Gen Z has finally got its “Friends” style hangout sitcom with FX’s “Adults.” The comedy series has quickly cemented itself as the beacon of Gen Z comedy, with its second season receiving a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes critic score. In August, TVLine hailed “Adults” star Lucy Freyer as the performer of the week. With the brevity of each season being the main thing holding the show back, “Adults” is on its way to becoming a classic, generation-defining sitcom.
“Adults” has all the qualities of previous great shows, blending the quirkiness of “New Girl,” the relationship dynamics of “Friends,” the fourth-wall breaking of “Community,” the surrealness of “Broad City,” and even the cultural commentary from “Girls.” But FX’s Gen Z sitcom is more diverse when it comes to the race and sexuality of the characters than some of the aforementioned comedies.
Deadline reported on September 14, citing FX, that “Adults” viewership in the U.S. has grown more than 40% in Season 2 compared to the debut season, and the audience has doubled internationally in the second season. However, FX has not renewed the series almost a month after the Season 2 premiere, despite desperate calls for a new season with more episodes. While fans of all ages wait for the Gen Z roommates to return, there are multiple sitcoms that capture a similar heart and quirkiness, or are just as funny as “Adults” to watch in the meantime.
New Girl
Out of all the TV series “Adults” is compared to, “New Girl” is the series most like “Adults.” The main group lineup is similar — three men to two women. Though “New Girl” follows adults in their 30s rather than their 20s, they are still trying to figure out their lives while living together in the same apartment. And like “Adults,” some of the roommates end up dating.
The “New Girl” in question refers to Jess Day, a super cheery rule-follower who moves into a loft with three equally strange men: Nick, a grumpy slob who’s bad at relationships; Schmidt, an arrogant flirt who has a heart of gold; and Winston, the wild card. Jess’ best friend, Cece, comes around the loft too. Both “New Girl” and “Adults” demonstrate the hijinks you get up to when living with roommates your own age. Episodes where they play “True American,” expose each other’s secrets, or whenever Winston tries to do a prank are the type of zany moments that occur frequently in “Adults.” These are the “New Girl” episodes you can’t help but want to keep rewatching.
“New Girl” is better than “Adults” at developing its slow-burn romances. It’s hardly fair since the two seasons of “Adults” have fewer episodes than one season of “New Girl.” However, the way “New Girl” writers present the ups and downs of the two core relationships of Nick with Jess and Cece with Schmidt feels much more realistic and satisfying than the romance in “Adults.” If you want to see what “Adults” would look like with a full season, “New Girl” is the one to watch.
Derry Girls
One of the funniest episodes of “Adults” is the bottle episode where the roommates have 28 minutes to remove a raccoon from their house before the drugs they’ve taken kick in. If those manic, out-of-control stories are what you like in “Adults,” then “Derry Girls” is the show for you. This BAFTA-winning Irish series is a high school coming-of-age story about a group of girls, and one wee English lad, trying to get through their super-strict Catholic all-girls school in Derry, Northern Ireland. The series is set during the Troubles, an explosive conflict in the latter half of the 20th century to determine Northern Ireland’s future and the treatment of its citizens.
“Derry Girls” mostly focuses on the fun, inconvenient moments that come out of living in a state haunted by political violence. Together, the schoolchildren find themselves in bizarre scenarios, from accidentally causing the death of their school’s oldest teacher to accidentally helping robbers steal their school computers after breaking in to see their exam results. These scenarios are what make this show a lot like “Adults.” Though “Derry Girls” ended rather quickly after Netflix canceled the show after Season 3, there was a very sweet send-off for all the characters.
Extraordinary
If you ever wondered what life would be like living in a world of superheroes, look no further than Hulu’s two-season British sitcom “Extraordinary,” which TVLine ranked as one of the best sitcoms ever made. The show follows four young adults living in a world where almost everyone has a superpower except for Jen. While Jen tries to find a procedure that will make her extraordinary like everyone else, her roommate and best friend, Carrie, is learning how to stand up for herself despite living with a power where the spirits of the dead can possess her. Their two male roommates are J**zlord, a shapeshifter who has been a cat for so long he lost all his memories, and Kash, Carrie’s broke, time-travelling boyfriend who dreams of becoming a superhero.
“Extraordinary” is a clever comedy which turns the aspirational idea of life with superpowers on its head. From Kash using his rewind powers to avoid difficult conversations to Jen’s mother, who can control technology with her mind but doesn’t really understand how to use said technology. Luke Rollason’s performance as J**zlord stands out most as he portrays the character’s animalistic nature very well. He really looks like a cat learning how to be a human.
“Extraordinary” works well as a follow-up to “Adults” because it still captures the coming-of-age experience in your 20s. Jen is trying to find a place in a world not built for her. Meanwhile, Carrie, J**zlord, and Kash are exploring their sexuality, different career opportunities, and new relationships to discover their identity. Most of all, “Extraordinary” also has quirky comedy moments similar to the ones that made “Adults” stand out.
Crashing
If you’re looking for another series about a group of young people living in an unconventional living situation because of cheap rent, check out “Crashing.” The six-episode sitcom was created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who wrote one of the best TV shows of the 21st century, and also starred Jonathan Bailey, a few years before he became famous for starring in “Bridgerton” and “Wicked.” This sitcom presents the absurd life of property guardians who live in an abandoned hospital to save money and protect it from squatters and vandals.
The show throws audiences into the chaos immediately with a party at the hospital that spirals out of control when Lulu (Waller-Bridge), a free-spirited ukulele-playing woman, comes to crash with her former friend Andrew and his fiancée, Kate. This sets up the main awkward love triangle, in which Kate gets jealous of Lulu and Andrew’s friendship, while the pair try to figure out whether there’s something more to their relationship. The other guardians include Melody, a French artist, Colin, a sad lonely divorcee, and Fred, a quiet gay man who bonds with a new friend on the floor.
Bailey’s character Sam is sex-obsessed at the start of the show, but after going through a journey of grief and questioning his sexuality, he becomes a bit less grating to watch. “Crashing” is mostly about the relationships, making it feel more like a rom-com TV show. But with tension building between the guardians in the shared home, the final episode is a chaotic and cathartic end to the story.
Search Party
“Search Party” may have premiered nearly 10 years before “Adults,” but the show is a lot like what would happen if you took the main characters of “Adults” and had them attempt to solve a crime. There’s lots of shouting, every character is absolutely clueless, and at least one character is going to end up on trial. The series begins with a woman going missing, leaving a directionless woman trying to find meaning in her life and her friends to solve the mystery and save the day.
“Search Party” is peak TV treasure that keeps on giving, with the story spiraling more and more out of control until one of the characters is running a cult by the fifth season. The dark sitcom is often overlooked or underrated, but it received glowing reviews across all five seasons, which is something very few shows are able to maintain. The series may be targeting millennials, but a lot of its core themes, such as critiquing vigilante investigators, finding your identity in institutions like the Church or Hollywood, and media sensationalism, still fit for Gen Z.
