Charlie Day On The Origin Of “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

I'm fascinated by a couple of things. people that come from the same part of. the world that I do and are obsessed. with comedy and also people that have a. music. connection I've always been uh sort of a. frustrated music wannabe and I think. that there's a very strong connection. between music and comedy and uh and I. know that that was part of your. childhood because aren't your parents. professionals both. well yeah retired music teachers but my. mom was just you know the kindergarten. through eighth grade music teacher at a.

small private school and my dad uh. taught the local College like music. history one and two. um but they're Eggheads for sure they. both have their phds in musicology as. does my sister in Coral conducting. and so I was like. you know they didn't have any money so I. was I was like this is no music's not. for me right and then I started being. like well maybe you could be a rock star. and that's a different deal right but.

but then like I felt like you know I. could noodle on a lot of instruments and. then you'd meet the one kid who could. just shred a guitar and you're like well. yeah I don't I don't got it I don't got. it yes it uh it becomes cool it becomes. clear pretty quickly my theory and I've. mentioned it here A bunch of the podcast. is that when you're a kid you have a. checklist. and whether you're doing it consciously. or unconsciously you're kind of checking. out like. athlete but my creates it was athlete no.

yeah yeah you know uh lady killer no. just like a lot of no's and then make. what's this thing is that a professional. I know what is what that's what you. wanted to get into no just. professionally no no no. [Applause]. what's your persona sort of a Ted Bundy. kind of thing you can still do it too. messy from state to state yeah yeah and. there's a uh no um that more more that. what are your assets I guess is that. what I would say that I guess that's.

what I'm talking about what are your. assets and then you I finally just like. remembered no no no no no no no I seem. to be able to make people chuckle all. right we're just gonna double down on. that triple down on that everything's. going into that pot also you hit a. certain point where you're like this is. the only way I can figure out how to. feed myself. math is off the table Sports yeah. um modeling forget it what if I can just. squeeze a couple Chuckles out of.

somebody. get by right yeah and you tried for a. while going on legitimate acting. auditions but it wasn't really until you. started making your own stuff. uh I knew that it just it was gonna hit. a wall so like both Rob and Glenn and. myself we were working uh the way. extraordinarily handsome young men in. the in their 20s can get some work sure. I did that yeah you know like like the. guy at the dock being like yeah I saw.

him yeah you know yeah yeah. pretty decent guy hard working I think I. did notice Blood on the finger you know. like that like that how many Law and. Orders is that yeah yeah yeah that's. that is my favorite observation is uh. and it's the same thing for Dragnet and. Law and Order whenever they're. questioning someone it's like no no. anything else you want to say before we. go well there was one thing yeah he wore. a World War One German Helmet.

you lead with that I don't know whatever. you make of that and then you know yeah. that's so you did a couple of like. online order and like a couple things. here and there and I was always coming. close I was testing for a lot of TV. shows to always to be the best friend. never to be the guy yeah yeah actually. one time uh. I got flown out for a show that was. called weird Henry and they're like well. maybe he could be weird Henry we he sure. seems weird and then uh you know I think.

the studio saw the test and we're like. we're gonna cancel this show this is uh. the whole thing got scrapped after my. audition. um and then I booked a part on the Luis. Guzman sitcom. um. that was written by Will Gluck funny. talented guy and there were two writers. on that staff that I'm like these guys. are really really funny there's a Chris. Miller and Phil Lord oh yeah of course. so they went on to be pretty successful. um and uh that got canceled after three.

episodes aired and it was around then. that Robin Glenn and I were thinking you. know. why wait why sit around and wait for. another one of these and then you don't. even necessarily like what you're being. given the opportunity to do why not just. shoot something ourselves and. I think we were looking at um. we were looking at the British office. yep and uh how sort of cheap it looked. it just seemed very handheld and very. easy to shoot and the lighting just. seemed like they threw the lights on in. an office and filmed it uh curb had just.

