It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia creator and star Rob McElhenney recently revealed that he was diagnosed with “neurodevelopmental disorders and learning disabilities.”
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In a tweet McElhenney reflected on the shock (absurdity?) of getting all the way to his middle-age years before getting the diagnosis: “I was recently diagnosed with a host of neurodevelopmental disorders and learning disabilities! At 46!”
On a more serious note, the actor/showrunner added that “It’s not something I would normally talk about publicly but I figured there are others who struggle with similar things and I wanted to remind you that you’re not alone. You’re not stupid. You’re not ‘bad.’ It might feel that way sometimes. But it’s not true.”
McElhenney will be revealing more details on an upcoming episode of the Always Sunny Podcast – just one of several groundbreaking ventures he has created in media/entertainment. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia is now the longest-running live-action sitcom of all time; now in Season 16, the show seems to even be enjoying a major resurgence – thanks in large part to the launch of the Sunny podcast, where the McElhenney and his co-creators analyze each episode of the show and reflect on the comedy the created. McElhenney also partnered with a few of Sunny’s producers to create the Apple TV+ workplace comedy series Mythic Quest, which has Season 4 in the works.
Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds and McElhenney pioneered a blend of reality TV, Sports TV, celebrity endorsement and actual sports ownership for their docuseries Welcome to Wrexham, which catapulted a real-life soccer club (Wrexham A.F.C.) out of a 12-year slump at non-League status, and into EFL League Two for the first time in 15 years, making the team (and its town) international stars in the process.
…That’s all to say, whatever the diagnosis about his abilities to learn and/or comprehend, Rob McElhenney has certainly managed to navigate his way to success – if anything, his ability to think differently may have even been key to that success. Always Suny is certainly a one-of-a-kind creation that has spawned a multimedia franchise (podcast, live shows, merch), and the Wrexham venture has been a game-changing (no pun) success that could become a blueprint for the future of sports entertainment.
Even this diagnosis is about to be transformed into an almost-guaranteed draw for McElhenney’s Sunny Podcast, which in turn helps rekindle interest in the show. So yes, thinking differently may indeed work out okay, kids.
