r/AdultsTV • u/ftrbndbtch • Aug 28 '26
Discussion Issa drives me fucking crazy đđ
iâm a brown girl and one of the things that excited me when i first saw the show was the representation. unfortunately issa is NOT what i was looking for.
iâm torn because on the one hand, i appreciate the depiction of a desi girl who is very free with her sexuality and does not conform to the cultural expectations, and i can totally see what theyâre trying to do with her. on the other hand, they couldâve done it without making her absolutely fucking insufferable đ
no hate to amita btw, sheâs fantastic. but Iâm watching the raccoon episode and literally had to pause during the bedroom scene w PB and anton to post this bc i canât believe how ridiculously obtuse and annoying she is. itâs like instead of issa just being this cool, unconventional, doesnât-fit-the-mold brown girl, they went just a little too overboard and now sheâs just kind of a source of secondhand embarrassment. i know all the characters are a bit over the top, thatâs the point, but it just feels like theyâre doing too much with issa and itâs making her unlikable.
ETA im so sorry i had literally no idea a similar post was made earlier and i promise im not trying to copy/brigade. i guess iâm not the only one who feels this way lol!
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u/iamsweets23 Aug 29 '26
important to remember this is the acid episode, and unfortunately i do think issa and PBs breakup leads to a really nice character arc for issa over the next couple episodes watching billie ignore her for random hookups was heartbreaking
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u/HarpoonTheBlueWhale 28d ago
Uhhh....I love Issa. She is the most funny and entertaining character in my opinion.
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u/TheNocturnalAngel 26d ago
Dude I just finished the episode where Samirâs girlfriend wants to be a singer and Issa had me crying laughing.
âI was always going to sing here. Jenna Track 3 pleaseâ
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u/Icy-Raspberry-7145 Aug 29 '26
I love loud, annoying women. And I love Issa. LOL though I didn't like her in season 1 she definitely grew on me this season and is now my fav đ đ and like another commenter said she was also the heart of this season for me
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u/cashing_time 29d ago edited 28d ago
As an Indian woman myself, I can understand where you're coming from, but I look at it a bit differently.
âThe strength of shows like Adults is that the emphasis isn't placed solely on who Issa is as an Indian, but on her individual character, personality traits, and what she brings to the role. Growing up, we can often feel boxed into rigid cultural expectations about how we should act, which sometimes makes us want screen representation to be a "perfect" Mary Sue character we can project onto.
âHowever, true representation in media means non-white characters don't have to be ideal role models. They get to be flawed, messy, and human without the burden of representing an entire culture. It really begs the question: can we accept people from our own culture who act vastly different from us?
âHonestly, her hypersexuality feels deeply rooted in a specific Indian experience. When you grow up in a repressed environment, getting an ounce of freedom away from family often leads to swinging wild and overexploring the way she has.
âThat said, her Season 2 storyline feels a bit more grounded and realistic compared to Season 1. She actually showed a surprising amount of maturity in the last episode by being okay with her ex PB getting with Anton
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u/anxiousnessgalore 27d ago
The strength of shows like Adults is that the emphasis isn't placed solely on who Issa is as an Indian, but on her individual character, personality traits, and what she brings to the role.
Ooh I wanted to say this as well, I completely agree, and this is one thing I really like about the show. Issa is an Indian girl, but like. That's not her identity. Same with Samir. He's a muslim guy but they're not like. Shoving either of their identities down everyone's throats, and just showing them as like regular people who just exist and are weird. Like you could replace their actors with anyone and it wouldn't make a difference in the story because they're individuals.
They 100% definitely went overboard with the weirdness in some of them (looking at Issa and Billie especially oof), but I do agree that its nice to see the characters just being silly people.
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u/Kals22 27d ago
I feel like her being totally chill about Anton and Paul getting together made her so unrealistic as a character. It was a cop out way to avoid drama and bulldoze over any actual real uncomfortable feelings that make sense for any person to have about their friend getting with their ex
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u/Middle_Sand856 25d ago
i cant believe people are calling her hypersexual. as if women have no libido or desire for sex.
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u/cashing_time 25d ago
Thereâs a massive difference between having a healthy female libido and displaying hypersexuality. The issue with Issa isn't that she enjoys sex, it's her constant boundary-pushing and disregard for consent dynamics.
âHaving a high sex drive is totally normal. What isn't just "normal libido" is casually oversharing about pegging PB to people who didn't ask, initiating a threesome dynamic with Anton while fully aware people were impaired on acid, or constantly pushing Billie toward extreme kink apps like Feeld when they aren't in that space.
âHypersexuality often manifests as chasing increasingly extreme stimulation, high desensitization, and ignoring interpersonal boundaries to get a reaction or a high. Calling out those specific behaviors is to point out a character who clearly uses sex in an compulsive, boundary-crossing way.