come out around then and it felt the. same and uh. the Panasonic dvx 100a camera not that. we were big camera guys but somebody. Glenn or someone had stumbled upon this. camera and it kind of looked like those. shows but it was a for an affordable. camera. so that combination of of a attainable. look with an affordable camera and we. thought well we could shoot something. there was no. Tick Tock to just sort of throw it away. on right uh YouTube I think had was just.

kind of coming onto the scene we thought. well let's let's shoot a pilot and we. made a a terrible pilot you know the but. there was a thing in it there was. something in the in the spirit of it. that we thought okay let's redo it. because it cost us nothing. and we had a lot of spare time and then. we said let's shoot it again. we shot a second episode and we sort of. handed that to our agents so we started. going around town and uh.

or they said let's hook you up with a. big producer and we waited forever for. someone to watch it nobody watched it. um and while we were waiting we shot a. third episode and that third episode. started to get pretty good we started to. find our voice and our timing and get a. little bit better how to use the camera. and it was the third episode that uh Rob. had the his lack of patience was amazing. and very useful he was like I'm gonna. fire everyone unless we start getting. meetings and they're like okay okay. we'll set up some meetings and uh he.

took it around and pitched it and um. we had an offer from. VH1 I think to rewrite it. and or maybe it was MTV. and we had an offer from FX to shoot a. pilot with a with a real budget and buy. a real budget I mean like one tenth of. what a television show was made for but. that was a hundred times more than what. we were working for uh. we shot that pilot they picked it up. they said we'll give you seven episodes. and then we did seven and then they were.

like okay we're gonna we're gonna cancel. the show but uh unless you can get a big. name attached and. and Danny DeVito had seen the show and. liked it and then. here we are. still guys that's fascinating to me that. I mean you hear stories about you need a. big name yeah and uh and and I always. thought like it almost sounds apocryphal. like it's this thing from the 1940s or. 50s but it's true yeah especially then. maybe less so now because there's so. many different things that you could. maybe launch something and and people.

just the buzz of it being a popular show. on say Netflix people might check it out. but then. I think to to break through it all. yeah if we hadn't gotten Danny that. would have that would have been it now. how many seasons has it been now this is. going to blow my mind when you say it we. just shot the 16th that's unbelievable. to me and I think you've. broken the record or tied the record for. longest running yeah multicam sitcom is. something like that we passed Ozzie and.

Harriet last year for the longest and. they did about a thousand episodes you. know oh my God we've done so many less. you know we've now we're only doing. eight a year. um but uh uh you know I think back then. they were like all right get to work and. you're gonna do 50 of these you know and. uh and but now you know so I yes we're. the longest running we haven't done the. most episodes and then cartoons like The. Simpsons has been around forever I'm. gonna tell me about it I left the. Simpsons in 1993. and I remember.

thinking I remember thinking well this. thing's. this old horse has just about had it so. I'll just go do a late night show now. what are you at all thinking like. they'll never survive without me yeah no. I'm I'm deluded but not that deluded no. I knew that they survived very well uh. that they would survive very well. without me and and probably be enhanced. uh but I but. um yeah I left and remembered thinking.

like well this thing has now been. chugging along for like six seven. seasons and it's a animated show and. it's very labor intensive how could it. possibly continue cut to 30 years later. that's insane 30 years time for them to. stop. yes I do. I only said that because I still am I'm. good friends with many of the people. that still make it so yeah they know I.

don't feel that way but this is really. funny for me to go yes they should stop. immediately have they had enough. episodes for the characters to have aged. a year if theoretically well it's the. beauty of it and of course they have. right 300 five episodes oh yeah easily. they easily have but I mean that's the. conceit right they never get older. that's they never get older and Mr Burns. never remembers who Homer Simpson is. that's my other favorite Simpson hey. yeah and no one knows how old well sir. he saved your life he once was in charge.

of the Moon uh he you know whatever they. you transplanted your lungs into his. once uh you once adopted him all these. ah it doesn't ring a bell which is a. great great conceit.