We're about half way through Season 10 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and the series shows no indication of slowing down its comedy momentum. IGN had the opportunity to speak with Sunny stars and executive producers Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton about Season 10 (and beyond), why it's lasted for so many years, where it's headed from here, and why in the name of all that's holy Sunny doesn't receive any Emmy love.

Endless Sunny

Is Sunny Actually More Realistic About Human Behavior?

The Secret Ingredient Is Friendship

Who wants ten more years?

What's Sunny's Best Episode?

FX/FXX boss John Landgraf recently reminded reporters that Sunny is not only in its tenth season, but has also been renewed for two more and could, theoretically speaking continue on indefinitely. Both Day and Howerton attribute the series' staying power - at least in part - to the immutable nature of the characters."We're almost, in many ways, like a cartoon or something, where you can kind of check in and check out at any point in time," Day reflected. "You can see this show for the very first time in your life in Season 9 or 10 and watch two or three episodes and not be lost. I remember that was an issue I had with Arrested Development, which is a great show. I was trying to watch it, and I was like, 'Oh, it's too many seasons in,' and I had to wait until much later in my life to go back and start from the beginning, sit down and make sure I watched it through. I think we consciously didn't want to make a show like that. We wanted you to be able to pick up at any point.""Because the characters never really evolve and never really change and are in a perpetual state of seeing themselves a certain way, they could behave this way well into their 40s, certainly," Howerton reflected. "As long as they're never aware of how they're behaving or not progressing or not growing as people -- which they never will be -- then in a way it sort of shares some of the same qualities as an animated show, where those characters never age or evolve, really, because they're drawn. You know, Bart has been that age for 30 years or whatever. These characters, as long as they think they're still in their 20s, there's no reason why they can't keep going."As Howerton and I were talking, it occurred to me that though the Sunny characters are heightened and hilariously irredeemable, that the show may be onto something in terms of the idea that people actually very rarely truly change. In that way, isn't Sunny perhaps more realistic than one in which the characters learn great lessons and alter their behavior by the end of an episode?"Well, I don't think it's in our nature [to change]," Howerton said. "For whatever reason, it seems to be in our nature as human beings to resist change, to resist evolving. Not to get too philosophical, I think in a way it's like death when you have to face certain things about yourself that really need to change. So in that way it's sort of relatable. I think we all kind of feel it. So yeah, it works in that respect.""The reason the show still works is because we still like each other," Howerton added in thinking about the series' staying power. "We still make each other laugh, we still have fun working together. I think we also recognize that we've got a good thing with this show. There are a lot of things we can do creatively with this show. In other show universes you're locked into something where you can't really break out of it. With this show, we flashback to the 1700s, we do an entire show that takes place on an airplane -- we can do some pretty crazy s**t on this show."It's impossible for the Sunny crew to pick a favorite from their entire run, but that doesn't mean that their aren't particular standouts for them from this season."I was very excited for people to see that Boggs episode," Howerton said when asked what he was most anxious for audiences to see. "And Charlie Work, where it's all shot in one shot. Every year we try to get creative and figure out new ways to subvert expectation. I think this season's no exception."There's a Family Feud-inspired episode featuring Key & Peel's Keegan Michael Key that fans will want to keep an eye out for as well.When it aired, Charlie Work, which focused on Charlie getting them through a heal inspection and a successful chicken and air miles scheme, emerged as both a fan and critical favorite and is certainly one that Day was looking forward to fans seeing.

"This was pre-Birdman," the actor enthused, referring to the one-shot nature of the episode. "True Detective had done it well, an interesting long shot, and we thought it'd just be fun to see the characters' lives play out in real time. We'd been talking about an episode in the bar that just happened in real time, but this was great because it gave it stakes. We also wanted to do that Noises Off routine where you're going in one door and you're catching out the next. We had to rehearse it for a few days, and then just our camera man walking backwards and forwards, and some sneaky edits so you could get outdoors back to indoors that are sort of manipulated shots, but then all tied together to become one long shot."

When Will Charlie Close With The Waitress?

Why No Emmy Love?

"I was super proud of it," Day continued. "We like to challenge ourselves, as the creators, to see, you know, can we do an episode that's a musical? Can we do an episode that takes place in 1776? We don't do it every episode. Some are kind of standard -- 'Hey, someone at the bar has an idea. Let's go do this thing.' -- but other ones we like to change how we make the show."Often, in talking about a television series, the conversation centers around questions like: "Who might sleep with or kill each other next?" Sunny, as we've said, doesn't really function that way. The Charlie and the waitress saga his hilarious because he is, in fact, the world's most oblivious would-be-lover (or most dedicated stalker?).So when it comes to the question "when will Charlie close with the waitress?" we have to kind of assume that the answer would be... never. Day says that's not necessarily the case, though."I think the real answer to that -- and maybe this is why the show's lasted so long -- is when we feel like it," Day said. "You know? When we know it's going to be really surprising or serve the show in a good way. Then we'll do it. If that answer is never, then we won't. If that answer is in the final episode, then we will. If that answer is halfway through an episode and then they're married -- who knows? We don't know until we break an episode and see if it feels right."What makes their story even more endearing, of course, is that Day and the actress who plays the waitress, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, are married in reality.During our conversation, Day joked that he felt in part responsible for the LEGO Movie snub . Saying that after "10 years of It's Always Sunny being overlooked [by the Emmys], you can't help but feel like you're awards poison." (Day played '80s Spaceman Lego Benny in the movie.)

Charlie Day on LEGO Movie 2 and Oscar Snub

When asked why he felt that the show had been so consistently overlooked, Day laughed, "I guess abysmal taste!"

"Well, look, that's not for me to say," Howerton said more seriously. "Who deserves anything, really? You earn it. I like to think that we've earned it, but it's not for me to say. I'm a fan of the show. I love it. Obviously it's a weird thing to say, but I really enjoy the show. I think it's good. But I'm me, you know?"

It's Never Too Late To Get On The Sunny Train!

We'd have to agree. They've more than earned it.Binge-watching has entirely changed the way that TV functions and both Day and Howerton have noticed that more and more people are finding the show online. It's allowed their audience to grow, though they create the series so that you can jump in at any point."We really do work tirelessly to try and create a show that you want to marathon and that you can watch again," Howerton said. "I get comments on Twitter saying, 'I'm watching the entire series again in anticipation of Season 10. This is my seventh time watching the entire thing.' I geek out on a few things that way too, so I know what it's like to like something that much and how much I revere those things that I like that much. So to think that there are people out there who feel that way about our show is such a high compliment.""It's a conscious choice to give people an episode that if you watched it standalone and you'd never seen anything else you could enjoy it, but also to give people who have been loyal fans of the show, who know the characters -- the recurring characters -- to give them something that enjoy too," Howerton continued. "The slow devolution of Cricket, for instance; the slow devolution of the waitress and her relationship to the members of the gang; and Artemis, things like that -- to reintroduce and keep those relationships. The thing is, the world moves forward and evolves and changes, and there are consequences to the gang's actions; it's just that they refuse to see them. But there are consequences as you can see with Cricket and the waitress. They've got beef with us, because we have done some sh**, and a lot of times we're like, 'I don't know what you're talking about.'"If you haven't yet indulged, the next time you're home on a rainy day or called in sick to the office, I highly recommend indulging in a Sunny marathon. I promise you won't regret it.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is on Wednesdays at 10 on FXX.Roth Cornet is an Entertainment Editor for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @RothCornet and IGN at Roth-IGN