FX’s Adults premiered on May 28 and is currently available to stream on Hulu. The series follows “a group of twenty-somethings in New York trying to be good people, despite being neither ‘good’ nor ‘people’ yet. Samir, Billie, Paul Baker, Issa, and Anton are five friends crashing together in Samir’s childhood home, where they share their meals, anxieties, and, occasionally, toothbrushes.” Malik Elassal, Lucy Freyer, Jack Innanen, Amita Rao, and Owen Thiele make up the main cast.
Elassal plays Samir, a character who “struggles to fix the problems around him—from his parents’ boiler to his perpetual unemployment to his love life.” Before Adults, the actor worked on projects such as Fortunate Son, Joe Pickett, and Resident Alien. Elassal is also a stand-up comedian who was honored at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in 2022.
Related
FX’s Adults Turns The Mundanity Of Gen Z’s Coming-Of-Age Into An Epic Event With New Activation
ScreenRant visits The Laundry Room in Culver City for an unforgettable activation that celebrates FX’s new Gen Z comedy series, Adults.
ScreenRant chatted with Malik Elassal about his first series regular role, Samir’s relationships with Billie and Carly, the Adults finale, and his hopes for season 2.
Elassal’s Stand-Up Comedy Work Helped Him On Adults
“I just try to not do too much and not pour water over the whole thing.”
ScreenRant: This is your first series regular role, but you’ve done stand-up comedy. Do you feel like that has helped your performance at all, or do you think that they’re two different beasts?
Malik Elassal: I’ve always wanted to get a part like this that I could really stick around with for a little bit. I’ve played guys that are in a couple episodes, but they ultimately get shot in the head, so it’s been nice to remain alive through the series. I think it’s all kind of one thing. I just try to do my thing. I feel like they both help each other. I just try to not do too much and not pour water over the whole thing. Stand-up definitely helps.
I don’t know how much you’ve seen the reactions to Adults, but everyone is talking about how relatable it is. Is there a moment you related to most?
Malik Elassal: I would say Samir’s bank scene in the first episode. Maybe not so much now, but when I was in my earlier, earlier twenties, I remember feeling like I’m going to go to the bank, and they’re going to be like, “Are you a f*cking idiot?” And everybody’s going to be like, “Come look at this guy. He thought he was going to do this.” It’s like that “everybody’s going to laugh at you” feeling.
Samir tried to get a job this season, and he did, but then he mooned them, and he lost it. He’s making deliveries now, but what would you like to see for him career-wise?
Malik Elassal: I hope he gets on one of those electric bikes that couriers get to ride. There are a bunch of guys in New York that drive really fast electric bikes in the bike lane with their hands in these plastic glove things to keep them from getting cold, and I really could see Samir just kind of ripping on one of those things.
I feel like it’s a staple of shows like these to start by bringing someone new into the fold. How do you think Paul Baker has changed the dynamic of the friend group?
Malik Elassal: Everybody loves Paul Baker. That’s the thing. We just added more love to the pot. For Samir, he found a brother. Samir’s character only has sisters, so the fact that he has Paul Baker—you can see it in episode five. They’re going little brother mode with each other, they’re hyping each other up, they’re acting like kids. I think for Samir’s character, he’s just an outlet. While everybody’s trying to grow up with Paul Baker, he gets to not grow up with him.
Elassal Isn’t Sure What The Future Holds For Samir And Billie
“I think the world is kind of wide open.”
Fans are talking a lot about Samir and Billy. Would you like to see that explored, or would you like it to stay platonic?
Malik Elassal: It’s up to just how Ben and Rebecca want to take this thing. I think the world is kind of wide open. Billie and Samir are good friends. We don’t know what’s going to happen. You’ve seen in the show that we don’t know what’s going to happen, and that’s kind of the thing about being in your younger twenties.
