'It's Always Sunny' season 6 premiere: What to expect this season

Image Credit: Patrick McElhenney/FXIt’s almost fall, PopWatchers. The days are getting shorter, but that only means things are about to get sunnier on television. Especially tonight, when the sixth season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia premieres on FX at 10 p.m. Shortly before the debut of tonight’s episode — which tackles same-sex marriage — cast member (and 2010 EWwy Award winner) Charlie Day rang up EW to talk about where the outlandish comedy is heading. “[We] deal more with the characters and their emotions and what they’re going through in their lives,” Day says. “In some ways there are less hot-button issues than in past seasons. But there’s not an episode that won’t touch a funny bone.” Here are five things to look forward to this season on Sunny:

• Dennis finally settles down: Well, not for long. “Dennis Reynolds actually gets married on a whim to his high school sweetheart,” Day says. “And then there’s an episode where Dennis gets divorced.” So looks like the creator of the D.E.N.N.I.S. system will separate entirely after all.
• Dee’s having a baby: The gang is confronted with the biggest mystery since “Who Pooped the Bed?” when they attempt to guess who knocked up Sweet Dee. (In real life, actress Kaitlin Olson was pregnant during the filming of season 6.) Day says to expect flashbacks to an alcohol-laced costume party at Paddy’s — the setting for the baby’s conception. “Now, who the father is, and what becomes of this child, I cannot say,” Day says. “But I think we’re dealing with it in a way that it’s never been dealt with before.” Are we going to witness the birth of Green Baby?
• Charlie’s ousted from the gang: Says Day, “We dig up a time capsule and Frank discovers there used to be another member of the gang. A guy named Smitty — sort of a fifth Beatle situation.” Playing Smitty is none other than Day’s Going the Distance co-star Jason Sudeikis. Clearly, he’s more of a charmer than Paddy’s illiterate janitor: “What ends up happening is that the guys decide that they like Smitty better than Charlie,” Day says. “So they kick me to the curb.”
• The gang makes a movie: Frank, Mac, and Dennis decide to film Lethal Weapon 5. Unfortunately, the trio is no M. Night Shyamalan. “We screen it for some high school kids,” Day says. “And [attempt] to solve an argument over whether doing blackface is in good or poor taste.”
• We’ll see some familiar faces — and some newbies: Day confirms the gang will indeed be terrorizing Rickety Cricket, Lil Kev, Artemis, and the McPoyles this season. And then there are the series’ guest stars as well: Along with Sudeikis, Dave Foley will appear as a principal of the school where Dee temporarily works. Also poised to guest star: Tom Sizemore. “He plays a psychotic truck driver,” Day says. “It is perfect.”

Who’s psyched?