Adults: A Comedy Series that Struggles to Find its Tone
In a television landscape dominated by shows about young adulthood, FX’s new comedy series, Adults, attempts to capture the essence of twentysomething life in post-pandemic New York. The show, created by Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw, and executive produced by Nick Kroll, follows a group of five friends navigating the challenges of adulthood. However, as The Guardian notes, the series often falls short of its mark, veering into cringe-worthy territory rather than delivering genuine laughs.
The show’s pilot episode sets the tone for the rest of the series, with a studiously replicated scene of codependent young adulthood, complete with a group of friends tangled together on a New York subway. As The Guardian observes, "The characters gab in the way you’d imagine adult-adults imagine young-adults speak, breezing through exposition, getting high, being broke and not having enough hot water to shower." However, this attempt at authenticity comes across as forced, and the show’s humor often relies on over-the-top antics rather than subtle wit.
One of the main issues with Adults is its struggle to find a balance between cringe comedy and genuine humor. As The Guardian notes, "There’s a fine line between cringe comedy and just cringe, and Adults, created by ex-Tonight Show writers Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw and executive produced by coming-of-age comedian extraordinaire Nick Kroll, is often on the wrong side of it." The show’s attempts at humor often feel contrived, with gags that are a notch or two above necessary.
Despite its flaws, Adults does tackle some relatable themes, including the challenges of post-Covid precarity and interconnectedness. The show’s characters inhabit a recognizable world of broke post-grads, with Samir, the chronically unemployed protagonist, struggling to assert himself. His childhood best friend Billie, the go-getter of the group, works at a cartoonishly bad media company with no health insurance. As The Guardian notes, "The archetypically messy group living for free-ish in Samir’s childhood home inhabit a recognizable world of post-Covid precarity and interconnectedness."
The show’s cast, a mix of stand-up comedians, internet personalities, and screen actors, eventually settles into a more level-headed groove, with Malik Elassal and Lucy Freyer demonstrating some emotional texture to their characters. However, these moments of levity are too few and far between, and the show’s target audience may find themselves checking out after the overkill of the first episode.
As The Guardian concludes, "Perhaps that will diffuse if the show is given time to grow, and these young adults learn what most twentysomethings do: in the game of winning friends and influencing people, one needn’t try so hard." With some tweaks to its tone and approach, Adults may yet find its footing as a comedy series that genuinely captures the essence of young adulthood.
In the meantime, viewers can catch Adults on FX, where it airs its eight episodes. As The Guardian notes, "The less the writers strain for ego-centric, no-boundaries twenty-something-ness, the better; the funniest long-running bit is a simple gag about the gang referencing movies they haven’t seen." With a bit of refinement, Adults may yet become a comedy series worth watching.
As Charlie Cox, who guest stars in the series as Billie’s former teacher and older paramour, notes, the show has its moments, but ultimately, it feels overcooked. Julia Fox also makes an appearance, bringing her signature style to the show. While Adults may not have hit the mark, it’s clear that the cast and crew are talented and dedicated to bringing this story to life.
The series offers a glimpse into a world that is both familiar and foreign, where young adults navigate the challenges of adulthood in a post-pandemic world. While it may not be entirely successful, Adults is a show that is worth keeping an eye on, as it continues to evolve and find its tone.
The new comedy series Adults is now available to stream.
