“I Love LA,” “Adults” and “Overcompensating.” What do these shows all have in common?

They are all shows about young adults navigating our high-tech, high-visibility, high-pressure world; they all appeal to a Generation Z audience and have gained significant traction online; and, interestingly enough, they are all written by millennials.

Though we Gen Zers have done our best to separate ourselves from cheugy millennials, including by making fun of their love of mustaches, now that many Gen Z are no longer teenagers, we have come to identify with our millennial older siblings. Their stories are relatable to us because no matter what generation you come from, sometimes — oftentimes — we all have no idea what we’re doing.

Rachel Sennot’s “I Love LA” tells the story of a talent manager and her influencer best friend trying to make it in Hollywood. But not in the traditional sense, in the new Los Angeles-style — influencer city. 

Across the country and in Queens, New York, the 20-somethings of “Adults” are going through similar struggles as they try to find their way in the Big Apple. Finally, at fictitious Yates University, the younger siblings of “Overcompensating” are figuring out their sexualities and themselves.

While traditional family-friendly broadcast sitcoms like ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” remain Emmy-winning culture shapers, streaming shows featuring over-the-top, micro trend-wearing, brainrot-speaking Zillennials are on the up-and-up, dominating online conversation. Perhaps that’s because they’re all highly satirical, poking fun at the insanity that is and always has been young adulthood, especially in today’s day and age.

As a diehard “Friends” fan, I recognize that this format is nothing new: a group of friends relying on each other to get through the turmoil of the highly glamorized third decade of life has always been a crowd-pleaser. But the overarching theme of our hangout comedies seems to be the importance of friendship rather than relationships — perhaps because more and more Gen Zers are staying single.

While the ’90s studio audience was deeply invested in the will-they-won’t-they Roschel dynamic, the unexpected but adorable Mondler and the could’ve-been-should’ve-been Phoey, sitcom enjoyers today are simply interested in seeing a close-knit group of friends, without needing to promote friend-cest — for the most part. I’m looking at you Anton and Paul Baker!

That being said, the romances that are featured on today’s screens are engaging because they represent a refreshingly diverse range of relationships and dynamics, while still emphasizing that friendship is the most important and fulfilling connection a person can have.

Tallulah of “I Love LA” and her girlfriend, hot chef Tessa, are certainly adorable, and seeing a queer romance between women presented so casually is an encouraging portrait of modern sensibilities. However, relationships do not generally take precedence over friendships in the show.

Another friendship highlight in “I Love LA” is Charlie and Lukas’ relationship. While Charlie initially sees Lukas as a potential love interest after their platonic relationship develops, he learns significantly more from Lukas than he has from anyone else about what it means to be a truly supportive friend.

Similarly, Benny and Carmen’s friendship in “Overcompensating” is such a beautiful portrayal of the freshman-year-of-college bond based on a common desire to fit in, that I don’t even really care whether he and British hunk Miles’ seemingly fated relationship succeeds.

The five main characters of “Adults” — Anton, Issa, Billie, Samir and constantly full-named Paul Baker —  rely on each other to a borderline — oh, who are we kidding — codependent extent, displaying the way that a friend group can be just as all-consuming as a relationship.

While these shows hold up a mirror to Gen Z’s struggles and desires, the characters’ lives don’t mimic ours perfectly. However relatable their experiences are, we are reminded that they live in an idealized world, one that we get to escape to. 

While Gen Z and Millennials move back home with their parents as rent prices rise, we can watch our beloved characters gain their independence. Though the job market is the worst it’s been since the pandemic, Maia and Tallulah get to dress up and attend the fancy Forme dinner.

These shows appeal to a Gen Z audience in their plot as well as their comedy. What makes these shows so funny is the way that the comedy derives from the friends interacting with each other and the world around them in an unapologetically, chronically Gen Z way. The humour is not only in the outrageous situations they are put in, but in the comic language that, however much we’d like to pretend we’re not online enough to understand, we can’t help but giggle at.

Though the oldest millennials are now in their mid-forties — oof — and definitely still cringey, we must let them have just this one thing: they make incredible television that appeals to the next generation.

Nina Kremer is a sophomore writing about comedy in her column, “Comic Relief,” which runs every other Wednesday. She is also Arts & Entertainment Editor at the Daily Trojan.