Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab

"Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab" is the fifth episode of the sixteenth season of the American sitcom television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It is the 167th overall episode of the series and was written by series developers Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Glenn Howerton, and directed by executive producer Megan Ganz. It originally aired on FXX on June 28, 2023.

The series follows "The Gang", a group of five misfit friends: twins Dennis and Deandra "(Sweet) Dee" Reynolds, their friends Charlie Kelly and Ronald "Mac" McDonald, and Frank Reynolds, Dennis' and Dee's legal father. The Gang runs the fictional Paddy's Pub, an unsuccessful Irish bar in South Philadelphia. In the episode, the Gang tries to get Malcolm in the Middle stars "Mr. Middle" and "Malcolm" (actually Breaking Bad stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul) involved in their new alcohol brand.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.268 million household viewers and gained a 0.13 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the guest appearances by Cranston and Paul, humor and absurdity.

Plot
When two celebrities visit Philadelphia to promote their alcohol brand, Charlie (Charlie Day), Mac (Rob McElhenney) and Dennis (Glenn Howerton), viewing celebrities using their faces to sell brands as a cashgrab, decide to create their own "premium alcohol brand" called Paddy's SchlägerSchnappsterMeister. Charlie's idea to infuse their drink with nickel coins is angrily shot down by Dennis and Mac, but Charlie pursues the recipe on his own.

Needing funding, Dennis calls Frank (Danny DeVito) for help. However, Frank has left on a private plane with Dee (Kaitlin Olson), leaving her dismayed when he informs her that his plan to fly to Aruba was a ruse: he's circling Philadelphia to put on enough miles to make it appear he went to Aruba, which will net him a fraudulent corporate tax break for use of the jet. Frank is hesitant in funding the operation, due to a bad experience after working with Greg Louganis. After getting confirmation that the celebrities involved are "Mr. Middle" (Bryan Cranston) and "Malcolm" (Aaron Paul), the gang only recognising the former from Malcolm in the Middle and mistaking the latter for Frankie Muniz, Frank okays the plan if he can meet them. Charlie stays behind the meet-and-greet, vomiting up the many nickels he gulped down, while Mac and Dennis enter to convince Cranston and Paul to sign with them. However, their intentions are not clear and "Mr. Middle" and "Malcolm" leave the meet-and-greet without any confirmation. They decide to abandon their plan and try to convince Jalen Hurts, but they only run into Gritty, and leave in frustration afterward.

After vomiting on a limo driver, Charlie mistakes a query and ends up becoming the driver for the departing "Mr. Middle" and "Malcolm". He calls Frank to tell him he will deliver them to him, while "Mr. Middle" and "Malcolm" argue in the backseat; it turns out "Mr. Middle" was bankrupted by his gambling addiction and "Malcolm" now controls all of his actions (for example, "Malcolm" won't allow "Mr. Middle" to shake anyone's hand, which is part of what left Dennis and Mac unable to deliver their pitch). On the plane, the Gang tries to converse with "Mr. Middle" and "Malcolm", panicking them. Seemingly fed up with "Malcolm" telling him what to do, "Mr. Middle" delivers a speech channelling a character of his that reiterates his displeasure with the business and how everything wrong will be the fault of "Malcolm", which turns out to be an acting showcase. When asked if they might be interested in joining their brand, both "Mr. Middle" and "Malcolm" bluntly tell the Gang to leave and bring them back to Philly without a deal.

Development
In May 2023, FXX reported that the fifth episode of the sixteenth season would be titled "Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab", and was to be directed by executive producer Megan Ganz, and written by series developers Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton. This was Ganz's third directing credit, McElhenney's 57th writing credit, Day's 63rd writing credit, and Howerton's 45th writing credit.

Casting
The episode features guest appearances by Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, both playing themselves, with their roles revealed in the trailer for the season. The episode also features an appearance by Gritty, the official mascot for the Philadelphia Flyers, which was teased by McElhenney in February 2023.

Viewers
In its original American broadcast, "Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab" was seen by an estimated 0.268 million household viewers and gained a 0.13 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This means that 0.13 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. This was a 30% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.205 million viewers with a 0.09 in the 18-49 demographics.

Critical reviews
"Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Ray Flook of Bleeding Cool gave the episode a 8 out of 10 rating and wrote, "For some background, McElhenney, Howerton & Day have teamed up in real life on Four Walls Whiskey, and Cranston & Paul really are the ones behind the mezcal. That means we have McElhenney, Howerton, Day, Cranston & Paul going the self-deprecating meta route to have some twisting the knife on celebrities who slap their names on a bottle, and suddenly they're in the alcohol business. It's a satire... that's also an ad... that was also a deeper examination of just how intoxicating fame and the power to influence others with it can be. And once again, Always Sunny proves that you can go deep without sacrificing the laughs – and being twistedly brilliant while sticking the landing."

Jerrica Tisdale of Telltale TV gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 rating and wrote, "Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul take this episode near 4.5-star land, but if grading it overall, it loses some points because the gang’s storylines just don't deliver as much sharp comedy, or even extremely silly comedy, as It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is capable of." Dianna Shen of Primetimer wrote, "Cranston and Paul's presence add a delightful layer of chaos into the mix. It might not be Breaking Bad (or even Malcolm in the Middle!), but it's always fun seeing outsiders interact with the gang."

Rendy Jones of Paste praised Cranston and Paul, writing, "As expected, Paul and Cranston are in on the fun and provide delightful performances worthy of a 'Best Guest Star in a Comedy Series' Emmy. Not to give too much of that episode away, but the starring duo cook up a fun fictional dynamic that fits the series' demented nature." Ross Bonaime of Collider considered the episode as "very much like old school It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia at its finest."