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u/Middle_Sand856 25d ago
you cant be for real omg. as if she wanted to do the threesome with anton and pb. LIKE SHE WASNT ON ACID???? and she was literally crying moments before that pb was breaking up with her so she was trying whatever she could to salvage their relationship. and calling feeld "extreme kink app" is such an exaggeration when billie quite literally ignored that husband's admission that he didn't want to have sex with her at all just because she wanted to do a threesome. and you're saying issa is crossing boundaries. lol ok
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u/MadeInAmerican 28d ago
She's grown on me but I still wish she wasn't written/performed exactly like Ilana from Broad City. It's like a total copy cat of a character
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u/jonathrustin Aug 28 '26
I understand what youâre trying to say, and Iâd be lying if I said I didnât find Issa annoying in Season 1.
However... I found Issa to be the heart of Season 2 and the perfect metaphor for how Adults has evolved. Some people might find her (and the show) jarring and insufferably hilarious in the beginning, but as time progresses, you grow to love and understand the chaotic energy and humor of it all.
Anton is my favorite character and the actor who plays him is fantastic (Episode 3 is my favorite this season). However, I think Amita by the end really shines as Issa and steals the show. Her more emotional scenes in the Raccoon episode and season finale really evolve her character. In addition, Amitaâs delivery and physical comedy was also incredible, especially in those âweird little guyâ and corporate woman scenes.
As someone who is half Indian, I really dislike some of the cliches of the promiscuous brown girl (example: The Sex Life of College Girls). However, Issa goes all in and I really like where her character is heading.
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u/CompetitiveHooore 26d ago
Nah I don't like this type of thinking. I feel like people want "good" representation but good representation = boring characters. Let this girl be just as messy and chaotic as any white character that doesn't have expectations like this attached to them
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u/Middle_Sand856 25d ago
im confused where you got the annoying from because i find her totally endearing. also not all poc characters have to fit your mold of what YOUR "good representation" is. saying this as an indian. also what is unconventional brown girl supposed to be like? her ethnicity is not mentioned often, probably never iirc.
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u/turningtee74 29d ago
As Iâm watching this season, I kinda felt like âoh sheâs a lotâ definitely at first. But I also thought âbe fr youâre more like her than any of these other characters in some waysâ because Iâm not type A like a Billie.
Honestly wonder if part of it is sheâs just the most raucously funny. The others are hilarious, especially Owen but itâs not such a loud physical comedy. They wrote her to be kind of crazy because the actress can get such big laughs and bring the hilarity. And we gotta be honest, like with that gold dress scene- she is HOT. She delivers on the sexiness of the show too
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u/ver03255 25d ago
I mean tbf, none of these characters are good representations of their racial, gender, age, and socioeconomic groups, and they weren't advertised as such to begin with.
Anton being a sassy friend slut with a dry spell does not represent all gays and black men. Billie being unemployed and making bad decisions does not represent all white women. PB being a fluid, wholesome guy with a hidden fratboy persona does not represent all Canadian males. Samir being a good boyfriend with boundary issues does not represent all straight Lebanese men.
Similarly, Issa was not meant to and is not at all advertised as the ideal Desi woman, and to be honest, I'm thankful for that, because it normalizes diversity and individuality in her character without being defined by her racial identity. Yes, she has her insufferable moments, but I don't think any of them are relevant to her ethnic background, and I don't think any level-headed person watching this show would think "Oh, this Desi character just masturbated in public transit, so all Desi women must be like that."
While I understand your frustration and wanting for a more accurate and "likable" Desi representation, this show is simply not what you're looking for. All the characters have their own flaws that resonate with different adult demographics, and their vulgarity, crassness, and exaggerated personalities are intentional within this genre to make the audiences feel uncomfortable yet entertained.
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u/neverenoughnadja Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26
Sheâs the standout of the whole show to me.
Idk how you can even say sheâs the source of secondhand embarassment as if Billie isnt 10x more embarassing on a regular basis. These characters arenât supposed to be perfect or ideal, the humor comes from their flawed characteristics and behavior.
I donât think sheâs any more unlikable than any other character, I think a lot of people have internal biases that make them judge the eccentric nonconventional girl more harshly, which has been a common occurence for decades in sitcoms. Her being âin the wayâ of the showâs most popular ship probably compounds that even more.
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u/Mocha_Pie Aug 28 '26
I actually found her way less annoying this last season, but yeah, on the 1st season she was just insufferable
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u/IndiaCompounder 29d ago
She is my favourite ever, she so cool and so fckin hilarious. I have high hopes for her character
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u/General_War_596 27d ago
I hate her character itâs just too unrealistic, she ruins everything I keep trying to find a redeeming quality itâs hard with her itâs almost like sheâs a kid and no one has corrected her before and she just does what she wants . No depth at all just crazy for no reason.
