Adults starts to figure out a more mature Season 2
FX's Adults starts figure out its footing in a more mature Season 2, Variety critic Alison Herman writes, as cast chemistry finally drives the FX sitcom. All eight episodes stream on Hulu beginning Aug. 27 at 9 p.m. ET, giving co-creators Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw room to grow past Season 1's forced bits.
Sitcoms often need time before the formula clicks. Herman compares that arc to how The Office and Parks and Recreation refined their leads once casts and dynamics had room to settle. For more streaming premiere coverage, see our Streaming & TV Alerts hub.
Key Takeaways
- Variety says Adults Season 2 finally has momentum driven by ensemble rapport, not strained zeitgeist jokes.
- Breakout Paul Baker (Jack Innanen) anchors a "shame friends" premiere subplot and already got a standalone origin episode.
- Issa (Amita Rao), Billie (Lucy Freyer), Samir (Malik Elassal), and Anton (Owen Thiele) deepen with lower, more sitcom-scale stakes.
- Guest turns include Gaten Matarazzo and Zosia Mamet; the full eight-episode season drops on Hulu Aug. 27 at 9 p.m. ET.
Why does Adults starts figure out feel stronger now?
Herman frankly disliked Season 1, arguing it pushed for repeatable bits and relevance before the ensemble cohered. Season 2, she writes in her Variety TV review, drops that fake-it-til-you-make-it strain.
The show's energy now comes from chemistry that makes big generational statements unnecessary. That shift matters because modern comedies often get cut before they find the groove network sitcoms once had a dozen episodes to discover.
What changed for the housemates this season?
In the premiere, Paul Baker's codependent roommates learn he keeps secret "shame friends"—hard-partying bros from early New York days. The gag lands because viewers know the bisexual softboy well enough for the reveal to feel off-brand, including Issa recalling he borrowed her crop top for a Muna concert.
Issa also gets sharper focus: an impulsive egg-freezing plot with slapstick shot-administration chases involving Samir, plus a "weird little guy" accent tic Rao commits to until it turns funny. Herman still hears Broad City echoes but credits Rao's force-of-will ownership of the type.
Billie tracks down an old fake ID and realizes the gang is "not the youngest people on Earth anymore," while Anton stands out as the friend who actually holds a 9-to-5. Underemployment reads as baseline life, not crisis, so weekly group meltdowns outshine thin romantic-alignment stakes.
Where can you watch Adults Season 2?
Shot in Toronto on a soundstage standing in for Samir's absentee parents' Queens house, Adults still leans fantasy when it wants—an HOA election war room in the living room, Seinfeld-style observational bits, even a masturbation plot nodding at "The Contest." Topical asides remain (old social posts, man-on-the-street TikToks), but Herman says the metier is increasingly timeless observation.
All eight Season 2 episodes arrive on Hulu on Aug. 27 at 9 p.m. ET. For a show about late bloomers, Herman concludes, getting time to work out the kinks was the rare and decisive break.