Watching and learning the ways of adulthood.
Most of what I thought I knew about adulthood, I learned from sitcoms.
Hi, I’m England, a 21-year-old business administration student at Arizona State University, with a minor in media and content creation. Growing up, shows like New Girl made your twenties look like one long, chaotic roommate adventure: odd jobs, a ridiculously big loft and friends who become family. Now FX’s Adults follows a new group of twentysomethings figuring life out in a very different, very 2020s way. Watching both, I started wondering how much of what TV shows us about growing up is actually true.
That’s what this blog is about. I’ll look at how sitcoms portray young adulthood and what that teaches viewers. How realistic are the jobs, the apartments and the friendships? How has the “friends in the city” show changed over the past decade? And how do streaming, comfort rewatching and viral TikTok clips shape the way we watch in the first place?
I’m not a TV critic or an expert. I’m someone in my twenties who has rewatched New Girl 19 times (yes, I keep count) and is living through the exact stage of life these shows are about. My business classes have me curious about the industry side: how networks market sitcoms to young viewers, why some shows get renewed and others get canceled, and how a show can sell a whole lifestyle. My media and content creation minor has me watching how clips, memes and fan edits keep a show like New Girl alive years after its finale.
I’m writing this for a media literacy course, but my goal is bigger than a grade: to become a more thoughtful viewer and help you become one too.
So grab the remote. Let’s figure out adulthood together, one episode at a time.
