"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" star and co-creator Glenn Howerton admitted he was concerned that the cast and crew might "wear out their welcome" before knowing when to walk away, even as the show grew into an undeniable success.
Howerton opened up about his past reservations as he joined co-stars Rob McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson, Charlie Day, and Danny DeVito on a panel celebrating the show's 20th anniversary.
"I was worried that maybe we had sort of peaked or something, and I just was like, You know, we've been doing this for a long time, and I think I was also anxious," he said of his nervous reaction surrounding production on the show's 12th season, according to Entertainment Weekly. "I had not figured out yet how to, stretch myself and be able to do other things that I wanted to do with my career outside of the show ... I was aching to do other things, and so I was starting to feel a little boxed in, frankly."
Howerton insisted he "never lost any appreciation for the show," but initially thought it should end sooner. "I just thought like maybe we should, and then they were like, 'We don't want to end it,' and I was like, 'Oh, well I can't stop you.'"
At the end of Season 12, Howerton's character Dennis left for North Dakota to be a father to Brian Jr., leading fans to speculate he might not return for Season 13, especially since Howerton had taken a lead role in an NBC comedy at the time. However, speaking with Entertainment Weekly at the time, he said he had no intentions of leaving the show, saying, "Conversation really should be about what's going to happen with Dennis, not what's going to happen with me, and that's something we don't have an answer to yet."
When Season 13 premiered, Dennis was back in Philadelphia as if he'd never left, but Howerton was no longer part of the show's writing team for Seasons 13 and 14.
McElhenney recalled, "There were so many moments" where Howerton tried to quit the show. However, the crew "just won't let him because of the implication," and they "just kept writing it and kept writing him in [the show]."
"And we're like, He's just gonna eventually say he's coming back. That's what happened," he said.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.