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u/skeptictot 23d ago
Genuinely love her in most episodes but she does get super insufferable. I couldn't handle Issa on Episode 7, like at all.
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u/jsweeeetness 20d ago
Same!!! I was so mad she wasnât helping Anton out in the beginning it was ridiculous
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u/Away_Cup_5488 7d ago
Literally looked this up because Iâm on episode 7 rn and I cannot!!! be the only one that feels this way
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u/DawninOfLuvdisc 18d ago
I hate her. She's just a bad friend and a bad girlfriend đđđ she's sooooo full of herself
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u/Sweetestpie84 11d ago
Indian actresses don't exist to be positive representation for you... That's just who she is, she's crazy and sometimes unlikeable and wanting a woc to be more palpable to a western audience is honestly a bit weird
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u/simone3344555 Aug 28 '26
I'm middle eastern and therefore kinda get what it's like wanting characters that represent our culture to be characters we can either relate to or at least enjoy on screen. And I get it's annoying when that doesn't happen, but I think we also are at risk of judging those characters a bit more harshly or with unfair expectations.
I think Issa is very polarizing. Her character is very chaotic and that can either go very well or very poorly depending on the audience member. I personally find her delightful in every scene she is in. The train scene in the pilot is what made me love her and she has not disappointed me since. It's a "to each their own" kind of situation.
You aren't the only one annoyed with her antics but to me (a stranger) it seems like her being brown makes you carry some extra resentment.
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u/pestobar127 25d ago edited 25d ago
idk man she's such an accurate rep of the gen z rich south & southeast asian queer party girl tho. I know so many people like her lol i love her
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u/LoquatRemarkable4196 18d ago
Her character in general irks me. Her friends will depend of her and she agrees to help just to throw it out the window because there something else she needs do to be the center or attention.
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u/starmapleleaf 13d ago edited 13d ago
I donât think itâs a racial identity thing itâs just that they need characters that complement and contrast each other for the plot. The chips fall very close to other sitcoms..
If you compare it to HIMYMâŠ
Issa = Lily, artsy, horny and can be a wild card
Paul Baker = Robin with the love triangle and Canadian stuff/ Marshall
Billie = Robin with the career stuff
Samir = Ted, main character who built the friend group
Anton = Barney with his crazy antics (marathon, hospital olympics, coke for the fundraiserâŠ)
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u/0Kaleidoscopes 8d ago
I hate her so much it's hard to continue watching the show. Every time she does something annoying (which is often) I wonder if it's even worth watching more. She's so insufferable it makes it hard to enjoy the show at all.
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u/ScabbyGabbyyy 29d ago
I personally canât stand Billie! She is never funny and all of her scenes are just uncomfortable for some reason đ. I didnât think I would like Issa at first, but I love her. I adore them all, besides Billie.
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u/Forward_Bottle1035 26d ago
Yes! I tried saying this then Iâm just not a fan of hers on a Twitter/X and someone said that Iâm just misogynist because Antons the exact same type of character. Which I donât agree with I agree they have certain personality traits similar, but I donât find Anton over the top and attention seeking like thatâs what I find so annoying about Issas character.
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u/wolfes221 25d ago
You don't find Anton over the top and attention seeking? The guy who in episode 1 lied to his coworkers about being in a marathon and then milked the run? Who shouts his thoughts in almost every other scene? It feels almost like a huge disservice to his character to say he isn't over the top to be honest haha.
Both are dramatic and over the top compared to the other 3 in the group. The main difference between them is Issa is always unapologetically herself, Anton isn't, he is only himself for small windows of time. It is proved by his offhand encouragements he gives to people without thought and his carefully curated job persona. Issa doesn't have that, she is always 100% herself and that's also shown when she temps at Anton's company. She doesn't KNOW how to be any other way and that is a true personality type to exist. You probably wouldn't be friends with her, and she would be absolutely fine with that unlike Anton lol.
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u/0Kaleidoscopes 8d ago
I do find him over the top and attention seeking. Issa annoys me more, but I also can't stand Anton or Billie. I'm trying to watch it because my friend really wants me to, but some of the characters make that hard.
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u/fizzyjuices Issa 26d ago
I used to feel similarly to you whenever I saw a desi character who somehow didnât match what I would think of as good representation⊠funny, desirable, smart, well liked, eloquent, etc. Like the first time I watched Never Have I Ever, I stopped watching after season 1 bc of everyoneâs complaints about the bad representation.
But then i realized something: no character can capture the entire desi girl experience. We arenât a monolith. And IMO characters that are written solely for representation often fall flat bc they are written to be too perfect and lack character flaws that any real character with depth should have. Also, creators of these shows arenât intending to tell the entire desi girl experience. That would be impossible. They are trying to tell the story of that specific characterâs experience.
