Cancelled Sitcom Starring It’s Always Sunny Actor With 100% RT Score For Multiple Seasons Surges On Netflix Chart In US

A well-regarded sitcom featuring a star from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is climbing the Netflix charts. It’s Always Sunny is an FXX comedy that was created by Rob McElhenney, who also stars alongside Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Kaitlin Olson, and Danny DeVito as a group of self-centered, frequently cruel people who run a bar in Philadelphia. The show has run for 16 seasons and has already been renewed for two more, making it the longest-running American live-action sitcom of all time. Over the years, it has been nominated for three Emmys and won a People’s Choice Award.

Although the show is still running, the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia cast has all pursued other major projects during its tenure on the air. This includes Danny DeVito making appearances in a variety of prominent movies such as Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Haunted Mansion, Jumanji: The Next Level, and Dumbo. Other projects include Rob McElhenney’s docuseries Welcome to Wrexham (which also features Ryan Reynolds) and Apple TV+ comedy Mythic Quest, the Kailtin Olson-led series The Mick and High Potential, and Charlie Day’s prominent roles in blockbuster movies including The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Pacific Rim, and Horrible Bosses.

A.P. Bio Is A Streaming Success

The Show Ended In 2021

Now, the four-season Glenn Howerton sitcom A.P. Bio has found new success on streaming. The It’s Always Sunny star plays Jack Griffin, a Harvard professor who falls from grace and is forced to work at a high school in his hometown. The show, which was created by Saturday Night Live‘s Mike O’Brien, featured an ensemble cast that included Lyric Lewis, Mary Sohn, Jean Villepique, Tom Bennett, Patton Oswalt, and Paula Pell. A.P. Bio was cancelled twice, first by NBC after season 2 and then in 2021 by Peacock after they had picked up the series for two additional seasons.

A.P. Bio has spent several days on Netflix‘s daily Top 10 TV Shows chart in the United States since it joined the platform’s library. At the time of writing, it is No. 7 on the chart. In addition to being the highest-ranked acquired show, it is the only title in the Top 10 that is not a Netflix original, as the other titles on the chart are Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey, Man on the Inside, the comedy special Anthony Jeselnik: Bones and All, The Empress, Rhythm + Flow, Arcane, Cobra Kai, Outer Banks, and 900 Days Without Anabel.

What This Means For A.P. Bio

Season 5 Probably Won’t Happen

Although the show is finding new success, it will likely not return for a new season given probable scheduling issues with the A.P. Bio cast, in particular Howerton. In addition to his commitments to It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, he has also been cast in the upcoming Netflix limited series Sirens opposite Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon, and Josh Segarra. Patton Oswalt could be another major source of conflicts, given his stand-up comedy schedule combined with his many film and television appearances. In fact, since A.P. Bio ended, he has already amassed more than 30 additional credits.

Additionally, the reason the show was cancelled by NBC in the first place was low ratings. While it seems that NBCUniversal may have been aware of the show’s potential as a streaming title given the fact that it went to their proprietary streaming service afterward, Peacock’s subsequent cancellation after season 4 likely means that it failed to find a strong footing on streaming as well. Unless it becomes a smash hit on Netflix and continues to chart for multiple weeks, it seems unlikely that this viewership surge will change the fate of the cancelled show.

Our Take On A.P. Bio’s Streaming Success

Peacock Titles Have Connected With Netflix Audiences

In spite of the fact that the Howerton show most likely will not return, its success on Netflix points to an intriguing recent trend. Both A.P. Bio and the sitcom Girls5eva have succeeded on Netflix recently, either critically or commercially. Season 3 of the Tina Fey-produced musical comedy was produced by Netflix after the first two seasons were put together by Peacock. While the season did not find a space on the streamer’s global Top 10 chart when it debuted, it did earn a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, which was the best of the entire show.

The fact that both Peacock shows are performing well on Netflix in different ways could indicate that the streamer may pursue acquiring and potentially reviving more Peacock comedy properties in the future. If the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star’s cancelled sitcom continues to shine on its new platform, there is a wealth of other cancelled Peacock comedy shows that could potentially benefit from the same treatment. This includes Saved by the Bell, Punky Brewster, Rutherford Falls, MacGruber, Killing It, and Bupkis.

Source: Netflix