Friday, September 4, 2026

TV: Sitcom “Seinfeld” Crew Vet Observes That FX’s “Adults” Season 2 is Sampling Jokes, Memes, and Plots from Classic Ensemble Comedy

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I’ve never watched the FX/Hulu sitcom, “Adults.” I assumed it was a little like “Seinfeld” mixed with “Friends,” but I already knew the originals. Leave this show to a new generation.

But De Sousa — who runs a popular Instagram page — worked on the “Seinfeld” 2nd unit crew that shot most of the show’s exterior work in New York, like Tom’s Diner. So she really knows it when a classic “Seinfeld” bit is reiterated somewhere else.

DeSousa settled into Season 2, which debuted August 27th, and came up with 12 instances in which the show closely resembles “Seinfeld.”

So here are her catches so far. She’s starting to look back at the first season. Are these Easter eggs, or lack of originality? Also, maybe a “Friends” expert should take a closer look at “Adults.”

All of the Jokes ADULTS Season 2 on Hulu Stole from Seinfeld

1. The alternate friend group (bizarro Jerry etc)

2. Issa’s weird little guy (Elaine’s little kicks)

3. The 1800 Mattress number (Elaine says she has been giving out the same fake number to guys for years)

4. The guys all have to stop jer*ing off after the room switch (the Contest)

5. Issa pushes her way past everyone to escape when the carbon monoxide detector goes off (George pushing by everyone when there’s a fire at a birthday party)

6. Issa’s ex changed his last name to Bin Laden (Elaine dating a guy whose last name is Rifkin)

7. Anton advises a guy to open a restaurant and it fails (Jerry tells Babu to make his restaurant Pakistani)

8. The gang meets at a diner all the time

9. Little bites instead of a meal makes it inconclusive if it’s a date or not (banya and the soup)

10. Anton tells Issa to do the opposite of what she would normally to fit in in the corporate world (George does the opposite to attract a girl)

11. Issa keeps working at the company without getting paid (Kramer)

12. Paul Baker runs for president of the HOA – Jerry’s dad runs for president of the condo association

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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