There’s a moment in everyone’s life when they have to seriously consider if they’ve become Seymour Skinner; when they’re forced to acknowledge their advancing age and wonder if whatever music they’re listening to, TikTok they’re watching, or TV series they’re assigned to review is, in fact, simply not for them; when they have to look in the mirror and ask, “Am I out of touch?”
Well, dear reader, I assure you I’ve answered that question in the affirmative many, many times during my years outside the key demographic. Oversized clothing seems too indulgent on my frail physique, the only “rizz” I’ll ever mention is Anthony Rizzo, and reading the news will always be vastly more efficient than watching it. (Hot take: Gen Z’s common bond with Boomers is cable news, the former just likes it from baby-faced influencers in Quibi-sized snippets.) But in this scenario, despite just giving you ample ammunition to ignore my opinions forever, I find myself completing the “Simpsons” meme in all seriousness.
When it comes to FX’s “Adults,” it’s the children who are wrong.
Co-created by Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw (comedy writers who spent two years at “The Tonight Show”), the half-hour series is the latest attempt to recreate the magic of “Friends” (or any hangout comedy, really) for a new generation of fans and stars. The premise is broad, the stories are episodic, and the jokes are priority one. There’s a hint of romance seeded into two friends whose history dates back to childhood. Our core cast shares an intimate living situation that’s even less plausible than the apartments Joey and Rachel could afford. A guest star claims to be the group’s Chandler, and there’s even a dumb hottie with a heart of gold, like Joey.
Wait, did I say there was one dumb hottie? Try five dumb hotties, which is at least three too many. First, there’s Samir (Malik Elassal), whose parents own the Queens house where he and his friends live. Samir has a degree in finance, but he’s in no hurry to start his career, which is good, because he’s in no way responsible enough to be trusted with anyone’s money. He doesn’t know what a check is or even how to obtain one. He thinks a good way to get rid of an unwanted firearm is asking passersby if they want it. He– OK, I have to stop, or I’m just going to keep spoiling whatever jokes viewers can enjoy amid the repetitious deluge of unbelievable antics. (And these days, even a misguided comedy deserves credit for putting laughs above all else.)
Next up in the group is Billie (Lucy Freyer), who’s been friends with Samir for most of her life and lost for even longer. Billie is a contractor at a local news network, although it’s unclear if reporting is her preferred vocation. What is clear is that Billie checks too many stereotypes for a white, blonde, twenty-something liberal: She’s whiny, worried, and self-centered, but she’s also all too eager to adopt someone else’s personality. Billie expresses her desire to live more dangerously a few days before demanding everyone conform to her trad wife cosplay, where she cooks dinner for her new boyfriend while hosting a seated dinner party for all their friends.
Pushing Billie to be more like her is Issa (Amita Rao), an outspoken life-of-the-party type whose second-episode complaint — ”When are they going to realize I’m more than my personality?” — is a question that goes naggingly unanswered in the show. Sticking with the “Friends” comparison, Issa would be the free-spirited Phoebe Buffay, but really she’s a knock-off Ilana from “Broad City”: A huge personality with zero filter and proud of it, Issa is constantly encouraging her friends to match her freak, but never lets her guard down long enough to let us know if she’s anything more than a pushy pleasure-seeker. (Within minutes of meeting, the O.G. Ilana would steal her drugs and peace out.)
Currently, Issa is dating Paul Baker (Jack Innanen), a granola bro beloved by all who’s habitually referred to by his first and last name. As the significant other of a core friend, his lack of depth across six of the first season’s eight episodes is easier to forgive than the rest of the cast, but his similarities to them also make him less interesting.
That just leaves Anton (Owen Theile), who already co-starred as a college kid in Amazon Prime’s “Overcompensating” and now plays another friendly, sarcastic, fashionable fellow who just happens to be five-ish years older. Anton’s defining characteristic is that he’s too nice. He makes too many friends, makes too many promises to those friends, and then makes no effort to advance those friendships beyond their promising beginnings. He’s also self-isolating in a way I expect to be resolved by season’s end, which makes him the most promising character in the cast.
Save for one completely unconvincing arc in Episode 5, Anton isn’t as oblivious as the rest of his friends. He makes little mistakes, sure, like playing bartender without knowing how to mix drinks or getting tongue-tied on live TV, but in general, he seems to know what he’s doing — even when what he’s doing isn’t helping anyone, including himself. Knowingly embracing your flaws is much more interesting than blindly repeating them, and if Anton’s elected inertia gets an iota of development, perhaps “Adults” can grow just enough to become watchable.
As is, every one of the main characters is too brainless and basic to invest in, even when the series treats their shared ineptitude like a bonding agent. The friends’ foolish behavior isn’t satiric but standardized — repeated so often and so plainly that instead of laughing at their identifiable mistakes, squirming at their recognizable ignorance, or appreciating a new generation’s unique point of view, you’re begging them to simply think for one second before committing to the most obvious bad idea available.
What ultimately convinced me that my age isn’t the main obstacle to enjoying “Adults” is the simple fact that too many jokes build toward a punchline you can see from miles away, and too many episodes are built around choices that only a dumb twenty-something TV character would make, not a dumb real-life twenty-something.
You see, I’m still close enough to 20 to still know a few twenty-somethings. And those adults deserve better than these yahoos.
Grade: C-
“Adults” premieres Wednesday, May 28 at 9 p.m. ET on FX with two episodes. New episodes will be released weekly and made available the next day on Hulu.
