Of recent ensemble comedies, FX’s “Adults” is the most unabashedly old-school. Created by Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw, the series follows five 20-something housemates in Queens as they navigate the pleasures and perils of early adulthood. Since its 2025 debut, it has drawn comparisons to “Friends,” “Girls” and “New Girl” — a lineage that feels more apt compared to its contemporary counterparts, like “Overcompensating” and the recently canceled “Not Suitable for Work.”
Season 2, now streaming on Hulu, embraces one of the sitcom’s most enduring tropes: the “will-they, won’t-they” romance. At the center are Anton (Owen Thiele) and Paul Baker (Jack Innanen), whose chemistry is complicated by the latter’s relationship with Issa (Amita Rao), Anton’s best friend and housemate.
“It’s rare for a queer Black man to be a lead with an emotional arc and a love interest,” Thiele says. “All the things a white girl gets to have. No shade; I love those movies and shows too. But having that representation on ‘Adults’ feels really important.”
Both actors are also lining up new projects: Thiele is developing the semi-autobiographical comedy “Off Color” for Prime Video and joining the “13 Going on 30” reboot. Innanen is filming Season 2 of Netflix’s “Big Mistakes” and preparing for his film “Purgatory” to premiere in a couple of weeks at the Toronto International Film Festival. “I’d like to play a scary guy,” Innanen says. “And be in a rom-com. My goal is to keep doing this until I’m dead.”
Thiele and Innanen spoke about Anton and Paul Baker’s slow-burn romance, the alternate ending they filmed and the fan response to their characters. “I’m right there with the audience,” Thiele says. “I really hope Anton and Paul Baker work out. I’m like, ‘Is it gonna be OK? I’m scared.’” This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Anton marries Paul Baker in the Season 1 finale to help him stay in the country. Then they kiss, making their mutual attraction clear. How much did you know about their arc going into Season 2?
Owen Thiele: Ben, Rebecca and I huddled a lot, and I listened to everything they said because they’re geniuses and also my bosses. I don’t think they ever wanted us to play the end. Hopefully we’re good enough actors to play it anyway, but they left it pretty open-ended.
Jack Innanen: We get the scripts as we’re filming, so we don’t know what’s coming until pretty close to shooting. I remember they sat us down in their production office, and we had champagne, and they gave us each our character arcs. They told me Paul Baker and Issa break up, but I don’t think they ever said Anton and Paul Baker get together. It was more like, maybe this opens up the Anton of it all.
There’s always a spark between Anton and Paul Baker, even when the episode isn’t about them.
Thiele: It’s so fun watching these episodes back because I’ll catch Jack looking at me in ways I didn’t even notice while we were filming. I’m like, “Jesus, Jack. You’re really threading that needle.”
Innanen: Every take, they’d be like, “Now give Anton a look. We might not use it here, we’ll see how it goes.” We’re just constantly looking at each other. It’s like our “Frances Ha” moments.
The finale, “Vote 4 Paul Baker,” builds toward a big rom-com sequence: Anton races home with Issa to confess his feelings to Paul Baker. He runs in, and they kiss as balloons rain down around them. What was it like to finally play that moment?
Innanen: The thing about Paul Baker is, he’s so passive and laissez-faire with everything in his life. This is the first time he has to be active with a feeling. He has to make a decision that might hurt other people or get messy, and he’s not a messy guy at all. To do that in the pursuit of love is really beautiful, and I think that’s what he has to overcome.
Actually filming the scene was nerve-racking. We only had two takes with the balloons. It was 4 or 5 in the morning, the last shot of the whole season, and there was this entire balloon rig. Like, this is the climax. We all wanted to do it justice.
Thiele: I’ve seen it so many times in rom-coms, people running to stop the plane. I felt like I was stopping the plane in that scene. I was so scared I’d forget my one line — which, by the way, is “Hey” to Jack. But I was nervous I was going to f— it up because the scene felt so special. Jack and I, as Anton and Paul Baker, were really connected and really in it together. Because we only had two takes, the pressure was on, which made the whole thing feel more real.
Innanen: It actually did feel kind of real. It’s also just an interesting thing, kissing a friend. We hadn’t done that this whole season, and it had been like a year since the last kiss in the first season. So there’s all this buildup and tension.
Don’t Anton and Paul Baker kiss during their threesome with Issa and the possum in Episode 4, “Raccoon”?
Thiele: I will say, Jack’s right. That felt different. In the finale, it’s just Paul Baker and Anton looking at each other. Playing that felt more emotional and raw and, ultimately, scarier than doing the threesome scene with the possum.
