Adulthood, our favorite of the group, centers on four best friends living in Astoria, Queens. There’s Rob, an anonymous dating guru who can’t keep his own love life under control; Freddy, a single dad on the journey of becoming a successful actor; Scott, a struggling musician who is moving to New York City with his girlfriend, and Clint, a bachelor in love with his paid escort. In the pilot these guys are about to embark on the greatest challenge they’ve ever faced: their thirties. It’s all about four men who’ve hit a milestone in their lives and are slowly but surely coming to terms with the challenges of growing up, especially navigating relationships and making big changes for themselves. Adulthood does something that a lot of comedies never seem to get right: It develops a strong sense of familiarity and sincerity while also delivering plenty of funny and some genuinely heartfelt moments.
We spoke with Adulthood’s creator, writer, director and star Rob Alicea (pictured below right with Zebedee Row, left, and Scott Rocco) and asked why he chose the NYLFF to premiere his series. “As a born and raised Latin New York writer and director, there was no better place!” he said with great enthusiasm.
“While there have been several great buddy comedy series like Entourage and The Big Bang Theory, there were many stories my friends and I simply could not relate to,” he said when asked about the inspiration behind creating Adulthood. “When we’re going through something we look to television or movies that depict what we’re feeling so as to not feel so alone ... and if those stories don’t exist, we feel it’s our duty as filmmakers to tell them.
“[These characters] want love and to be in love but are still figuring out how to make that happen without losing themselves and each other in the process,” Alicea continued. “Perhaps scarier than the idea of growing up is that maybe they will have to do it without one another.” Freddy Giorlando (pictured below), who produced Adulthood along with Alicea and Rocco, also stars.
Next up was the five-minute pilot Granny, which is the epitome of the “snack-size content” that actor and app developer Allen Maldonado mentioned in