. "The joke was that he was in the closet, and he refused to come out and doubled down on his homophobia. It was just poking fun at the hypocrisy of that... We werent creating a gay character for comedic effect, that was there just to be gay and to be funny because he was gay, but a very complex, very disturbed, very fucked-up and awful character, who happens to be gay. And we ran with that."

ADVERTISEMENT

While Season 13 ended on a rare moment of grace, it's unlikely that the Gang will have learned any profound lessons by the time Season 14 begins. McElhenney concluded the interview by promising that fans will be getting "more of the same," although what that means is unclear when Always Sunny thrives on experimenting with style and genre. "You might scream at the TV in anger and rage, because its ruining your show, but I promise that that is why you like the show," he said. "Because you dont know what youre going to get."

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: news@pulselive.co.ke

Recommended articles

For Guys: Outfits that instantly make you attractive & are easy to pull off

For Guys: Outfits that instantly make you attractive & are easy to pull off

Whole stuffed chicken recipe you can make for Easter

Whole stuffed chicken recipe you can make for Easter

Understanding delay rings, how they work & safety measures when using them

Understanding delay rings, how they work & safety measures when using them

Ex-cop Linda Okello acquires 2nd lavish home in the U.S.

Ex-cop Linda Okello acquires 2nd lavish home in the U.S.

10 essential parenting tips all first-time fathers should know

10 essential parenting tips all first-time fathers should know

15 Foods That Help Improve Erections

15 Foods That Help Improve Erections

10 unique ideas to gifting car enthusiasts on their special days

10 unique ideas to gifting car enthusiasts on their special days

10 important things to consider before getting a fire extinguisher

10 important things to consider before getting a fire extinguisher

Here's why dates begin Iftar meals during Ramadhan

Here's why dates begin Iftar meals during Ramadhan

ADVERTISEMENT