As published on Caderno B+

When Not Suitable for Work premiered on Disney, comparisons to Friends seemed inevitable. A group of young adults living in Manhattan, trying to balance careers, romance, and the discovery of who they really are. American critics, in fact, initially reacted with a degree of skepticism, accusing the series of being little more than an updated, more diverse version of the classic 1990s sitcom. Audiences, however, saw something different. And they may have been right.

Created by Mindy Kaling, Not Suitable for Work is, in many ways, the natural conclusion of an informal trilogy that began with Never Have I Ever and continued with The Sex Lives of College Girls: an attempt to understand how each generation experiences its own identity crisis. If Kaling’s previous protagonists were discovering who they were during adolescence and college, she has now arrived at the most frightening stage of all: adulthood itself.

The series follows five young professionals living in New York as they struggle to balance demanding careers, unstable relationships, and the constant feeling that everyone else seems to know exactly what they’re doing. AJ Pascarelli, played by Ella Hunt, is an ambitious young woman working in finance who quickly discovers that professional competence does not guarantee happiness. Abby, portrayed by Avantika, tries to reconcile family expectations, romantic relationships, and personal ambitions. Alongside Davis, Josh, and Kel, they form a group that functions less as a collection of protagonists and more as an improvised family, built through friendship and shared vulnerability.

It is precisely within this dynamic that Mindy Kaling’s most recognizable signature emerges. As in The Mindy Project, Never Have I Ever, and The Sex Lives of College Girls, her characters exist in a constant state of tension between who they believe they are, who they want to be, and who the world expects them to become. Their romances are disastrous, their careers frequently disappointing, and their decisions often deeply questionable. But Kaling has always understood that comedy comes less from success than from the desperate attempt to appear successful.

The response from American critics was curious. Many reviewers found the series overly familiar, pointing to similarities with other ensemble comedies set in New York. The praise, however, was almost unanimous when it came to the chemistry of the cast and Kaling’s ability to create characters who feel instantly recognizable and deeply human.

Audiences, on the other hand, responded very differently. Not Suitable for Work quickly became one of Disney’s biggest recent successes, driven largely by social media and by viewers who may never have watched a single episode of Friends, but who instantly recognize the anxiety of belonging to a generation expected to achieve professional success, romantic fulfillment, and emotional stability — all at the same time.

It may be too early to declare Not Suitable for Work the Friends of its generation. Very few series survive the test of time. But something is revealing about the fact that millions of viewers have chosen to follow a story about young adults who have absolutely no idea what they are doing.

In the end, perhaps that was always the real formula behind Friends. It was never simply about six friends living in New York. It was about the comforting realization that no one truly knows how to become an adult. And Not Suitable for Work understands that perfectly.