#jesse walker

for starters, this show marked a big part of bringing back longer-format sitcoms, where seasons lasted 24 episodes and the idea was to follow the characters through several years of their lives, marking major life milestones, etc. it leaned into the comedy, both physical and witty, and allowed its audience the pleasure of following an assorted group of random but very close friends through shenanigans. it had the simple joy of good old fun.

it also seemed like a great example of very casual but genuine representation & diversity. one thing i loved about the show was how there was poc representation & lgbtq+ representation, but that wasn't the only thing those characters were there for. sid was a south asian man, but it didn't define him - even without that he would've been a fleshed out and interesting character. ellen was an east asian lesbian, and the same applied for her. in fact, her journey of self-love was an important part of her story, and yet it was not at all related to either aspect of her identity. (i know they weren't the only examples, but you get it.)

minorities were allowed to exist as humans, without existing only as minorities, which is a box many shows put their characters in, and it was nice to see it done well for a change. yes, it could have had even more diversity, but the point very much still stands, including in the fact that we never saw sophie's son because he could have been any race (a welcomed progression from the characteristic 00s all-white himym cast).

i know lots of people gave the 1st season a shot and didn't come back for the 2nd, because they found it forced and cringey and various other things.

but in s2 the writing and characters found their feet - the jokes were funnier, the stories were more enjoyable, the characters were more lovable, and it was clear that with time the show had grown into itself.