Ranking Every Episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 17 (1-8)

They… did it! 17 seasons in, and there wasn’t one stinker in the bunch. Not every episode was a classic. However, every episode would score at least a 7/10 in my book. But with no bad episodes, how do they measure up? On a scale of a good to great, let’s go over season 17 from weakest to best.

S/E: Season 17, Episode 1

Original Airdate: July 9, 2025

First of all, that is not a typo, that is the literal title of the episode. We also have a bonus, as this was preceded by the “Volunteers” episode of Abbott Elementary. Because they are brother/sister episodes that feel like two halves of one episode. However, the upside is that both made me laugh.

The reason this ranks so low is that I feel that Office clones have worn out their welcome. In Abbott Elementary’s defense, the show is pleasant enough that I see why it has fans. I enjoyed this episode enough. But with a murderer’s row of good episodes, it was the least painful to put on the bottom. (If that makes sense) IMDB voted this episode a solid 7, a rare instance where the IMDB score is perfectly rated.

S/E: Season 17, Episode 4

Original Airdate: July 23, 2025

This felt like the most by-the-numbers episode of the season. But if it works, it works. A reporter (or so they think) wants to know about them driving a truck into the river. (Hey, that’s what set up the Abbott Elementary crossover!) Through flashbacks, the Gang tries to figure out who will be thrown under the bus. A Cybertruck is a major plot point of the episode. Good news: they keep the conversation apolitical. Bad news: they don’t say much.

The Cybertruck was the prize in a slap fight. Naturally, the gang tries to rig the contest. Shenanigans ensue, and some of the biggest laughs come from their loopholes. Frank grows distracted by orgies. The ending feels a little like a cop-out, but it’s not a non-sequitur. I heard this episode is a loose spoof of HBO’s Succession. Succession is a blind spot for me, but it doesn't matter; you can still enjoy this episode regardless.

S/E: Season 17, Episode 5

Original Airdate: July 30, 2025

Frank dupes the gang into going to a dog track by making them think they’re going to the Kentucky Derby. Most of the episode is spent with Frank duping Dennis and Dee into gambling. Either they bet or he bets on them. What I like is that this episode starts out laid back before steadily upping the ante. Dennis and Sweet Dee’s wardrobe reflect their decline in dignity.

I have mixed feelings about Mac and Charlie’s story. After epically missing the point of Raw Dogging, they bond with a vagrant who’s a little too close to dogs. Their B-plot has its moments, but feels like it never escalates to the absurdity of the Reynolds’ plot. Plus, it goes from 0 to 60 a little too quickly. This episode leans on gross-out humor compared to the rest of the season. But it’s brazen and over-the-top enough to make me laugh.

S/E: Season 17, Episode 6

Original Airdate: August 6, 2025

Dee and Dennis are confronted by two people who were in high school during the first season. How do Dennis and Dee respond to learning this? They try to seduce the couple. Failing that, they try to seduce their kids. Jokes about Dennis and Dee’s insecurities practically write themselves. The gag about Dennis’s cologne dances a little too closely to the Sex Panther joke from Anchorman, but I still laughed.

My only gripe with the A-plot is that it relies too heavily on telling rather than showing. What I do like is that the episode keeps upping the ante. Dee failing to steal her brother’s thunder is hilarious. Mac and Charlie’s B-plot about trying to find Frank is Aces. Trying to create a true crime drama, Mac and Charlie bump into Cricket and Uncle Jack. Hilarity ensues, and of course, they jump to all the wrong conclusions.

S/E: Season 17, Episode 8

Original Airdate: August 20, 2025

They spent two episodes building to this one, so it better be good, right? You get zero points for guessing who C-ck Chewa is spoofing. At first, I thought I’d be annoyed since spoofing an annoying person also means we’re trapped with them. But it was a smart satire of dumb people becoming famous (and why anyone would want... what she does). The reason it’s smart is that the people who hate this stuff can laugh at it, and the people who like this stuff can laugh with it.

The gang doesn’t like any of Frank’s options for the show, so they bring in Charlie’s mom. An awkward dinner and a prank backfiring are two of the comedic highlights. Brace yourself for some feels, though. The episode ends with a tribute to Lynne Marie Stewart, who passed in February 2025. For a notoriously crass show, it’s a touching sendoff. (I wasn’t crying, YOU were crying!) But the impressive part is how they segued the ending of the episode into the memorial.

S/E: Season 17, Episode 2

Original Airdate: July 9, 2025

After a tickle attack, Frank is… well, the title says it. Tasked with a tough decision, Dee is trapped with Frank and his nurse. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang sees Frank’s absence as an excuse to schmooze with high rollers. As expected, it blows up in their faces in hilarious fashion. As funny as that is, Dee feels like the star of an episode for once. Going through the stages of grief, Sweet Dee spends most of the episode in one room without most of the cast. Truly one of Caitlin Olsen’s finest moments on the show.

If readers somehow don't know the twist, I won't spoilt it. It’s the kind of twist where viewers might look for clues on a second watch. More importantly, the episode remains effective even after the twist is revealed. Some might consider it a gimmick, but there’s enough setup that it doesn’t feel like a non-sequitur.

S/E: Season 17, Episode 7

Original Airdate: August 13, 2025

Building up to the Golden Bachelor episode, Dennis decides the gang needs to put on their Sunday best. Dennis decides to script an ideal version of the gang and hold a focus group. Some on-the-nose comments turned me off. In broad sweeps, though, I found the commentary on the futility of trying to make everyone happy astute. Most of the comedy stems from the gang's epically deviating from Dennis’s script. Many of their antics are the over-the-top affairs we’d expect from these three. Mac’s a showoff, Dee’s obsessed with being a character, and Charlie’s a human cartoon character.

Dennis also faces numerous attacks on his self-esteem. The slow burn of Dennis losing his mind is the result of the focus group liking everyone except him. Dennis delivers an uncomfortable monologue where some viewers won’t know whether to laugh or sit in discomfort. The payoff is too good to give away.

S/E: Season 17, Episode 3

Original Airdate: July 16, 2025

This episode might be the funniest episode of It’s Always Sunny this calendar decade. Imagine if a zany go-for-broke comedy, such as What’s Up Doc or Looney Tunes in a 20-minute episode. Frank thinks it’s a good idea to prank someone with a ghost pepper. When the customer has a reaction requiring medical attention, it blows up into a war with the lawyer while (as the title suggests) Mac and Dennis pretend to be EMTs.

Somehow, this dovetails with Dee’s Uber Eats deliveries and Charlie becoming a burger chef. Part of the humor is how insane that all of these things are overlapping. Mac and Dennis become entangled in Frank’s hot pepper obsession. Describing how all of these things converge would be giving away jokes. Besides being fall-down funny, this episode will put you in the mood for smash burgers. Keep some Tums handy too because the references to spicy food are so intense, viewers might feel phantom pain.