As much as I love staying up to date with what’s on the 2026 TV schedule, I always like having a throwback comedy in my rotation as a comfort watch. Two longtime favorites that I’ve rewatched all the way through are Friends and New Girl, and of course they are, as they’re two of the best sitcoms of all time. I was surprised lately to come across a new TV show for the first time in a while that hits all the hilarity of being a young grown up like they did. That show is FX’s Adults.
Every Generation Needs A TV Friend Group, And I Found Gen Z’s In Adults
I didn’t seek out Adults. And yet, when I clicked play on a lazy weeknight, it wasn’t long until I was hooked and blasting through both seasons, the second of which ended on a jaw-dropping cliffhanger. The premise is simple. It’s about the shenanigans of a friend group in their twenties who are all living in the same house together. Funny enough, it's the childhood home of one of them.
I may be a tad past their age group as a Zillennial, but that doesn’t stop the blast of a show this is to watch. There are only two sparse seasons of this show, and I already find myself wanting to rewatch them over and over. It has the exact ingredients New Girl and Friends have that have led to repeat viewings. It’s the feeling of watching this found family go through funny stuff together and deal with all these cringey things. It’s relatable, cathartic and I can’t believe it almost took a decade for a new show like this to come out. I guess we need one per generation!
Adults Is Impacting My Vocabulary Just Like Its Comedy Forefathers Intended
I could gush about Adults for tons of different reasons, but I think one way it really earns the same praise as Friends and New Girl is the ways in which it creates words and phrases for our vocabulary. I’m talking about the way Friends gave us new meanings for “lobster,” “We were on a break!” or “pivot”. Or how New Girl changed the way I thought about “29”, “Fluffer” or “Pogo”. Now, there are a few for Adults. Here are some examples:
- Friend Slut: Someone who makes friends with everyone shallowly because they deeply need to be liked by everyone.
- Mind Wipe: Telling a friend your innermost thoughts without judgement from them.
- Hehe: “Haha” is for work, and “hehe” is for sex.
These are so good! Ever since hearing them in Adults, I want to get more people to watch so we can quote some of these together. So, get on it!
You know what else I realized? I think these little phrases have all worked for these beloved shows because it kind of feels like this shared inside joke, as you’d have with your own group of friends. That's all without mentioning the many quotable moments and bits that now live in my head and come back to me when I'm sitting in traffic.
From Billie trying to make a roast chicken for friends to feel "grown up," to Anton making up a hobby so his co-workers will think he's cool, or Samir pretending he's into his girlfriend's pop music, every episode is so memorable. They are my new comfort characters!
I’m obsessed, and let this be the reason you start it, too. You can watch Adults with a Hulu subscription right now, and wait with anticipation with me for it to get renewed for Season 3. Last time it did take a few months for the renewal news to come in, so I’m not sweating yet.
