Television series

Twenties

Name: Twenties
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance
Released: 2020
Cast: Jonica T. Gibbs, Christina Elmore, Gabrielle Graham, Sophina Brown, Jevon McFerrin

Coming-of-age

Twenties is a comedy-drama about three Black women in their twenties navigating friendship, ambition, and identity in Los Angeles. It's a show that wants to be funny and touching in equal measure, celebrating queer experience and female friendship with warmth and mess. For viewers who love character-driven comedies with heart and don't need a laugh every thirty seconds.

TVMaze rating

1.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a half-hour comedy about friendship where the banter does the heavy lifting, and romance and ambition get equal airtime alongside the chatter.

Skip it if you need plot momentum, since the episodes wander through conversations and small set-ups rather than building toward much, and the jokes don't always land.

What it asks of you: Half-hour episodes, eighteen across two seasons, so it's easy to fit in, but it wants you to sit with the chatter rather than skim past it.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Insecure2016

Issa Rae's HBO series does exactly what Twenties attempts: balances comedy and genuine vulnerability while exploring Black women's lives with specificity, humor, and real emotional weight across five seasons.

But The early seasons move slowly and prioritize character over plot, which can feel meandering if you want something more propulsive or joke-dense.

Living Single1993

A spiritual ancestor of the friend-group sitcom with a predominantly Black cast. Funny, warm, and genuinely interested in who these women are beyond the jokes—it set the template for shows like this.

But The '90s setting and sitcom pacing will feel dated if you're looking for something more contemporary in rhythm or aesthetic.

Girlfriends2000

Another precursor: Black women's friendship and ambition in their twenties and thirties, mixing comedy with real stakes. Joan Clayton's journey from lawyer to entrepreneur mirrors the career-chasing energy here.

But Eight seasons is a commitment, and the show's tone shifts noticeably—later seasons lose some of the earlier spark and humor.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Twenties

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Pose2018

Both center queer Black female experience and friendship as the real subject. Pose proves that a show can celebrate these lives with complexity, grandeur, and genuine stakes—it's what Twenties is attempting in a different register.

A drama centering queer Black and trans women in 1980s New York, celebrating ballroom culture and chosen family. It has comedy and romance woven through, but it's willing to break your heart—and does so beautifully. Landmark television.

But It's a period piece with serious dramatic weight, including storylines about AIDS and poverty; if you want lightness or contemporary setting, this is heavy and historical.

The Mindy Project2012

Mindy Kaling's show has the same DNA: a woman at the center of her own narrative, surrounded by friends, juggling romance and work ambitions, leaning into both comedy and genuine emotion without apology.

But The humor is sometimes more cutesy than biting, and the romantic storylines can overshadow the friendship dynamics some viewers prefer.

Broad City2014

Two women's friendship is the actual plot. It's funny, it celebrates female desire and ambition unapologetically, and it trusts the audience to sit with weird moments and genuine emotion alongside the jokes.

But The humor is more absurdist and experimental; if you want straightforward storytelling, this will feel scattered and indulgent.

Queen Sugar2016

Ava DuVernay's drama about three siblings and their family business is ambitious and serious in a way that shows you don't have to choose between comedy and real consequences. Beautiful production, complex characters.

But It's much more melodrama than comedy, and the soap-opera rhythms and extended storylines aren't for everyone looking for lighter fare.

Tracey Ullman's Show2016

A sketch comedy with genuine warmth and character depth beneath the jokes. It understands how to make comedy that doesn't undercut emotion, and celebrates women's specificity with real affection.

But Sketch shows are uneven by design, and if you want a continuous narrative with the same characters, this fragmented format won't scratch that itch.

Never Have I Ever2020

Mindy Kaling's coming-of-age comedy balances humor and heart while centering a teen girl's ambitions, sexuality, and friendship with warmth and genuine laughs. It nails the tone Twenties is reaching for.

But The high school setting might feel too young, and some viewers find the narrator's voice patronizing or the attempts at earnestness saccharine.

PEN152019

A half-hour comedy about friendship, identity, and growing up with real emotional stakes. It's quirky without being precious, and genuinely funny while taking its characters' inner lives seriously.

But The show has a small but devoted audience and feels deliberately rough around the edges; some will find that charming, others sloppy or incomplete.

Chewing Gum2015

Both are about young Black women claiming their own narratives and centering female friendship. Chewing Gum does it with more formal daring and a willingness to be strange—it's proof the premise can contain more risk.

Michaela Coel's comedy-drama about a young Black woman in London—her sexuality, her friendships, her faith, her ambitions. It's funny and surreal and tender and furious all at once. A genuine original.

But It's deliberately weird and formally experimental, with a British setting and reference points; American viewers might find it disorienting or find the humor doesn't land the same way.

Daria1997

Both understand that the real story is the friendship between women and what they want from life. Daria does it with wit and genuine affection, proving you can make something that respects its characters and still makes you laugh.

An animated comedy about female friendship, ambition, and identity that's genuinely funny and genuinely warm. It respects its characters' inner lives and never punches down. Nineteen years later and it still holds up perfectly.

But It's a '90s cartoon about high school, which will feel aesthetically remote; the humor is dry and understated rather than broad, and some will find it cold or dated.