How I Met Your Mother's Spiritual Successor Returns In 1 Week

Different sitcoms have tried to either take How I Met Your Mother’s place or carry on with its legacy, but only one is its perfect spiritual successor, and it returns in one week with a surprise. Sitcoms continue to be one of the most popular TV genres, and there are always plenty of active sitcoms to enjoy on network TV and streaming. Various sitcoms can be found among the best TV shows of all time, with some shaping the genre, as is the case for I Love Lucy, Friends, and The Office.

One of the best sitcoms of the 2000s and 2010s was How I Met Your Mother, which ran for nine seasons from 2005 to 2014. Despite its disappointing and controversial finale, How I Met Your Mother stands as one of the best sitcoms of all time, and as such, many sitcoms since then have tried to follow in its footsteps. While many have come close to it, the only show that could truly call itself a spiritual successor to How I Met Your Mother is Hulu’s Adults.

Created by Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw, Adults premiered on FX in May 2025 and was very well received by critics and general audiences. Adults was renewed for a second season in October 2025, and it’s set for an August 27, 2026, release on FXX. However, the group is coming back before season 2’s release with a surprise that will be important to better understand their dynamic and what’s to come in the new season.

Adults Is Coming Back With A Prequel Episode Ahead Of Season 2

Adults shares a simple premise like those of the most popular sitcoms. The show follows a group of friends formed by Samir (Malik Elassal), Billie (Lucy Freyer), Issa (Amita Rao), Paul Baker (Jack Innanen), and Anton (Owen Thiele), who live together in Samir’s childhood home unbeknownst to his parents, who are on a long trip. Together, they navigate their young adult years the best way they can, dealing with problems like healthcare, debts, modern dating, and more.

Adults has the classic elements of sitcoms but with up-to-date social issues, stories, settings, and characters, making it fresh and relatable to not just viewers of the same age as the characters but also an older audience. Adults has been praised for its performances, humor, natural charm, and themes, and luckily for its audience, the show is coming back a couple of weeks before season 2’s release with a special episode titled “Marathon Day.”

The particularity of “Marathon Day” is that it’s a prequel episode, which will explore how the group met, as it’s mentioned at different points in the first season that some met in school and others, as is the case for Samir and Billie, have known each other for years. This means that the special episode of Adults will also show how they met Paul Baker, the only Canadian of the group and who almost had to return to Canada when his visa expired at the end of season 1.

More story details about “Marathon Day” are unknown, but it will be key to the lore of Adults, and to understanding the connection between all of them – and, thanks to the ending of season 1, the special episode will also be important to understanding what’s to come in the new episodes.

Adults Prequel Episode Will Be Key To Season 2

Warning: spoilers for Adults season 1.

A special prequel episode for a show that is just about to release its second season might seem premature to some, but it will be an important piece to better understanding season 2. As mentioned above, “Marathon Day” will show how Paul Baker ended up joining the group, meaning viewers will know how his and Isa’s relationship started, as well as how he got along with the rest at the beginning.

This is important as, at the end of Adults season 1, Paul and Anton got married so Paul could stay in the US, and after a kiss, the show implied there might be some feelings between them while Paul and Issa are still together. The episode will also add to the bond between Samir and Billie, as the show implied they could get together at some point if they ever decide to be honest about their feelings for each other.

A prequel episode so early into Adults‘ run is a wise decision, and it will add to the experience of watching season 2 and will help the audience understand future seasons and events a lot better. Adults has a bright future, and, hopefully, season 2 will make way for more seasons.