8 Best Episodes Of FX's Adults, Ranked

FX’s Adults is one of the best comedies on TV right now. Finally, Gen Z has its own answer to the classic hangout sitcoms of yore. Gen X had Friends, millennials had New Girl, and now Gen Z has Adults. Where the yuppies of the ‘90s saw themselves represented in Rachel Green and Chandler Bing, the twentysomething college graduates of the 2020s, who do entry-level jobs remotely and can’t afford to move out of their parents’ house, are seeing themselves represented in Samir and Billie and Issa and Anton and Paul Baker.

We have just 17 episodes of Adults to enjoy while we’re waiting for that elusive season 3 renewal, yearning for more. The series has no weak episodes (except, maybe, the original pilot episode that began with a masturbation-off on the subway), but some episodes stand out more than others.

8 Pop Girlie

Season 2, Episode 6

Season 2’s “Pop Girlie” sets up a really interesting conflict. It’s easy to be a supportive partner when your partner is making responsible choices, and supporting them is a no-brainer, but what do you do if they drop everything to pursue a pipe dream? In “Pop Girlie,” Samir’s girlfriend Carly abandons her budding dentistry career to become a K-pop star, and the limits of his supportiveness are tested.

When Carly debuts her music video for the housemates, the second-hand embarrassment is palpable (there’s even some third-hand embarrassment from the housemates’ own second-hand embarrassment). The whole episode is a masterpiece of cringe comedy, and Rachel Marsh plays it perfectly. It culminates in an unforgettable climax, performed spectacularly by Amita Rao, where Issa sings “I Dreamed a Dream” while sporadically checking in on a dying old man on the front row.

7 Spitroast

Season 1, Episode 2

After getting off to a rough start in its pilot episode (a rough start that’s been softened for newcomers by the bonus pilot episode they made for streaming audiences), Adults showed a lot more promise in its second episode, “Spitroast.” After Billie starts unexpectedly bleeding, her roommates rush her to the hospital, and try to race through all her medical tests and procedures in one day, because she’s likely to lose her job (and, therefore, her health insurance) the following Monday.

The genius of this episode is in its Seinfeldian twist ending. It all blows up in Samir’s face when it turns out Billie never had insurance in the first place, and now she’s stuck with a $15,000 medical bill.

6 C Alert

Season 2, Episode 7

“C Alert” has a lot of fun with the remaining shock value of the C-word, dropping C-bombs left and right, but it’s also an enlightening look into Anton’s work-life balance. Throughout the series, we’d seen plenty of hints that Anton has an actual, real, proper job, but we didn’t see just how relentless the grind is until we saw his daily routine in the opening montage of “C Alert.” He’s able to keep his behavior in the office strictly professional while having plenty of NSFW fun with his friends in his home life — until he accidentally blurts out the C-word during a meeting.

Issa and Samir’s subsequent attempts to normalize the C-word in Anton’s workplace are hilariously disastrous, leading to a stellar climactic scene. The B-story of Paul Baker being harassed by Manhattan influencers and being too nice to push back is the highlight of the episode.

5 Annabelle

Season 1, Episode 7

“Annabelle” is a rare example of a sitcom episode where the A-story and the B-story are both solid gold. Usually, one is stronger than the other, but in “Annabelle,” they’re both compelling and consistently hysterical: the A-story sees Anton and Paul Baker looking after Annabelle, a teenager from out of town who’s come to New York for an abortion, and the B-story sees Issa and Billie leading a class full of children in a revolution against their teachers.

The Annabelle storyline brilliantly subverts your expectations; initially, it seems like the housemates are doing a really great thing, but Annabelle soon turns out to be horrible, and she’s been left with the two sweetest, most sensitive people in the house. The lock-in storyline, on the other hand, is even more chaotic, and feels like something Ilana would’ve done on Broad City (as do a lot of Issa’s storylines).

4 House Rules

Season 1, Episode 4

After a rocky start, Adults finally hit its stride in the fourth episode, “House Rules.” This episode sets up a great romcom premise, then immediately subverts it with a hilarious twist. Paul and Issa think they’re following an AirTag to Anton’s dream man, but it turns out they’re just following a rat around the city. This was a funny storyline, but it led to the show addressing Anton’s insecurities around his love life.

Elsewhere in the episode, Billie begins her brief, torrid affair with Matt Murdock, and Samir has an interview at a promising fintech company. That last one gave way to maybe the funniest scene in the entire series so far: Samir gets the job, everyone on the Zoom call encourages him to dance and celebrate, and then he moons them. I’m hard-pressed to remember a time I laughed harder than in the dead silence that follows his fateful mooning.

3 Fake ID

Season 2, Episode 2

Season 2’s “Fake ID” perfectly captures the creeping feeling you get in your mid-20s when age starts to set in. Billie meets the 20-year-old using her former fake ID and immediately starts to feel old, so she goes to increasingly desperate lengths to prove to this perfect stranger that she’s still young and fun (to no avail). Lucy Freyer had a ton of fun with each successive comic scenario, whether she’s dragging Samir 2.0 into the bathroom for fake sex or asking a pharmacist if it’s okay to take Plan B “on an empty uterus.”

This episode touches on something we can all relate to: the relentless march of time, and the apathy of younger generations. There’s a much lighter B-story, too, as Samir traces the lineage of his own fake ID and discovers the multiverse of Samirs.

2 Roast Chicken

Season 1, Episode 6

“Roast Chicken” has a brilliant setup: Billie tries to throw a nice, dignified, grownup dinner party for her fancy teacher boyfriend, but unbeknownst to her, he’s high out of his mind on ketamine. It’s a great story — Billie is so desperate to prove to this guy that she’s mature, but he turns out to be the least mature person in the house — and Charlie Cox played the ketamine high beautifully.

Julia Fox gives her best performance since Uncut Gems playing a heightened version of herself as one of Paul Baker’s friends. She steals every scene she’s in, and Issa’s desperate attempts to one-up her just get funnier and funnier throughout the episode.

1 Vote For Paul Baker

Season 2, Episode 8

Adults reached a new peak with its season 2 finale, “Vote for Paul Baker.” Paul Baker is running for president of the Homeowner’s Association, and his roommates secure a huge voter turnout with a widespread canvassing campaign in their neighborhood. Then, they suddenly have to do the exact opposite and tank Paul’s polling numbers when his opponent threatens to have them all kicked out of the house if he loses the race.

The high stakes of the episode’s plot pave the way for the characters to address their most pressing emotional issues. Anton finally faces his feelings for Paul, and Samir’s rebound after his breakup with Carly is none other than his lifelong best friend Billie. “Vote for Paul Baker” is just as funny as the average Adults episode, but it’s also an emotional rollercoaster.