Actor Jack Innanen, who plays Paul Baker in the FX series “Adults,” spoke with Variety about his character’s arc in the recently released second season, the challenges of creating a classic sitcom in the streaming era, and his ideas for a potential third season.
The second season of “Adults,” created by Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw, follows Paul Baker, Issa (Amita Rao), Anton (Owen Thiele), Billie (Lucy Freyer), and Samir (Malik Elassal) as they navigate their twenties while living in Samir’s childhood home in Queens, New York. Innanen noted the shift in television, where 22-episode seasons have become rare, with streaming services typically offering shorter seasons. The show currently totals 17 episodes across two seasons, including a prequel episode. “If we had 22 episodes, we could do ‘stuck in the elevator’ episode,” Innanen said. “We could do the beach episode. We could do so many fun filler episodes. But it’s just born too late.”
Season 2 opened with a meta reference, with Issa stating, “It’s Season 2, Paul Baker; we’re doing a oner.” The season also featured guest star Raven-Symoné as Anton’s sister, Talia, complete with her own laugh track. Innanen praised this addition, calling it “a fun wink” and noting the show’s awareness of its sitcom format, which he believes enhances its appeal to a media-literate audience.
This season explored the “inner opposites” of the characters, with a focus on Anton’s external charm masking a more complex inner life. “That Anton is so externally charming, that he’s a monster to these people, and he prides himself so much in work, but can’t admit that to himself or to others,” Innanen explained. He believes this exploration of internal contradictions served the Paul Baker-Anton arc well. The first season ended with an unresolved plotline between the two characters.
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