Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Stars: Charlie Day, Danny DeVito, Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton and Kaitlin Olson

The Big Idea: Season six kicks off with another Sunny gem, “Mac Fights Gay Marriage,” which features not only a great Charlie/Frank subplot (Day and DeVito have the best chemistry, and best physical comedy skills, on the show, and are always reliable for some wacky fun), but also another instance of The Gang’s ability to make a totally subversive, yet clever bit of social commentary. The show continues to be called “Seinfeld on crack,” and just as Seinfeld wasn’t really a show about nothing, neither is Sunny.

The action starts when Mac goes to the gym (trying to pass as Dennis), and meets up with “Tranny,” a.k.a. Carmen (Brittany Daniel), the transsexual he had a fling with in season one. Carmen’s sexual reassignment surgery is complete, and now she’s a full-fledged female. Mac’s thrilled, until he finds out she’s married, thwarting his plan to hook up with her again.

That sends him off to Paddy’s, where he tells The Gang about Carmen, and how her “gay marriage” is upsetting him. They point out that it’s actually not a gay marriage; she’s now a female, married to a dude. That doesn’t pacify Mac, even as Frank says, “Who gives a sh*t if gays want to be miserable like everybody else and get married? Let ’em do it! It’s no skin off my a**.” In one 10-second scene, he sums up an entire side of the gay marriage debate, versus what has taken political pundits hundreds of thousands of words and countless talk show hours to get across.

To Watch or Not to Watch: Absolutely. Mac’s counter argument to Frank involves banging some electrical cords together, and sends him off on a quest for a bible. The general topic of marriage sparks Dennis’ memories of his high school girlfriend, Maureen Ponderosa, Dee’s memories of Maureen’s hot brother, Bill and a Charlie and Frank scheme that’s too delicious to spoil. Suffice it to say, the phrase “friends with benefits” has never been this funny.

The premiere’s marriage theme also carries over into the next episode, and, speaking of the Seinfeld connection, watch the premiere closely for the scene where Mac uses one of Kramer’s favorite phrases.

TV Screener Tidbit: As for the rest of season six, Saturday Night Live star (and Charlie Day‘s co-star in the big-screen flick Going the Distance) Jason Sudekis will guest star as a former member of The Gang, the one who used to occupy Charlie’s place. And, in a very funny, and very wrong, episode, Kaitlin Olson‘s real-life pregnancy (she gave birth to son Axel, with co-star/hubby McElhenney, earlier this month) is written into the storyline, as The Gang tries to figure out who got Sweet Dee pregnant. Hint: All of them are suspects at various times … yes, ALL of them. And as if that weren’t enough, season six also sees the return of the bathrobe-sporting McPoyles, including the lip-licking sister McPoyle, Margaret, and we find out what happened to The Gang’s DickTowel.com venture.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘s sixth season premieres Thursday, September 16, at 10PM ET on FX.