‘The Mick’: Kaitlin Olson finally gets the spotlight she deserves

For over a decade, Kaitlin Olson has been getting into all manner of inappropriate hijinks and outrageous situations as Deandra “Sweet Dee” Reynolds on FX comedy “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

And even though the character became an integral part of the gang’s dynamic and hairbrained schemes, the character never quite made it front and center.

RELATED: ‘The Mick’s’ promotional campaign doesn’t do the show justice

This is, of course, by design. The main friend group is comprised of the three dudes — played by Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton and Rob McElhenney — and Sweet Dee is the unfortunate tag-along, oftentimes the butt of the joke or the un-listened-to voice of reason.

But it left Olson as the majorly undervalued player in the “Sunny” universe. She’s the quiet MVP of the comedy — and while we’re glad “The Mick” isn’t going to take her away from the next three seasons of the show (“Sunny” is renewed through 2019), it’s awesome to see her starring in her own vehicle that lets her Sweet Dee craziness shine through.

“The Mick” was created by brothers Dave and John Chernin, who have written, produced and story edited for “It’s Always Sunny” since 2009, and while the comedy has to be toned down a bit for network TV, this new vehicle has “Sunny’s” fingerprints all over it.

But instead of jockeying for screentime with three misguided, sometimes insane peers, Olson is the ringleader of a motley crew of children — plus secret “Mick” MVP Alba (the hilarious Carla Jimenez) — and it lets her shine in a way “Sunny” never really has. We look forward to enjoying more of Olson as the front-and-center star of her own comedy.

The only thing the show needs to watch out for is playing it too safe. We get that it’s on a broadcast network and the level of debauchery is different from what can be shown on a cable or premium channel. The pilot doesn’t pull any punches, but subsequent episodes don’t quite run at the same high-octane level of inappropriateness. We want to see more of that.

After its New Year’s Day premiere, “The Mick” moves to Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.

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