TVSquad

Despite twenty-somethings making up a large part of its fanbase, The Simpsons has never really been about that particular demographic. Rather, the show focuses on the baby boomer generation Homer and Marge more or less belong to, given the ambiguous concept of "time" on the series. After the first few seasons, which were helmed largely by people born in the 1950s, some younger talent was brought in, such as Conan O'Brien and the writing/producing duo of Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein. While this added a welcome new dimension to the series, it still remains largely indifferent to the twenty-something zeitgeist. Young adults aren't absolved from the series' satirical jabs, but the heart of the show has always been about the nuclear family and its many struggles.

In the late nineties, the aforementioned Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein created their own animated series about a young man fresh out of college and living in a trendy neighborhood called Mission Hill. While it would seem two men who had worked on The Simpsons would have a difficult time not carrying over some of the same type of humor, the concept of Mission Hill worked to their advantage, as they were writing lines for an age group The Simpsons didn't delve into all that often.

The series, whose drawing style and animation was very similar to Daria, focused on Andy French, a college grad who shares a loft with Jim, a tall, lanky stoner, and Posey, a detached and soft-spoken free spirit. Essentially, he's leading the kind of aimless, haphazard existence most people lead after graduating college, and he loves it. What he doesn't love is that his younger and much nerdier brother, Kevin, has come to live with him until he finishes high school. Suddenly, Andy has to take on the role of "adult," which puts a serious crimp in his party lifestyle.

The series was one of many that bombed on network TV and was eventually "rescued" by Adult Swim. It began on the WB in 1999 where it wallowed in obscurity, than was brought to Adult Swim around 2001-02, where every episode was aired, including the ones that didn't air on the WB. Like most people, I caught the show when it was on Adult Swim, and as someone who had only been out of college for about three years, the series definitely struck a chord with me. Andy having to deal with his younger brother is great fodder for comedy, but there's more to it than that. He's forced to face the exact same thing all twenty-somethings eventually accept, which is that they're no longer children and like it or not, they've got a whole new set of priorities now. Of course, the show was also hysterical, but there was always more going on below the surface. Like The Graduate, it dealt both poignantly and hilariously with that irresistible current we all struggle against as we're propelled into adulthood.