You’re just moving with the wind. I’ve had that where it’s like, you’re just friends with somebody, and then just one night randomly, you’re like, “Oh, we’re dating now.” It’s all very fluid and co-dependent. So I don’t know what’s going to happen. Listen, if people want stuff to happen, I think it’s really up to the fans to make enough fan edits of things that they want to see, and then hopefully the writers see all those edits. [Laughs]
Samir is with Carly right now. They both had a similar toilet clogging issue, so it seems like the perfect match. What do you hope the future holds for them?
Malik Elassal: I just hope that they’re good for each other. It’s one of those things where I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s your younger twenties. You don’t know who’s going to stay with who. Maybe she’s going to be dating Anton by the end of the season. [Laughs] We have no idea.
You obviously had some incredible guest stars this season, including Charlie Cox. How was working with them?
Malik Elassal: Working with Charlie was such a dream come true. I was having some random night where I was going through old pictures and stuff like that, and I was going through older texts with one of my best friends. I really loved Daredevil. I loved Daredevil back in the day. So I wrote Daredevil in the thing, and I wrote in 2015 to my best friend, like, “Hey, dude, I’m obsessed with Daredevil. I can’t stop watching the show.”
And so just to be in a scene with that guy was such a trip. It was such a cool feeling to be able to work with him, and he’s such a present actor. He’s so funny and so just right there with you that everything we did was just so fun. Every take that we did, I felt like he did something that was one of the best things I’ve ever seen.
Elassal Felt Something “Brewing” Between Paul Banker And Anton
“I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s what this all has been this whole time.’ It was completely shocking, them getting together.”
My only qualm with the season is that Samir did not get to take part in the live performance of Popcorn Forest: Abridged. How do we get a second show?
Malik Elassal: I like Samir as the director of Popcorn Forest. I want Samir in a chair being like, “You. Spin.”
Were you able to get through it in one take?
Malik Elassal: Oh no. Absolutely not. That was a really specifically fun day on set because whenever they were doing it, I was specifically trying to make them laugh. I was really trying to get them to break, and then when the coverage was on me watching them, they were trying to get me to break, so everyone was just being filthy. Everyone was being literally so crass like the crasses things and the crasses act outs you’ve ever seen in your life to try to get me to break. I didn’t break.
Now, let’s talk about the finale because there were quite a few unexpected moments. What surprised you most when you read the script?
Malik Elassal: When I first read it, I had been feeling the brewing of the Paul Baker and Anton stuff. It’d be a little bit here in this episode, but it was between them, and it’s not my scenes ever really that that stuff is happening in. I see it.
Much like the character, I’m like, “Oh, okay, what was that? Whatever.” It’s just kind of a little thing here, a little thing there, and then by the time it’s happening in front of you, I felt like the character. I’m like, “Oh, that’s what this all has been this whole time.” It was completely shocking, them getting together.
We all have our fingers crossed for season 2. Is there a storyline that you would like to see explored for Samir if the show gets renewed?
Malik Elassal: I want to have an episode with Samir and Issa. Samir and Issa are friends from college, and we need an episode of them reconnecting, kind of being like, “Hey, we haven’t really hung out so much in the last little bit. We’re living together, but we’re not hanging out, so we got to make a point to hang out.”
I would like to see a Samir and Issa hang out episode—a rekindling of their friendship episode. I really want to see that, obviously, and more Samir and Paul Baker episodes. We’ve got to get some more of those. Those are my favorite. Those are the best. I love doing those with Jack.
About FX’s Adults Season 1
Created By Ben Kronengold And Rebecca Shaw
FX’s Adults is an ensemble comedy series about a group of twenty-somethings in New York trying to be good people, despite being neither “good” nor “people” yet. “Samir” (Malik Elassal), “Billie” (Lucy Freyer), “Paul Baker” (Jack Innanen), “Issa” (Amita Rao) and “Anton” (Owen Thiele) are five friends crashing together in Samir’s childhood home, where they share their meals, anxieties and, occasionally, toothbrushes.
All eight episodes of Adults are currently available to stream on Hulu.
Adults
5/10
- Release Date
-
May 28, 2025
