"The Gang Turns Black" is the first episode of the twelfth season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It aired on January 4, 2017.
Recap[]
After an electric heating blanket shorts out while the Gang watches The Wiz, they look in the mirror and realize they've turned black; to get back to being themselves they go through all manner of classic body-switch movie shenanigans. It is later revealed to be the dream of the old black man.
Plot[]
9:15 PM on a Friday, Philadelphia, PA
It is raining outside. In Dee's apartment, The Gang and Old Black Man are underneath a blanket, watching The Wiz. While watching, they comment on the quality of the movie and how black people have a lot more opportunities these days. As Dennis says that everyone's not that different, a lightning bolt strikes the power cord, electrocuting the Gang. When they look in the mirror the next morning, they realize that they have turned black.
Everyone freaks out, Dennis tells them to just accept it. Charlie breaks out into song, singing about their situation. As he's singing, the rest of the Gang joins in. They realize that they are in a musical and can express themselves in song when other words fail. This realization causes Dennis to sing about the rules. They decide to split up: Dee and Frank must look for Old Black Man, who has disappeared, Mac, Charlie, and Dennis will figure whose bodies they've switched with. Dennis continues singing, much to his own dismay.
Dennis finds the wallet of a man named Reggie Williams in his pocket: this makes him realize that despite looking like themselves, they have access to the pockets of their reflections. After Charlie finds money in his pocket, Mac sees that the lesson here may be that black people are rich, but Dennis warns him not to make wild assumptions about black people. While attempting to get Dennis' car keys from within his car, they are arrested by the cops.
Frank and Dee go to where Frank first found Old Black Man, under a bridge. Dee berates Frank when he refers to himself as white, they both start singing about the ethics of saying the N word, when they meet Z. Frank explains the situation and with Z's help, they find Old Black Man.
At the police station, a social worker visits Charlie, as the person he switched bodies with is a young boy. After getting asked about the people he was with, he starts to sing about his job, his friends and his life with Frank. In the next room over, Mac and Dennis sing about their black lives.
At a retirement home, Dee and Frank reunite Old Black Man with his wife. They meet Scott Bakula, main star of Quantum Leap, working as a cleaner, researching a role.
After being released from prison, Mac and Dennis figure that maybe they were treated with respect because black people are upstanding citizens. They start singing and are joined by Dee and Frank who tell them about what they did. Charlie arrives and theorizes that if they get shocked again while watching The Wiz, they might get switched back. This makes Mac realize that maybe they are actually in the movie The Wiz. They go to the store also called The Wiz, and after being denied entry, they start singing, but the owner calls the cops. Charlie thinks that the lesson is "things are not always that clear". Another song starts. The cops arrive and shoot Charlie, after thinking the toy train he was gifted to by the social workers is a gun. The others are detained in handcuffs, they all start to sing about wanting to go home, tapping their heels together.
This is all revealed to be a dream of Old Black Man. He wakes up to find the Gang yelling at him to go home. When he is leaving, he passes by a mirror and sees Scott Bakula in his reflection, implying he has swapped bodies with him.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Charlie Day as Charlie Kelly
- Glenn Howerton as Dennis Reynolds
- Rob McElhenney as Mac
- Kaitlin Olson as Dee Reynolds
- Danny DeVito as Frank Reynolds
Guest starring[]
- Scott Bakula as himself
- Chad L. Coleman as Z
- Wil Garret as Old Black Man
- Kyra Locke as Social Worker
Co-starring[]
- Edwin H. Bravo as Orderly
- Charlie Corrado as Owner
- Retha Grey as Ruth
- Scott Broderick as Detective
- Marc Scizak as Cop
- Farley Jackson as Black Frank
- Leslie Miller as Black Dee
- Jamal Mixon as Black Dennis
- Anthony Hill as Black Mac
- AJ Hudson as Black Charlie
Trivia[]
- The season premiere marks the second time the series did a musical episode, the first being The Nightman Cometh. This is the first time that the musical numbers were part of the show itself, however, like a movie musical; in The Nightman Cometh and other shows with musical numbers, like "Frank Reynolds' Little Beauties", the musical numbers are within other shows done during that episode.
- The end of the episode reveals the Gang being black was part of the Old Black Man's dream which in turn is a reference to the film The Wizard of Oz (or, probably more directly, The Wiz.)
- There are many references to Quantum Leap. Guest star Scott Bakula previously starred in the series. Contrary to what is said about him on this episode, however, he actually has been steadily employed on TV since Quantum Leap ended, including playing Captain Jonathan Archer on Star Trek: Enterprise and, currently, Special Agent Dwayne Cassius "King" Pride on NCIS: New Orleans.
- This episode set a record for the highest rated original program ever on FXX, with 1.41 million total viewers.[1]
- There was an alternate take of the scene in which Mac says "We did have a black president before the orange one" in which he says "We did have a black president before the woman," in case Hillary Clinton won the election; this episode was filmed before the 2016 Presidential election, and got a quick re-edit after the results were final. [cite]
- Dennis previously expressed a lack of interest in other people’s dreams in The Gang Gets Racist.
Images[]
References[]
| < Season 11 |
Season 12 | Season > 13 |
| 1. "The Gang Turns Black" 2. "The Gang Goes to a Water Park" |