Hulu's Gen Z answer to It's Always Sunny is suddenly one of the biggest shows on streaming

Every generation gets the sitcom it deserves. For Millennials, we had It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: the high watermark for watching a crew of hopeless narcissists knife each other in the back, week after week. But eventually, even those ghouls start to look a bit long in the tooth, and someone has to carry the torch of unhinged, R-rated group chaos. That’s pretty much where Adults comes in. Hulu cooked up this series last year and, predictably, it’s a nightmare in all the ways the premise demands. If you ever thought, ‘what if the It’s Always Sunny gang were younger, on TikTok, and somehow even more emotionally unmoored?’ – here you go.

Adults reached the fifth spot on Hulu’s weekly top 10, while rocketing to second place among Disney+ viewers.

Meet the 'Adults' (and Their Very Questionable Friends)

Series creators Rebecca Shaw and Ben Kronengold knew exactly what they were aiming for: you get a houseful of mid-20-somethings, all absolutely convinced they’re special, navigating the horrors of adult life (and mostly botching it spectacularly). The core cast plays it with such rabid authenticity you start to believe they genuinely live together in some godforsaken borough:

• Malik Elassal
• Lucy Freyer
• Jack Innanen
• Amita Rao
• Owen Thiele

They’re joined by some frankly surprising guest talent: Charlie Cox (yes, Daredevil himself) pops up as a character called 'Mr. Teacher', and Julia Fox (of Uncut Gems notoriety) stops in as well. Good news if you quite enjoy watching respected actors absolutely desecrate their nice-guy reputations for the sake of a laugh.

The State of Play: Streaming and Rotten Tomatoes

The show’s first season quietly dropped back in May 2025 and started finding proper traction as the months rolled by. With Season 2 just released, it’s clear Hulu’s sitting on a real word-of-mouth juggernaut: while Project Runway clings to the top slot, Adults is nipping at its heels at number five, and cutting an even better figure over on the Disney+ charts. Critics have cottoned on too: first season sits at a rather healthy 88% on Rotten Tomatoes with a 92% user score – not bad at all for something this, let’s say, delightfully tasteless. Season 2 somehow managed to bag a plausible-for-now 100% from critics. Not sure how sustainable that is, but impressive work so far.

Peak Chaos: The Most Mental Episodes

Part of the show’s appeal is how committed it is to being absolutely unfiltered. Example one: an early episode has the group awkwardly reconnecting with an old schoolmate making national news for reporting her boss’s sexual misconduct. Starts innocent enough – but quickly morphs into the gang finding ways to make it all about themselves. You can practically hear the Sunny music stinger. Then there’s the dinner party where Mr. Teacher (yes, still just called that) spends the entire episode tripping on MDMA. They are, to put it mildly, not aiming for heartwarming.

What’s strange is, for all the outlandishness, there’s a grain of honesty about being stuck between proper adulthood and whatever passes for being Gen Z grown-up these days. Things go wrong, people are the worst, but the writing never feels forced or sketchy – these people are, perilously, believable.

Try Before You Buy: Free Episode on YouTube

If you’re Hulu-free (or not keen on giving Disney+ another chunk of your bank account), there’s a way in. The first episode of Adults Season 2, ‘Marathon Day’, is up for absolutely nothing on YouTube, thanks to FX dropping it for free ahead of the new season launch. No paywall to duck, and it hasn’t been quietly nuked since release. Consider it your free ticket to the carnage.