Did You Know the Show “Adults” Has a Lebanese Actor?

FX’s new show Adults (2025) is now streaming on Disney+. It follows a group of tight-knit 20-somethings living in the same house, navigating adulthood and all the chaotic hijinks that come with it. The show is a chaotic Gen Z satire with a similar premise to New Girl (2007). 

The cast includes Lucy Freyer, Jack Innanen, Amita Rao, Malik Elassal, and Owen Thiele. Guest stars on the show include Charlie Cox, D’Arcy Carden, Seth Barrish, and Julia Fox.

But did you know that Malik Elassal, the actor who plays Samir on the show, is actually Lebanese? Samir’s nationality is never officially revealed to be Lebanese on the show, but it’s implied to be Arab. In the show, the house all the main characters live in is Samir’s childhood home. The group of friends live there while Samir’s parents are traveling across the country.

Personal Life

Elassal’s family originated from Lebanon, even though he was raised in Canada. During a stand-up performance, Elassal recounted stories his mother told him about growing up in Lebanon, and what it was like for her as a hijabi in the West.

He also talked about his own experience growing up Muslim in Canada and going to an Islamic private school. He made jokes about how his teachers and the Imam didn’t understand his desire to pursue comedy as a career.

Career

Shortly after graduating high school and reportedly dropping out of college (twice), Malik Elassal began pursuing a career as a stand-up comic. In 2022, Elassal was named one of the New Faces of Comedy in the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival.

In 2023, Elassal appeared on CBC’s stand-up comedy show The New Wave of Stand Up. The following year, Vulture featured him in their list of “Comedians You Should and Will Know” for 2024.

As for acting, Elassal had minor roles in television shows like Resident Alien, Joe Pickett, Fortunate Son, and Fakeland.

Adults (2025)

Adults is FX’s new comedy series, created by the Tonight Show writers Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw and executive producer Nick Kroll. Elassal plays Samir, one of the titular core characters in the satirical Gen Z sitcom.

Samir and his friends go through various trials and tribulations that encompass what it’s like being completely lost in your 20s. Samir goes through various comedic hardships between trying to get a job without mooning his employers, to trying to maintain relationships by not clogging the toilet.

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