‘Adults’ Star Amita Rao Is Not Issa, But She Sure Loves Playing Her

When it comes to television comedies, season two is when things start to get interesting. Adults star Amita Rao feels the sentiment’s true for the FX comedy, which returned for its second season yesterday (Aug. 27).

The 27-year-old actress and comedian plays Issa, the delightfully confident and outrageously funny member of the core Adults gang. When season one ended, Issa’s boyfriend Paul Baker, played by Jack Innanen, marries another member of the group Anton, played by Owen Thiele, in order to stay in the country — Paul Baker, always first and last name, is Canadian much like Innanen. Related Stories Next Big Thing 'The Last Sunrise' Star Maia Reficco Is Finally Facing Her Fears Next Big Thing Jonathan Daviss Thinks You Will Be Surprised With His Post-'Outer Banks' Role

The only problem is that Paul Baker and Anton have palpable chemistry with one another that even Issa can’t deny, and that dynamic plays big into the wildly funny second season of the show. The love triangle has been done before in comedies, and Rao’s more interested in dynamics outside of the romantic relationship.

“What was always been interesting to me was the tension between Issa and Anton as best friends,” Rao tells The Hollywood Reporter on a recent Zoom. “Me and Owen had a lot of fun talking about what was said and unsaid behind the scenes because it never really made sense to us that they wouldn’t have debriefed about this.”