FX
It's Always Sunny released a poster intentionally made to look AI-generated
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has become the longest-running American live-action sitcom (in terms of seasons) since premiering in 2005. Among the reasons that the show has lasted so long is due to its boundary-pushing comedy, which continued with the Season 18 poster prank the series pulled.
FX revealed the official key art for Season 18 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which will premiere on August 17, earlier this week, and the internet immediately accused the show of using AI to generate it.
The poster features the five main cast members — Mac, Charlie, Dennis, Dee, and Frank — as beer tap handles at Paddy’s Pub in the same hyper-smooth, slightly uncanny digital style that’s become synonymous with AI-generated art.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia had human artists deliberately design their Season 18 poster to look like AI
https://t.co/SP2vbEcnRW pic.twitter.com/6LKUilNXUF
— kate bush’s husband (@airbagg3d) July 15, 2026
Always Sunny slop poster https://t.co/ViBPVxljzB pic.twitter.com/IsqMurc3hh
— TABBY (@verypalehipster) July 15, 2026
10 minute badly photoshopped season 18 it’s always sunny poster but at least it isn’t ai https://t.co/vVhbOxP0eE pic.twitter.com/pnWaRfrRcu
— Frank (@f_lynyrd) July 15, 2026
A source connected to the show, however, confirmed that the poster was made with the “same process” they’ve used for seasons long before the popularization of AI.
“Sunny has always had extremely stylized key art that is driven by artists and brought to life through graphic designers and talented copywriters,” the source shared. “The team used the same process for S18 that has been used many times in the past for Sunny art (including S14, S15, S16 and S17… all long before the existence of AI),” a source told Decider.
The 18th season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia will premiere on Monday, August 17.
There will reportedly be 10 episodes in the season, with episode titles including “2026: A Virtual Insanity,” “Dennis & Dee Don’t Get Rich,” “Frank Marries A Corpse,” “Gilligan’s Island: A Conspiracy Theorist’s Paradise,” “Mac and Dennis Tear Their ACLs,” “The Gang Buys a Baseball Team,” “The Gang Gets Tested,” “The Gang Goes to the Ren Faire,” “The Guys Have a Sleepover,” “and The War on Alcohol.”