The story
It is the year 2000, and best friends Maya and Anna are starting seventh grade firmly at the bottom of the social ladder. Played by the show's two adult co-creators amid a cast of genuine 13-year-olds, they lurch through first crushes, sleepovers and early internet chat rooms, where every humiliation feels like the end of the world and their friendship is the only thing that makes middle school bearable.
Why it matters
PEN15 turned an audacious casting gimmick into something tender, a Hulu original that showed streaming's appetite for specific, creator-led comedy. Two women in their thirties playing their 13-year-old selves alongside real teenagers produced a cringe comedy that critics praised for its sensitivity about growing up.
Notable facts
- Erskine and Konkle were both 31 when the first season began, playing versions of themselves aged 13. (source)
- The show draws on the creators' own childhoods, though in real life they did not meet until college. (source)
- Its executive producers include Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. (source)
- It was originally meant to run for three seasons, but the pandemic badly delayed filming of the second. (source)