The Gang Replaces Dee With a Monkey

"The Gang Replaces Dee With a Monkey" is the fourth episode of the fifteenth season of the American sitcom television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It is the 158th overall episode of the series and was written by main cast member Glenn Howerton and Nina Pedrad and directed by Todd Biermann. It originally aired on FXX on December 8, 2021, airing back-to-back with the previous episode, "The Gang Buys a Roller Rink".

"The Gang Replaces Dee With a Monkey"
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode
Episode no.Season 15
Episode 4
Directed byTodd Biermann
Written byGlenn Howerton & Nina Pedrad
Produced by
Featured music"Pot of Gold" by Christopher Beaty
Cinematography byJohn Tanzer
Editing byScott Draper
Production codeXIP15004
Original air dateDecember 8, 2021 (2021-12-08)
Running time21 minutes
Guest appearances
  • Jack Plotnick as Michael Goldmate
  • Iman Karram as Kiki
  • Michael Mealor as Tony

The series follows "The Gang", a group of five misfit friends: twins Dennis and Deandra "(Sweet) Dee" Reynolds, their friends Charlie Kelly and Ronald "Mac" McDonald, and Frank Reynolds, Dennis' and Dee's legal father. The Gang runs the fictional Paddy's Pub, an unsuccessful Irish bar in South Philadelphia. In the episode, the guys think Dee may be on her menopause and, unwilling to tolerate her incoming behavior, decide to replace her with a monkey who serves great beers. Meanwhile, Dee is actually performing in character for a role. After she is rejected, she decides to open her own acting class for easy money. The episode serves to set up a story arc where the Gang goes to Ireland.[1]

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.235 million household viewers and gained a 0.14 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the writing, performances and set-up for the coming episodes.

Plot

Dee (Kaitlin Olson) expresses shock and disappointment when she leaves the bar's restroom and exits the bar. The Gang questions her behavior, with Frank (Danny DeVito) deducing she may be on her menopause. Unwilling to tolerate Dee's new behavior, they decide to replace her, even joking about replacing her with a monkey.

Dee's behavior is actually revealed to be part of a method acting part for a TV series audition, but her audition is rejected by the casting directors. Back at the bar, Charlie (Charlie Day) expresses desire to go on vacation but Mac (Rob McElhenney) and Dennis (Glenn Howerton) reject his idea of going to Pittsburgh. Frank suddenly shows up with a monkey, planning to use it as Dee's replacement. They object, until the monkey prepares a good beer to Dennis, having been trained to appear on movies.

Dee decides to open an acting class to get money, giving poor advice to aspiring actors. She then receives a call from the TV series director, who saw her taped audition and wants to offer her a role, prompting her to close her acting class. At Paddy's, the guys still debate on what place to go on vacation while getting drunk with the beers served by the monkey. They wake up the next day, hungover, and the bar completely trashed. They also discover that the monkey stole their money, making Frank reveal that the monkey's grandfather belonged to Roscoe Arbuckle and many film stars who exploited the animals, causing the monkey to hide on the city and scam people. They also all have a gross and sour feeling in their mouths, and conclude that the monkey also had sex with them while they were unconscious.

The guys then remember that they wrote words that could describe their perfect vacation destination while they were drunk. They see a chalkboard with the words "Monkey beer island of green and fight". Deducing that the monkey poured whiskey on their drinks, they replace "Monkey" with "Whiskey". Dee appears, presuming that she booked an extra role and will leave tomorrow for Ireland. The guys then think of this, before deciding to go to Ireland for vacation.

Production

Development

In November 2021, it was reported that the fourth episode of the fifteenth season would be titled "The Gang Replaces Dee With a Monkey", and was to be directed by Todd Biermann and written by main cast member Glenn Howerton and Nina Pedrad and directed by Todd Biermann. This was Biermann's 16th directing credit, Howerton's 43rd writing credit and Pedrad's 1st writing credit.[2]

Reception

Viewers

In its original American broadcast, "The Gang Replaces Dee With a Monkey" was seen by an estimated 0.235 million household viewers and gained a 0.14 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This means that 0.14 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.[3] This was a 27% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.318 million viewers with a 0.18 in the 18-49 demographics.[3]

Critical reviews

"The Gang Replaces Dee With a Monkey" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "This is more like it. Sure, this fourth episode has its shakier elements, and there aren't many Sunny outings where the A and B stories are so tenuously connected, but at least 'The Gang Replaces Dee With A Monkey' is recognizable in its go-for-broke outrageousness. And, it must be said, the Gang does, in fact, replace Sweet Dee with an actual monkey. So, props for that."[4]

Ross Bonaime of Collider wrote, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is as hysterical and shocking as it ever has been. Moments like Charlie's confusion over Pennsylvania's geography, Dee's horrible acting class, and the revelation of what made Dennis the way he is are all likely to go down as classic It's Always Sunny scenes."[5] Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com wrote, "The season really gets going when a series of events sends the gang to Ireland for the first time as multiple episodes unfold across the Atlantic Ocean. The kickstart to these episodes — 'The Gang Replaces Dee with a Monkey' — is one of the funniest in all 15 seasons."[6]

References
  1. Starkey, Adam (November 10, 2021). "'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia' heads to Ireland in season 15 trailer". NME. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  2. "(#1503/1504) "The Gang Buys A Roller Rink / The Gang Replaces Dee With A Monkey"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  3. Metcalf, Mitch (December 9, 2019). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Wednesday 12.8.2021 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  4. Perkins, Dennis (December 8, 2021). "A felonious monkey helps It's Always Sunny rebound from its worst episode ever". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  5. Bonaime, Ross (December 1, 2021). "'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' Season 15 Review: The Cause of and Solution to All of Life's Problems". Collider. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  6. Tallerico, Brian (December 1, 2021). "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Remains Confident in Record-Setting Season". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
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