Innanen: There were also 900 people in the room during the threesome. There was a possum named Toes on set. When I’m making out with Amita, there are legitimately two men — two puppet handlers — on the ground controlling a little possum that I can see. We were there for eight hours, and there was a lot of choreography for the intimacy. Way more than I’d ever done.
Thiele: We were finding things as we went along, which is why we ultimately made out for eight hours. Sorry, Jack. But my big question for the threesome was: Why isn’t Anton running away? This is his best friend and probably his crush, and he’d never want to hurt anyone, so why is he still in the room?
Then Ben and Jack found this moment where Paul Baker grabs Anton’s thigh. When Jack put his hand on my thigh, I was like, “Oh, I’m staying” — as Anton and as Owen.
Are there any Paul Baker and Anton scenes that didn’t make it in?
Innanen: They cut all our sex scenes. No, well, there’s a scene of me talking to Raven[-Symoné] in Episode 3, “Talia.” It was this sweet little moment before she goes and joins Anton in the closet, where they look at me and are like, “So, you’re really married?” And I’m like, “Yeah, we really are.” And then Talia takes a moment to appreciate Paul Baker as her little brother’s husband.
We also shot two versions of the finale.
There’s an alternate ending?
Thiele: There was one where we kissed and one where we didn’t, where we just talked. You weren’t supposed to know what Anton and Paul Baker were saying to each other, but I think it was pretty clear. But they went with the kissing one.
What was the conversation around that final scene like?
Innanen: It was up for debate. We went back and forth on what Anton says, what Paul Baker says, whether you hear us or not, whether it’s a balloon cover-up, whether we show the kiss.
Thiele: I remember Jack being like, “Paul Baker needs to make it clear in some way that he’s there for Anton. He can’t just nod when Anton confesses his feelings. He has to say something back.” Jack was so thoughtful about what Paul Baker would want Anton to feel at that moment.
Innanen: That scene and the threesome scene were probably the two we talked about the most, because they carry so much weight. So on that final day, we were sitting with the writers, Notes apps open, throwing around our own ideas for what Anton and Paul Baker might say — even though we knew you might not hear any of it.
Now I want to know what you came up with.
Innanen: I actually like keeping it a secret. I think one of the most precious things in a relationship is having something that’s just for the two of you. But maybe you’ll find out next season. I’d love for fans to speculate.
We get to see a different side of Paul Baker this season with his other friend group, who embody this exaggerated, bro-y masculinity.
Thiele: Watching Jack switch from Paul Baker to Bro Paul Baker was genuinely shocking. It felt like two different people. But I think part of Anton gets it because he’s constantly performing around different people. So even though he’s kind of playing hurt in those group scenes, I think ultimately he’s intrigued.
Innanen: I agree with that. It was weirdly therapeutic because I was like, “Oh, is that me a little bit?” I had to process it for a second. There’s this bro-y side of me that I’m a little ashamed of, and I was like, “Wait, do I have this duality to me? What the heck?”
Thiele: It’s also very us in real life, Jack. I know you have this other side of you that’s beautiful, with all that dap stuff I still can’t quite get.
Innanen: You’re actually incredible at dapping. I remember there was a little squeezing at the wrong time in the beginning, but I think you’re there now.
Have you heard from fans who see themselves in Anton and Paul Baker?
Thiele: A few people have reached out to tell me they feel seen, and I think that’s the reason to do this. I didn’t really have anyone who looked like me to look up to when I was a kid, except, honestly, Raven-Symoné, a queer Black woman. Having her play my sister feels like such a full-circle moment.
There are way more diverse stories on screen now — not enough, but thank God there are more. I feel lucky to be part of this moment, where a Black queer man can lead a show. But I try not to think too much about people watching. I just want to make the show and hope it’s good.
There aren’t many fluid characters like Paul Baker on TV.
Innanen: I don’t think I realized how much Paul Baker’s fluidity was going to resonate with people. It’s cool to see him have a relationship with a woman and then a man, and for it not to feel like tokenism or just a label. It actually plays deeply into the show’s relationships. I think that’s really special, and a lot of people have told me they connect with it.
“Adults” is such a genuine representation of the people I know and love, and of our generation in many ways. I’m very grateful we get to do it.
Thiele: I think we could run for another 60 years, if FX will let us. Brittany Snow recently said to me, “Acting for me is being excited to be asked back.” And that’s exactly how I feel right now. I hope they ask us back. I would do this for the rest of my life.
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