Yesterday鈥檚 鈥淔riends鈥 are not like today鈥檚.
According to the new series, 鈥淎dults,鈥 those twentysomethings live together in a big house, don鈥檛 quite have a handle on employment and aren鈥檛 afraid to confront each other about life鈥檚 most intimate moments.
From left, Owen Thiele, Malik Elassal, Jack Innanen, Amita Rao and Lucy Freyer set down rules in "Adults."
Heck, they even have to make rules about what鈥檚 left lying around the house or stashed in the dishwasher.
鈥淎dults鈥 is very adult and may take some time to warm to, particularly since it鈥檚 impossible to get a bead on Samir, Billie, Paul Baker, Issa and Anton. If there are inner relationships, they鈥檙e not evident in the first few episodes. They鈥檙e all extremely comfortable with one another but have difficulty reaching outside their friend circle and looking for support, jobs, and life partners.
Owen Thiele as Anton, Jack Innanen as Paul Baker realize they have to live by someone else's rules in "Adults."
Created by Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw, 鈥淎dults鈥 is a crass course in Gen Z, particularly since it takes three or four episodes just to get the characters鈥 backstories.
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Samir (Malik Elassal) is the enabler who lets the others live in his childhood home while they discover their post-college lives. He doesn鈥檛 have a job, which puts him at a disadvantage when it comes to establishing rules for the others. Billie (Lucy Freyer) seems like the most accomplished, but she loses her job while undergoing medical tests. No job. No insurance. Trouble.
Issa (Amita Rao) and Anton (Owen Thiele) are the tightest of the five, but Paul Baker (Jack Innanen) has the kind of fluid personality that fits with all of them. When there鈥檚 tea to be spilled, Paul Baker (he goes by the full name) is there to spill.
From left, Owen Thiele as Anton, Lucy Freyer as Billie, Malik Elassal as Samir and Amita Rao as Issa star in "Adults."聽
In the first of eight episodes, the details are plentiful聽鈥 specifically those that deal with their sex lives. This house doesn鈥檛 have boundaries, particularly when it comes to sharing a bathroom at the same time. They鈥檙e domestically challenged as well, which makes you wonder if they鈥檒l make it to their 30s.
Near the series鈥 midpoint, they each get a task to complete to move their lives ahead. It鈥檚 a start but this is not something you could watch every night for hours.
More like one of those 鈥淔riends鈥-adjacent series that ran on ABC, 鈥淎dults鈥 frequently shows how its characters thwart their own abilities to reach out. A potential date may be a big focus in one episode, a forgotten entity in the next. That suggests hurt is just outside the house鈥檚 front door.
While it may take a while to find its audience, 鈥淎dults鈥 will teach you something about a new generation and make you fond of Paul Baker. In Innanen鈥檚 hands, he鈥檚 the everyman you didn鈥檛 realize you needed.
鈥淎dults鈥 airs on FX and Hulu.
