Screen Junkies was lucky enough to visit the set of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which is gearing up for its seventh season set to hit FX on a September date TBD, and the stars of the boundlessly outrageous comedy were nice enough to share details, including upcoming storylines, guest stars, and exactly why Rob McElhenney is looking a little heftier these days.

Here’s the IASIP season 7 scoop, in convenient list form:

  • Rob McElhenney gained 50 pounds this year just for the “sheer comedy” of playing Mac as a fat guy. And it’s working. “It’s been disgusting to watch him go through with this adventure,” said Charlie Day. “We were a little on the fence about it for his own personal health and safety,” he added, “but it has definitely made Mac a lot funnier.”

  • They’re doing a realistic Pretty Woman storyline. That is, Frank will propose to a hooker.

  • There will be a children’s beauty pagaent. If that doesn’t horrify and delight you, you’re not watching enough Toddlers & Tiaras.

  • Says Day: “With 2012 coming up, we’re gonna be tackling the apocalypse.” The end of the world. I’m sure the gang will handle it with logic and aplomb.

  • They’re going to the Jersey shore, but they carefully crafted the episode so it’s not about Jersey Shore.

  • Actual guest stars include The Wire star Lance Reddick, Jason Sudekis reprising his role as the gang’s long-lost member, and Jon Polito as Frank’s brother.

  • Non-actual guest stars include, joked Day, a “pretty famous” guy whose name “rhymes with ‘Osama.'”

  •  We’ll see more of The Waitress (perhaps because Mary Elizabeth Ellis’s other show, Perfect Couples, got canceled), which means more of Charlie’s emotional torture.

  • The Kings of Leon are coming by to appear in a “Glee-esque” episode. (Which is appropriate because after proposing to a prostitute, Frank’s “sex” will probably be painfully “on fire,” ifyouknowwhatI’msaying.) 

  • The overall message of the set visit: “Darker” and “more of the same.” Can’t wait!

(Image courtesy of FX)

Meghan Carlson

Senior Writer, BuddyTV

Meghan hails from Walla Walla, WA, the proud home of the world’s best sweet onions and Adam West, the original Batman. An avid grammarian and over-analyzer, you can usually find her thinking too hard about plot devices in favorites like The OfficeIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and How I Met Your Mother. In her spare time, Meghan enjoys drawing, shopping, trying to be funny (and often failing), and not understanding the whole Twilight thing. She’s got a BA in English and Studio Art from Whitman College, which makes her a professional arguer, daydreamer, and doodler.