FX's 100% RT Returning Series Succeeds at Something Most Sitcoms Still Can't Get Right

Published Sep 1, 2026, 6:08 AM EDT Jennie Richardson is a TV Features and Lists Writer for Collider, and a graduate student pursuing an MFA in Fiction Writing. In other words, she really loves stories. The hangout sitcom is a universally beloved subgenre that centers on a group of friends going about their daily lives together. Classic titles in this vein, like Friends, How I Met Your Mother, and New Girl, follow a group of extremely close friends who all live together or very close together, see each other every day, and are deeply involved in pretty much every aspect of each other's lives. The latest addition to the hangout sitcom subgenre, FX's Adults, just released a phenomenal Season 2 with eight laugh-out-loud funny episodes. There is quite a lot that Adults does well, from the perfect execution of its comedy to the tight-knit and wonderfully strange dynamic of its main friend group. One factor that can be tricky for sitcoms to pull off is romance, but Adults Season 2 expertly delivers on that front. 'Adults' Season 2 Succeeds at Romance By Avoiding the Obvious Love Triangle Tropes Most sitcoms have one main will-they-won't-they romance for fans to root for, from Cheers' Sam (Ted Danson) and Diane (Shelley Long) to Friends' Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston). For Adults, it's the relationship between Anton Evans (Owen Thiele) and Paul Baker (Jack Innanen). Throughout the show's first season, the two easily connect and forge a deep understanding of each other. They share charged moments, but Paul Baker is dating Issa (Amita Rao), and it's clear that neither he nor Anton is ready to acknowledge these feelings. At the end of the season, however, Paul Baker needs to marry one of his friends to stay in the United States, and he chooses Anton. They then share a playful kiss at their friends' urging, but the moment clearly means something more, hinting at the possibility of a messy love triangle in Season 2. It's a common trope for sitcoms to create drama within their core ensemble by having someone from a previously established couple date someone else in the friend group. How I Met Your Mother embraced this storyline with Robin (Cobie Smulders) and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), just as Friends did with Rachel and Joey (Matt LeBlanc). Adults Season 2 easily could have done the same with Issa, Paul Baker, and Anton, but instead, the show goes in an unexpected and refreshing new direction. For the first half of the season, Issa is clearly insecure about Paul Baker and Anton's connection, first initiating a threesome with them in the fourth episode. When Issa and Paul Baker amicably break up, everyone is determined to remain friends. By the Season 2 finale, however, Issa pushes Anton to admit his feelings to Paul Baker, explaining that their friendship is strong enough to withstand anything. Adults Season 2 ultimately prioritizes its friend group over any possible romantic drama, and the entire show benefits because of it. It's refreshing and exciting to have a sitcom with a main queer romance as it is, but the foundation of this pairing has been solid since the characters' first meeting in the show's prequel episode. Although Paul Baker first joined the house because of Issa, his instant connection with Anton brought him into the group. Over the course of Adults' two seasons, the two are great friends to each other, and this always wins out over unresolved tension. When Paul Baker is revealed to have a second friend group in the Season 2 premiere, Anton gives him his honest thoughts while also reassuring him when he doubts himself. When Anton butts heads with his sister, Talia (Raven-Symoné), in the third episode, Paul Baker gently calls him out on this while also helping him change her mind. Rather than fighting or avoiding each other for the sake of drama, Anton and Paul Baker establish a dynamic rooted in friendship until their feelings boil over in the season finale, and they finally get together. Now that Adults has a solid pairing in Paul Baker and Anton, the show will have the opportunity to tell their story as a couple while also exploring other pairings in a potential third season. As of the end of Season 2, Billie (Lucy Freyer) and Samir (Malik Elassal) have just hooked up for the first time, and Issa has just met a new love interest named Margaux (Mia Fowler). Adults is already wildly funny, but it's also the type of sitcom that expertly weaves in romance in a way that both feels organic and will have viewers rooting for all of these couples. Adults Release Date May 28, 2025