SPOILER: This column contains potential spoilers for “Adults” Season 2.
A group of friends living together in New York City is not new.
In fact, when it comes to television, I would consider the premise a tale as old as time. It’s becoming a Shakespearean-esque archetype of sitcoms with how many times it’s been reused.
“Friends” was doing it in 1994. “How I Met Your Mother” followed that same formula in 2005. And now, in 2026, FX and Hulu continue the tradition with Season 2 of “Adults,” released Aug. 27. While the show is by no means revolutionary, it does an excellent job of providing a comedic plot while giving a voice to the kind of fears and insecurities that come with growing up.
The FX comedy series follows friends Samir (Malik Elassal), Billie (Lucy Freyer), Anton (Owen Thiele), Issa (Amita Rao) and Paul Baker (Jack Innanen) living together in Samir’s parents’ house in New York City. Together, the group of five navigate career setbacks, money struggles and the general ups and downs of early adulthood.
Compared to Season 1, what I felt that Season 2 did best was show how the characters deal with their own individual issues, as opposed to issues they have within the group. Your 20s are often known as time in your life to make mistakes and try new things, but for many people it’s also a time where they might feel like they’re falling behind, even if they don’t want to admit it. “Adults” does a great job at portraying these feelings that come with early adulthood.
I noticed this most with Billie and Issa, two characters who certainly went on an emotional roller coaster this season as they both dealt with complicated feelings in their professional and personal lives.
To be frank, Season 1 was rough for Billie.
Not only did she spend most of the show looking for a new job after being fired, but she rounds out the first season by breaking up with Andrew (Charlie Cox), her high school journalism teacher who she had confided about feeling washed up earlier in the season.
However, Season 2 takes her down an entirely different path as she finds confidence in her dating life while losing even more of the career passion that drove her last season. I’m sure I wouldn’t be too far off in saying that most people in their 20s have felt like they were struggling in all areas of their life at least once, and that’s exactly what we see Billie dealing with.
As hard as she may try, she can’t turn back the clock, and she’s hit a point where she’s been burnt out for so long that she isn’t sure how to start over. And, in possibly one of the most realistic moves of the series, the show makes no attempt to solve this for her. She certainly tries to figure out her life, especially professionally, but she is nowhere near finished. By leaving her story open-ended, it’s easy to see how Billie can grow as a character should the show get renewed for Season 3.
Issa follows a similar, slightly less-tragic character arc as Billie. But while Billie’s biggest issues are faced in her professional life, Issa finds herself struggling personally after her breakup with Paul Baker midway through this season.
So much of Issa’s character throughout the show is influenced by how she thinks people perceive her and if they like her or not. In Episode 7, “C Alert,” Issa helps Anton fix a mistake he made at work but instead diverges from the plan when she realizes she doesn’t have to try so hard to get everyone to like her; she just has to be someone else. It’s probably not the best move to make as a friend, but as someone who has had the same intrusive thoughts that have me asking “if everyone hates me” or “if I’m being too much,” it’s a feeling I can heavily relate to.
Like Billie, Issa’s issues are not solved within the eight episodes the season gives you. She’s left to question who she is and whether she can get her confidence back or if she will forever be a “weird little guy,” as the characters of show continuously refer to her.
“Adults” doesn’t reinvent the sitcom. It doesn’t break crazy boundaries in the television industry like some sitcoms have. Instead, it provides comfort to a younger generation struggling with the same obstacles in their own careers, relationships and personal lives. And while I would have loved more than eight episodes with these characters, the open ending leaves me hopeful that fans will be getting a Season 3 announcement soon.
