On August 27, FX released the sophomore season of Adults, “a twenty-something ensemble comedy centering on codependent housemates navigating adulthood together” (IMDb). The premise might feel familiar, but I feel that Adults accomplishes what Sex and the City or Friends couldn’t: portray Gen Z accurately.
Adults follows five friends: Samir (Malik Elassal), Billie (Lucy Freyer), Paul Baker (Jack Innanen), Issa (Amita Rao), and Anton (Owen Theile), who live in Samir’s childhood home rent-free. The group tackles the complexities of living in New York City in the 2020s.
Even though Anton has a stable corporate job, Billie spends the second season sending over 70 job applications, alongside Issa, who works part-time as a ballet instructor; Samir, a DoorDash driver; and Paul Baker, who waitresses at a diner.
Their financial struggles accurately reflect the current job market, with over 380 companies firing more than 2,516 employees every day (Layoff Hedge). Even those fortunate enough to keep a job struggle to afford groceries and gas.
The second season doesn’t shy away from illustrating the characters’ flaws and insecurities. For example, Billie grapples with whether she “peaked in high school,” frequently, does “pop-bys” at her alma mater, and dates her former journalism teacher.
Then there is Issa, who grapples with whether to marry Paul Baker so he can stay in the country. Those situations might seem grim, but Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw perfectly intertwine hardships with hilarious moments, like the group battling a rabid raccoon on acid or partying at a club with their fake ID processors.
In addition, the second season earned a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and “has the highest combined critics and audience score [97%] of any show in 2026”. The New Yorker also wrote, “In Adults, Gen Z Gets the Hangout Sitcom It Deserves.”
In my opinion, the only flaw in the series is its short length of eight-episode seasons. But that’s not Shaw or Kronengold’s fault—it’s the fault of the current entertainment industry. Every season of Friends, except season 9 (23 episodes) and season 10 (17 episodes), had 24 episodes. New Girl had 22+, and so did Cheers.
Now, because streaming services make money on subscription prices and ad tiers rather than the shows themselves, series are only given a limited budget and a limited chance. Parks and Recreation was on the brink of cancellation each year, even to the point where it was canceled before the head of NBC got off a plane and changed his mind (O’Brien & Jones, 2024). But now, Parks is one of the world’s most beloved sitcoms.
Streamers aren’t letting audiences discover shows before they rapidly cancel a series. Take Netflix’s Ransom Canyon, starring Minka Kelly and Josh Duhamel. The western’s second season debuted at number 1 after its July 23 release was canceled on September 10 despite garnering 633.7 million minutes viewed between July 31 and August 6. In comparison, Hulu’s Furious received 509.3 million minutes and was renewed for a second season on August 27.
Sixteen episodes of Adults allowed viewers to connect with the characters. It also let writers refine the show’s plot and produce more cohesive storylines. Let’s hope FX gives Adults a third installment, because I believe it’s what the series deserves and has earned.