Owen Thiele on Tinder, “Adults” and a “13 Going on 30” Sequel

By Elena Vasquez

Owen Thiele stars in Tinder’s Group Hangouts campaign, 10 years into his relationship with celebrity stylist Jared Ellner. In the interview, Thiele described Group Hangouts as a feature that lets groups of friends meet other groups.

What does Tinder’s Group Hangouts campaign show?

Twin sisters Fa and Fon Watkins directed the spot, according to Thiele. He said they proposed bird-watching as people-watching, with Thiele channeling Sir David Attenborough as observer and narrator. Thiele said the premise follows Gen Z dating in the wild and what happens when people start meeting through Group Hangouts.

Across the campaign spot, the 10-year relationship supplies a comic counterpoint to a service designed to help groups of friends meet other groups through Group Hangouts.

The assignment also revived an earlier, accidental connection to Tinder. Thiele said: “I’ve never told anyone this, but when Jared and I were dating for just a few months, a Tinder representative asked us to do a campaign for them.” He said a photo shoot cropped out both faces and left only their interlocked hands. Their hands therefore remain somewhere on a Tinder ad, he noted.

Thiele also said Tinder had run ads on his podcast and had been a collaborative partner. Fa and Fon came up with bird-watching as people-watching; he said he would sit in a park and read strangers all day, so he signed on immediately.

He declined a British accent, joking that Tinder would have taken a fall and its stock would have fallen.

Thiele said he has not been in the dating pool for a second during those 10 years. Most of his friends are single, and he said his repeated matchmaking rarely succeeds. He also said he should not be in charge of matchmaking.

One introduction has lasted eight years: a friend he set up is dating another friend he introduced. Group Hangouts now gives his friends an alternative to his own attempts.

The practical pitch is that his single friends can use Group Hangouts instead of relying on his matchmaking.

Will Anton and Paul Baker become a couple?

Anton and Paul Baker kiss at the end of “Adults” Season 2, but a third season has not yet received a greenlight, according to comments Thiele made in the interview. He said the writers reveal nothing during interviews, describing that practice as deliberate. If they had told him the outcome, Thiele said he would have announced that Anton and Paul Baker were getting married.

Thiele described the characters’ communication as honest, open and real. He said their dynamic benefits from the will-they-won’t-they tension, then questioned what would happen once it disappeared. His characterization of Anton was blunt: Anton is volatile, yells constantly and screams, Thiele said. He offered no prediction for Paul or their relationship.

Thiele’s answer remains unresolved: he does not know whether Anton and Paul will become a couple.

For viewers, the romance remains open because the third season has no greenlight.

What changes in the “13 Going on 30” sequel?

Thiele said he was nervous about trying to live up to “13 Going on 30,” the film he loves. He immediately separated the sequel from the original: he called it a new thing, not an attempt to reproduce the iconic film everyone knows. Thiele said he feels lucky to join its lineage.

During a discussion of Jennifer Garner’s walk-on, Thiele said he had already left for the day. He said he saw a black Escalade as he drove away, tried to turn back, and was stopped when a security guard said the lot had no open spots.

Thiele sees the sequel as a new story within a beloved franchise, not a remake of the original.

How did Molly Gordon shape “Peaked”?

“Peaked” is an A24 comedy directed by Thiele’s childhood friend Molly Gordon, according to Thiele. He traced their working relationship to age 2, when Gordon directed him in “Beauty and the Beast” at the Adderley School. Gordon is one year older, Thiele said, and he remembers her telling him where to stand.

Podcast guest Connor Storrie also appears in the film. Thiele said he remained on set for Storrie’s scenes, unlike on the day he missed Jennifer Garner. The two shared a few scenes together. Thiele said he brings up Storrie in every interview, whether accidentally or deliberately.

He also said a recent Twitter tally tracked how often he mentions Storrie. When he first saw it, he thought it had to be false, but he found proof for every appearance. Following the success of “Heated Rivalry,” Thiele described Storrie as humble, down-to-earth, wonderful, collaborative and deeply concerned with making Gordon happy on the A24 comedy “Peaked.”

In a scene where Thiele had one line, Storrie asked, “Am I giving you what you need?” Thiele called Storrie a very well-trained actor and said he learned from him, despite coming from an improv background in which performers constantly cut each other off.

The film brings together a two-year-old friendship and an actor-director collaboration built around care for even a single line.

Thiele’s confirmed work spans the Group Hangouts campaign, “Peaked” and the “13 Going on 30” sequel; Anton and Paul Baker’s on-screen future remains tied to an “Adults” Season 3 greenlight.