While many folks have mourned the death of the hangout sitcom in recent television, Gen Z has sought to bring it back, revived for a new generation. With Adults season 2, released on Disney+ internationally this week, it seems they’ve cracked the formula and found their flow state.
Season one introduced us to housemates Samir (Malik Elassal), Billie (Lucy Freyer), Anton (Owen Thiele), Issa (Amita Rao) and her boyfriend Paul Baker (Jack Innanen), all living under Samir’s parents roof. They are the archetype of older Gen Z, a bit messy, a bit thirsty, woke and yet problematic. While season one helped us get to know these characters and establish the group dynamics, season two dropped the formalities of introductions and dove into wacky sitcom hijinks. From Anton trying to convince his sister (Raven Symone) to let him donate sperm for her and her wife’s baby, Billie trying to prove her youth to the inheritor of her Fake ID, Paul Baker trying to hide his other frat-boy friend group, to all of them trying to capture a raccoon before the acid they’ve dropped kicks in.
Adults from the start has understood what makes the sitcom formula great, with perfectly encapsulated episodes, but with its characters’ development and ongoing growth woven through seamlessly. Here it has leant into the tropes and structures of the genre, and allowed itself to be as unhinged and delightful as it can be. There is a laugh a minute, with both visual and more clever gags, but it also knows how to build up to a punchline, as exemplified by episode seven – ‘The C Alert’.
It is episode four, ‘Raccoon’, however, that will go down in the annals of history as sitcom perfection. An episode that has a simple premise they can go full ham on (a raccoon and an opossum get into the house, they have to get them out before they’re too high to do so), and yet takes it as an opportunity to dive in deep on character relationships and show us exactly who each Adult is with complete clarity, and utter hilarity. Like Friends‘ ‘The One Where Everybody Finds Out’ or New Girl‘s ‘Background Check’, ‘Raccoon’ will surely stand the test of time.
That being said, for all the humour this sitcom brings, it is the show’s earnestness and heart that makes it so wonderful. These young adults, despite their many, many flaws, show up for each other repeatedly. There is an intimacy between the five, with small gestures, subtle yet beautifully acted small looks and moments that show what it is to be truly known by another person. The show continues to explore the love triangle it set up in season one of Issa, Anton and Paul Baker (the latter two got married to secure Paul Baker a spouse visa in the season one finale), and does so with an unexpected tenderness and delicate hand. It resists the temptation of the ‘cheating bisexual’ trope, and manages to healthily show these conflicting feelings while keeping the friendships that ground them intact. This in itself, all culminating in the finale, ‘Vote for Paul Baker’, is an absolute highlight of the show.
Adding to the fun, Adults makes the most of the first season’s success to employ a number of well-executed guest stars, including Gaten Matarazzo, Ben Marshall, Isaac Cole Powell, Zosie Mamet, and the return of Julia Fox.
Season two of Adults knows its Gen Z audience, while never condescending to them. It understands the joys of the classic hangout sitcom, but is unafraid to apply a fresh new tone. It gives us characters we can relate to implicitly, while putting them in situations we hope to never be in. It deserves to be renewed for at least another three seasons. The only downside is that eight episodes just isn’t enough.
Adults season two is available to stream on Disney+ now.
