“The 20s are for figuring your life out!” everyone says. If that’s the case, then how come everyone feels like they have everything figured out except for you?
The 20s can be a challenging time to navigate, as you figure out how to be a semi-functional adult for the first time while balancing friendships, work, bills, and everything in between. These nine shows are here for you to binge-watch and remind you that it all works out. Sometimes, all it takes is a good group of friends and a laugh track to navigate all the wild hijinks that come with the start of adulthood.
1. How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is the classic 20s sitcom, despite the characters ending the show in their mid-thirties. Everyone and their mother has heard of the show. The show follows Ted Mosby’s nine-season story of how he met his wife and the mother of his children. He includes the hijinks of him and his group of friends navigating friendships, work, romance, and life’s twists and turns. This show really is a reminder that everything in life happens for a reason, no matter how tough. The show is a classic and a must-watch. Anything is easier with good friends and a couple of beers from Maclaren’s. Its popularity even led to a spinoff called “How I Met Your Father” staring Hilary Duff.
Where to Watch: Apple TV, Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+
2. New Girl
New Girl is another classic sitcom starring 2000s icon Zooey Deschanel as Jess. Jess, who has recently broken up with her boyfriend, moves in with three guys she found through a Craigslist ad. Jess’s constantly positive attitude, while so deeply entrenched in the manic pixie dream girl of the 2000s, can be a comforting reminder to look on the positive side. The interpersonal relationships will have you on the edge of your seat, while also being fun, lighthearted, and reminding you of a better time: the 2010s. Sometimes all you need are some poka dolts, glitter, a smile, and three strange guy roommates to get you through.
Where to Watch: Apple TV, Prime Video , Hulu, Peacock, Disney+
3. Sex And The City
Another classic, but it’s a must-watch nonetheless. Navigating romance and relationships post-college is one of the most difficult things you’ll ever do. Each character has a distinct perspective on relationships and approaches them in a unique way. If you haven’t watched this sitcom, maybe it’s time for you to figure out if you’re a Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, or Miranda. In the day and age of doom scrolling on Tinder or Hinge, sometimes watching someone else have a worse time than you can make you feel a bit better. At least you’re not in a gut-wrenching, life-destroying situationship! Hopefully.
Where to Watch: Apple TV, Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Max
4. 2 Broke Girls
You most likely have seen clips of the “waitress TV show” on your Instagram reels or playing as background noise on your flight. However, 2 Broke Girls is an amazing sitcom about being there for each other and fighting for your dreams. After Caroline’s family loses all of their wealth, she is forced to get a waitress gig alongside sarcastic Max. The two could not be more different but the two work together to achieve Max’s cupcake dreams. That’s what life is for! If you have lofty dreams, this is the show for you.
Where to Watch: Apple TV
5. Broad City
If the other ones feel a bit too cheesy, then this sitcom is perfect for you. The show follows Abbi and Ilana as they live in New York, trying to make ends as they try to live their best life. Abbi and Ilana are messy and real and throw themselves into some of the craziest situations. Including answering the question we’ve all been dying to know: “What’s the worst that could happen if I answered that one crazy Craigslist ad?” Ilana and Abbi may not always encourage the best in each other, but they are the epitome of living life to the fullest. The show has a darker sense of humor but captures a raw, satirical version of what living your 20s and trying to make ends meet.
Where to Watch: Apple TV, Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, Paramount+
6. Adults
I love this show, but it is as if every Brooklyn living, matcha-drinking, Pilates-going influencer you’ve ever known was cast in a TV show. Although it’s only one season, this show is a must-watch and has been renewed for a second season. The sitcom follows a group of 20-something-year-olds living with Samir’s parents as they navigate the challenges of being adults. The show doesn’t portray them as good people with flaws, but simply as people, which makes them more relatable. It’s gay and campy in the same way Glee is, but if Glee were 20-something-year-olds allowed to swear in New York. No one here is objectively a good person, but then again, who is? Sometimes you have to call it a day and just go home to your messy polycule household, and that’s enough.
Where to Watch: Apple TV, Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+
7. Overcompensating
Another gay, camp TV show for all your adult camp needs. The show follows closeted Benny as he navigates his freshman year of college and struggles with redefining himself in a new setting. The show is a perfect caricature of the freshman year of college, ideal for college freshmen and anyone looking to reminisce about the chaotic and often overwhelming experience that is the first year of college.
Where to Watch: Prime Video
8. Friends From College
This show features a group of Harvard graduates reuniting since college as they navigate nostalgia alongside their professional and personal lives, and maybe dealing with their college drama not so far behind. The show is messy, dramatic, and a little bit more serious than the others, but definitely still funny enough to be considered a sitcom. The show is perfect for those missing their college days, and maybe helps keep that nostalgia in check! While the show features characters who are going into their 40s, the tone and messaging fit in right next to these other sitcoms and can serve as a hope that your life won’t be this messy, but even if it is, it will all be ok. Or maybe I’m just a sucker for anything with Cobie Smulders (Robin in How I Met Your Mother) in it.
Where to Watch: Netflix
9. Community
Ending the list is another college sitcom classic. Set at a community college, a ragtag group of Spanish students form an unlikely study group, comprising students from all different eras of their lives. The group forms unlikely friendships and a plethora of romances. With an amazing and diverse cast, the show truly has something for everyone, showcasing how everyone is simply trying to figure it out. The show has a similar vibe to The Office, with its long-term “will they, won’t they?” dynamic between Brita and Jeff, out-of-pocket humor, and Abed’s breaking the fourth wall. The cast is also star-studded with Donald Glover (Childish Gambino), Chevy Chase (National Lampoon’s Vacation, Caddyshack), and Ken Jeong (The Hangover, Crazy Rich Asians). The show truly embodies what this list is intended to represent. Anything is possible, even passing Spanish, with a good group of friends- I mean, a study group.
Where to Watch: Apple TV , Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock
