{"id":588703,"date":"2026-09-03T08:02:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T08:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/588703\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T08:02:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T08:02:13","slug":"adults-tv-show-review-why-the-improved-second-season-is-a-must-watch-for-fans-of-relatable-comedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/588703\/","title":{"rendered":"Adults TV show review: Why the improved second season is a must-watch for fans of relatable comedy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jared Richards<\/p>\n

September 3, 2026 \u2014 4:11pm<\/p>\n

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Adults \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605 <\/p>\n

Sitcoms take time to find their comedic groove \u2013 even all-timers Seinfeld, Sex and the City and Parks and Recreation had shaky first seasons, with major characters and narrative devices abandoned as the writers homed in on the magic of their show.<\/p>\n

As streamers order shorter seasons and are ready to cancel a show that\u2019s not an immediate hit, we see fewer shows reach their potential \u2013 thankfully, Disney+ and FX gave Adults a chance, returning with a much-improved second season.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Adults crew are back (from left):
\nOwen Thiele as Anton, Lucy Freyer as Billie, Malik Elassal as Samir,
\nAmita Rao as Issa and Jack Innanen
\nas Paul Baker.<\/p>\n

Billed as Gen Z\u2019s answer to Friends, Adults debuted last year alongside two other hyped comedies also attempting to reach younger audiences, HBO\u2019s influencer-skewering I Love LA<\/a> and Amazon Prime Video\u2019s campus comedy Overcompensating<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Enjoyable but uneven, all three didn\u2019t quite capture the zeitgeist as hoped \u2013 each trying too hard with nonsensical scenes, cameos and references all desperate to be clipped for TikTok. But Adults, to me, kept getting the most in its own way, more focused on gaining attention than making jokes.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Take the pilot\u2019s opening scene on the subway, where the hyper-confident Issa (Amita Rao) confronts a man masturbating on the subway by shoving her own hand down her pants. \u201cIs this the world you want?\u201d she screams.<\/p>\n

No, not really. And, seemingly, Adults\u2019 creators Rebecca Shaw and Ben Kronengold<\/a> (former writers on Jimmy Fallon\u2019s The Tonight Show) agree, releasing a prequel special a few months before season two that now retroactively sits on Disney+ as season one\u2019s first episode. Focusing on how Adults\u2019 ensemble of five 20-somethings came to live together rent-free in a Queens sharehouse, the new pilot re-centres the show on friendship, realising that\u2019s the draw a Gen Z Friends needs.<\/p>\n

Largely unknown prior to Adults, the show\u2019s core cast \u2013 comedians Amita Rao and Malik Elassal, Australian Lucy Freyer,<\/a> TikTok heartthrob Jack Innanen and podcaster-actor Owen Thiele \u2013 are excellent comedic actors.<\/p>\n

\" Amita Rao as Issa, Jack Innanen as Paul Baker, Owen Thiele as Anton, Lucy Freyer as Billie, Malik Elassal as Samir.<\/p>\n

Season two gets out of the way to let each one shine, dialling back big stunts for heightened-but-relatable moments, such as Billie (Freyer) treating the club like a competition during a quarter-life crisis (\u201cI\u2019m unemployed. I\u2019m not cool. If I\u2019m not young any more, then what am I even?\u201d). Meanwhile, the gang catch the sweet, sensitive Paul Baker (Innanen) code-switching into frat bro with other friends, and the bubbly Anton (Thiele) can\u2019t help but revert to a demon whenever near his sister (Raven Symone, one of many well-utilised guest stars).<\/p>\n

No longer trying to prove how relevant, cool and unique it is, Adults is a much more assured, funny and charming comedy \u2013 a lesson we all learn at some point in our 20s.<\/p>\n

Adults (season two) is now streaming on Disney+.<\/p>\n

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