Pepe Silvia was decidedly not supposed to be Pennsylvania, despite the many fans who say otherwise … although the series creators wish that the fan theories were right.
“Some fans, very astutely, have put together that because my character can’t read, Pepe Silvia might be Pennsylvania on the mail,” Day told NPR. “But actually, I think for us, it was just a funny name for a guy to go crazy about. But I like their theory better.”
Charlie’s illiteracy is a defining characteristic for him, but it wasn’t always part of who he was. In fact, it wasn’t originally written into the series that Charlie couldn’t read. The bit was initially improvised by Day in the season 2 episode “The Gang Gives Back.” As the Paddy’s Pub proprietors review their community service sentencing over brunch, Charlie struggles to read basic phrases like “interstate sanitation” and “six hours.”
“In that first scene, it was not written in the script that [Day] couldn’t read,” Howerton revealed on the “Always Sunny” Podcast. “That was something that you wanted to do. You were like, ‘I’m gonna try something.'”
McElhenney supported the idea from the very beginning, but Howerton wasn’t sure at first. He felt that such a major decision required some extra thought.
“I distinctly remember Glenn, being like, ‘This is so dumb,'” the “Mythic Quest” star interjected. “And then, me being like, ‘I think it’s dumb too, but it’s also funny.’ And, you’re like, ‘Wait, are we literally saying that Charlie can’t read?’ […] ‘Are we making a massive character choice right now on the fly in the middle of a scene?'”
