It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Why Hulu pulled these 5 Episodes from streaming?

Hulu has taken off five episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia from its streaming services mainly because of the controversial elements: black face, brown face, and racially offensive caricatures.

The titles and seasons of the corresponding episodes were listed and found no longer acceptable by present-day societal values simply because the show's satirical boundary-pushing went too far. They have excluded entire episodes from their lineup because of this.

Being one of the most consistently controversial sitcoms on television, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has established the kind of dark satire with its moral grayness, satirizing taboo subjects through egotistical, morally corrupt characters.

Although many supporters of the show argue that its self-aware style of presentation criticizes, rather than supports, the behaviors portrayed, Hulu's pull of episodes shows the changing boundaries of what is allowed in mainstream media. These removals were a part of a much bigger pattern in the industry, with similar censorships being seen in cases of South Park, Community, and 30 Rock.

---

Why did Hulu pull 5 Episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia?

The primary cause for Hulu’s actions in removing these five episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia was the presence of blackface, brownface, and yellowface throughout the episodes, all of these being offensive even if the intention was satire. The following is a list of the specific episodes that were taken down:

Season 4, Episode 3: "America's Next Top Paddy's Billboard Model Contest"

Season 6, Episode 9: "Dee Reynolds: Shaping America's Youth"

Season 8, Episode 2: "The Gang Recycles Their Trash"

Season 9, Episode 9: "The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 6"

Season 14, Episode 3: "Dee Day"

The Gang consistently wore racist makeup or played characters with exaggerated stereotypes, while often commenting satirically on their own ignorance. For instance, Lethal Weapon 6 was the part in which Mac's blackface impersonation and Dee's ever-present brownface character "Martina Martinez" got the loudest rebuke.

The series often had other characters in the script pointing out the Gang's offensive behaviors and mocking the lack of self-awareness in them, but the imageries were still mostly judged by the audiences and the streaming executives as exceeding the limit, especially in the heightened atmosphere after the George Floyd protests in 2020 and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Hulu decided to remove these episodes that stemmed from behind-the-scenes complaints from the viewers. It was also an attempt to keep good relations with the advertisers and public perception of the brand, thus becoming the proactive censorship that is now across all platforms.

Shows like Community (which pulled its Advanced Dungeons & Dragons episode due to a blackface joke) and South Park (which removed several episodes for depicting religious icons) also illustrate the point that even the satirical intent cannot be the sole reason for keeping controversial episodes in circulation anymore.

The controversy was directly addressed by the creators themselves in the subsequent seasons. By putting together Season 15, The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia gave meta-commentary on its own censorship and employed Black writers and actors as a part of the proposed shift in perspective, pointing out both the Gang's ignorance and the necessity of paying attention to the voices that are not in the usual white male comedy writers' group.

---

What is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia about?

After making its way onto screens in 2005, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has been relishing the chance to poke fun at social vices by self-destructive characters Dee, Dennis, Mac, Charlie, and Frank. All of them are the owners of a filthy bar where they make the most of one another and those who happen to be in their way.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has always succeeded in its popularity as it made the deep and dark and humorous and playful stigmas its very own selling points and went along with them through the years of seventeen seasons.

Among the recurring elements of dysfunction, family, drugs, crime, and complex tricks, each of them is often pushed to the extreme. For instance, Season 16 presented us with Dennis haunted by high blood pressure and taking a surreal trip through his very own frustration, while the rest of the Gang had to deal with personal and professional turmoil of chess tournaments and catfishing scams that were even more fraudulent than before.

The series has, however, gained a cult-like following that revolves around the question of what is tasteful and permissible in comedy and holds the discourse on such matters as defining the very aspect of the genre.

The fact that the creators of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia have become more aware of and receptive to the issues of the real world is a very significant thing. The past few seasons have been indulging in self-examination: Season 15 episode Lethal Weapon 7 has a library restricting the racist home movies of the gang as the launchpad to an episode about censorship and white liberal performativity.

For this meta-commentary, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia brought in Black writers and directors; in this way, the show not only recognized its past mistakes but also reasserted the necessity of taking outside opinions into account when it comes to the creation of social satire.