Ever since this Hulu comedy aired, I seen nothing but praise for it, so I figured it was finally time to check PEN15 out! Straight off the bat I could understand why critics loved this show, but I imagine the casual viewer was probably extremely uncomfortable by most of this show. I personally found myself somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, although the first half of the second season really got me hooked.
The concept of this show is sort of bonkers, and the writers and creators, Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, would probably be inclined to agree with you! The par now in their early thirties met in college and have had this show brewing for quite some time. Kudos to Hulu for believing in their extremely unique vision! And by unique I mean that Maya and Anna play characters with their same names. They are also reliving their middle school days as their middle school selves, but the rest of the cast are actually all around thirteen. So strange! I will say though that there were moments when they totally looked like they belonged and then other times where it was a little obvious they were a lot older.
This show also takes place during the time when they were in middle school, so that takes us back to the year 2000. I was a few years off from them, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t immediately recognize everything they threw in there, like butterfly hair clips, AIM (although I never had it), and the band B*Witched. Even Anna’s hair threw me back to that time! It was honestly pulled off perfectly. Aside from getting the setting right, they also tackled topics that middle schoolers all faced for the most part, like getting your period, having ridiculous crushes, and weeknight sleepovers. Of course, some super awkward topics were covered, too, like discovering masturbation, but I applaud them for trying to make taboo and embarrassing topics less so.
Anna and Maya also have the middle school personalities perfected. They are in that strange limbo stage where you still just want to act like a spoiled kid (and most times they do), and want to be treated as adults (swearing and AIMing strange men). Their dynamic together though is magnetic, and despite all of the insane stuff that they do and idiotic fights that they get in, Maya and Anna are truly best friends, and I have no doubt that no matter how long this show exists, that will always be the case. They get each other on a very deep level and put their friendship above even their families most of the time. I’m sure most of us can think back to that time in our lives and completely relate.
Like I said, I’m hanging out somewhere in the middle of the appreciation scale for this show, but I’ll definitely be tuning into the second half of the most recent season. If you want to give it a go, I highly recommend the episode “AIM” from the first season, and the second season opener, “Pool.” Those really epitomize the experience you’re going to have with the rest of the series, and also, if you’re hanging out in your late twenties and early thirties, it’s going to throw you back to the nightmare days of middle school. Enjoy!