Uncontroversially, most people would agree that the executives behind media corporations have forgotten what it’s like to be a 20-something-year-old. If they do remember, it’s based on an idea of youth that isn’t relevant anymore.
The entertainment industry seems caught in a contradiction where it is increasingly difficult for young, inexperienced creatives to break into the industry and simultaneously, studios are constantly working to capture the attention of younger audiences. While many shows about teens and young adults have come and gone in recent years, none of them have had sticking power like FX’s Adults.
Adults premiered in 2025, with an eight-episode first season. The show follows five friends — Billie, Samir, Issa, Paul Baker and Anton — as they navigate New York City and their lives in their twenties while living in Samir’s childhood home.
The premise sounds simple, and it is, as many sitcoms need not be too rigorous in their structure. Where Adults flourishes and stands out from other shows exploring similar themes is in its genuine relatability for young audiences.
Not Suitable for Work is another show that premiered at the same time as Adults’ second season. It tries to tell the story of young adulthood, but it misses the mark. The characters in this show somehow all have wildly successful careers and complain about all the things you’re supposed to when you’re young, without portraying the reality of it. The show has been cancelled after one season.
Not Suitable for Work is one of many shows that struggle with the dichotomy of saying it’s a show for young people without any content that really feels relevant to them. There is often an uncanniness to the language and slang they use, the relationships they have with each other, or the clothes that they wear. The idea of a young person is there, but it’s unfamiliar to any real version you might know.
But in a sea of media about young people, Adults stands out. Its characters aren’t particularly wealthy, nor are they climbing the career ladder at an enviable pace. You don’t have to wonder how they afford to live in New York City, because they can’t, at least not on their own; instead, they live together in a friend’s childhood home. They are navigating their twenties with the kind of financial dependence, professional uncertainty, and arrested development sitcoms like this often don’t acknowledge.
The storyline strikes a balance between humour and topicality without pandering to or preaching at their audience. Adults touches on abortion, medical debt, consent and queerness, but rarely treats these subjects as opportunities to deliver a political message or manufactured morality. Instead, they exist as part of the characters’ everyday lives, among the many complications that come with being in your twenties.
Adults understands the difference between making fun of a culture and finding humour in the situations that culture produces. Its characters aren’t punchlines for their generational habits or beliefs. The show doesn’t ignore the seriousness of the issues it explores, but their existence is a passive feature of the characters’ lives, just as they are for most young people.
This approach is clearly resonating with audiences, as season two of Adults saw a 40 per cent increase in viewership. Whether that will be enough to secure the show’s future remains to be seen. But in an industry increasingly reluctant to give series the time to find their footing, Adults is a rare success story truly worth watching.