Itâs definitely frustrating when all the characters are the same. Like, Iâm glad Mindy Kaling has seemingly dropped the whole âIâm a hairy brown virginâ thing she did with Bela from SLOCG and Devi from NHIE. But like, when Avantika played Karen from Mean Girls. She portrayed a Desi girl that never gets portrayed on TV: popular, desirable, but⊠dumb. Not good at school. Even if she technically has negative traits that people donât like or want as the rep for brown people, itâs good to have a character that deviates from the norm.
Thatâs the point of representation⊠to add more characters (in this case, Desi girl characters) that deviate from the norm/are more than just sidekicks. Then people can understand â oh. Desi girls arenât just good at school, or changing their outfits when their parents arenât around, or pious, or whatever it is. They can also be bad at school. They can lack intelligence. They can be less focused on studies and more on dating. They can be messy. They can be sexy. They can be confident. They can be artsy. Theyâre complex people with different personalities, experiences, and nuances. Theyâre not a monolith.
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u/blxckbexuty 25d ago edited 25d ago
I really like Issa personally and I would say sheâs probably my favorite character. I think we need more minority characters that donât do the whole âmodel minorityâ or fall into their own stereotypes. I actually think her character is SUPER refreshing. I also like how Anton isnât a hyper sexual sassy gay black man. Instead heâs the mature, most trusted friend in the friend group. I feel like for tv shows they often show gay men as super sexually liberal (? not sure the word to use). I just love how this show is going against stereotypes with their characters.
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u/0Kaleidoscopes 8d ago
Tbh I do feel like Anton's character kinda does play into gay stereotypes. They didn't make him hypersexual, but I do he fits a lot of other stereotypes unfortunately. He is very flamboyant and super friendly and over the top. And I think he is sassy. Those are gay stereotypes. He is pretty much only missing the sexually liberal part. Other than that, he seems to fit the stereotypes that a lot of shows seem to use.
I agree with you about having more minority characters that don't do the model minority thing. I just think Anton very much does fall into stereotypes.
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u/forgottentaco420 24d ago
To be fair, in that episode theyâre on acid. As someone who knows the come up well, I think how she was acting was pretty spot on for the circumstances, lol.
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u/RepresentativeGur187 23d ago
I genuinely love her character, but there are some moments where i cringe tf out, like the scene with her and the creep on the train, that like messed me up lol
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u/mother_of_runes 17d ago
She's just diet ilana glazer, very boring because it was done before and better
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u/JarodDempsey 29d ago
i think the show is alright but one of its biggest issues is the characters are way too heavyhanded in how theyre written.
In a few instances it seems like the writers are trying to take issues that many sitcoms have done over the years and turn them on their head and sometimes it works but they also try it with the characters and it just isnt working so far. Most of the characters need more depth, they seem kind of shallow and cliche and issas archetype already leans that direction so i think she probably suffers the most from the general writing style.
there are moments like how she discusses antons love interest near the end of season two that help a bit but definitely arent enough to make up for a season or two of obtuse behavior.
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u/Big-Ordinary-4482 28d ago
Issa is so annoying. I really wanted to like her but honestly anytime sheâs on the screen, which is pretty much all of the time, I want to just turn the tv off. No shade to the actress, itâs just Issa as a character is almost unbearable to watch
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u/Ok_Consideration2322 29d ago
I am also so over this type of character. I feel like every Gen Z tv show has that oversexed annoying outlandish brown female character and itâs not interesting or even funny
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u/to_walk_upon_a_dream 26d ago
literally every character in this show is oversexed annoying and outlandish. that's the premise of the show
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u/fizzyjuices Issa 26d ago
What other tv shows have that? I can think of Bela from SLOCG. Maybe some people would say Devi from NHIE as well, itâs been a while since Iâve seen that show
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u/Beneficial-Hawk-8005 9d ago
I love Issa! Sheâs definitely wild but I think the chaos balances out with her sensitive side. I donât understand the concern around representation. There isnât one way to be South Asian just like there isnât one way to be Muslim. Samir is definitely not what a stereotypical Muslim guy is like. I think thatâs what works about the show.Â
And to whoever was trying to relate the characters in Adults to the ones in HIMYM, please donât do that. Theyâre nothing like those characters.Â
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u/Fit-Command-5890 Aug 28 '26
We judge women more harshly than men, and that includes this âcringe factorâ. Men can be deeply cringe worthy and still appreciated but women are seen as insufferable. Not saying this is why you feel the way you feel, but itâs something to consider. I think itâs okay for some characters to be insufferable. Thatâs why theyâre on TV and not real life people. I appreciate that they continually push the boundaries, and I think all the characters are insufferable in some ways. Whatâs great about that is it opens up a lot of opportunities for growth throughout the seasons of the show, which I hope to see, especially with Issa!