Pen15

Pen15 is an American comedy television series, created by Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, and Sam Zvibleman, that premiered on February 8, 2019, on Hulu. The series stars Erskine and Konkle, who also serve as executive producers alongside Zvibleman, Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, Becky Sloviter, Marc Provissiero, Brooke Pobjoy, Debbie Liebling, and Gabe Liedman.

In May 2019, Hulu renewed the series for a second season of fourteen episodes, the first half of which premiered on September 18, 2020. In November 2021, it was reported that the series' second season would be its last.

Pen15 is described as "middle school as it really happened". Erskine and Konkle – who were both 31 years old at the start of season one – "play versions of themselves as 13-year-old social outcasts in the year 2000, surrounded by actual 13-year-olds, where the best day of your life can turn into your worst with the stroke of a gel pen." The show takes its name from a school prank involving tricking someone in to writing the word "PEN15" (which looks like the word “penis”) on their hands, by asking if they want to join the "Pen 15 Club".

Main

 * Maya Erskine as Maya Ishii-Peters, a shy and sensitive Japanese-American seventh-grader who is best friends with Anna and is primarily raised by her mother. Maya can be immature and spontaneous at times, but she makes friends with her class clown behavior.
 * Anna Konkle as Anna Kone, a seventh-grader girl who is best friends with Maya and struggling with her parents' divorce. Anna is the school's best singer and often copes with her home life with music. Anna is more mature than Maya, but also more likely to give in to peer pressure.
 * Mutsuko Erskine as Yuki Ishii-Peters, Maya's stern but caring mother. She is Erskine's mother in real life.
 * Richard Karn as Fred Peters, Maya's musician father who is often on tour with his Steely Dan cover band.
 * Taylor Nichols as Curtis Kone, Anna's father, whom she occasionally finds sleeping on the couch after a fight with his wife.
 * Melora Walters as Kathy Kone, Anna's mother, whose New Age spirituality and high-strung personality clash with her husband.
 * Taj Cross as Sam Zablowski, a carpool friend of both leads who develops a crush on Maya.
 * Dallas Liu as Shuji Ishii-Peters, Maya's older brother and sometimes defender, who tries to be cool and is often seen smoking cannabis outside school.

Recurring

 * Dylan Gage as Gabe Leib
 * Sami Rappoport as Becca
 * Anna Pniowsky as Heather Taylor
 * Ivan Mallon as Ian Walsh
 * Hannah Mae as Connie M
 * Tony Espinosa as Jafeer
 * Brady Allen as Brendan Tooler
 * Jill Basey as Ms. Bell
 * Lincoln Jolly as Alex
 * Brandon Keener as Mr. O
 * Allius Barnes as Evan
 * Marion Van Cuyck as Terra Newback
 * Jessica Pressley as Jessica Abrams
 * David Bowe as Albert
 * Diane Delano as Jan
 * Jonah Beres as Brandt
 * Nathaniel Matulessya as Skyler
 * Katie Silverman as Stevie
 * Brekkan Spens as Ben Field
 * Bernadette Guckin as Mrs. Tooler
 * Tim Russ as Mr. Wyzell
 * Isaac Edwards as Dustin
 * Jennifer Steadman as Suze
 * Carmina Garay as Jenna
 * Ashlee Grubbs as Maura
 * Sara Boustany as Miranda
 * Rebecca Faye Vincent as Marissa H
 * Chau Long as Steve
 * Albert Howell as Principal Ravage
 * Brandon Soo Hoo as Andy Kim
 * Michael Angarano as Greg Rosso
 * Bill Kottkamp as Derrick

Guest

 * Jessy Hodges as Ms. Bennett ("Solo")
 * Laura Kightlinger as Deb Taylor ("Community Service")
 * Annie Korzen as Rose ("Community Service")
 * Noah Mills as Flymiamibro22 ("AIM")
 * Dana Heath as Ashley (“Wild Things”)

Production
On April 19, 2018, Hulu announced that it had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. Erskine and Konkle were also expected to write for the series and Zvibleman was set to direct multiple episodes. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of The Lonely Island, Party Over Here, Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment, and AwesomenessTV. On November 19, 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere on February 8, 2019. Alongside the announcement of the series order, it was confirmed that Erskine and Konkle would star in the series as well. Erskine and Konkle also served as co-showrunners; Zvibleman and Gabe Liedman were also co-showrunners for the first season. On May 1, 2019, it was reported that Hulu renewed the series for a second season, of which the first seven episodes were released on September 18, 2020. The first episode from the second set of seven episodes premiered on August 27, 2021. Originally intended to run for three seasons, the filming of the second season was severely delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and by the conclusion both Erskine and Konkle had new acting roles, as well as parental responsibilities. On November 29, 2021, it was reported that the series' second season would be its final season.

The show is based on the childhood experiences of creators Erskine and Konkle, although in real life they did not meet until they were in college. Erskine, Konkle and Zvibleman originally wanted other teenage characters to be played by adult characters as well, but it was decided that Maya and Anna would be the only ones, as it "just further made [them] like aliens". In sexual scenes, underage actors are switched out with adult stunt doubles.

To reflect the year the show was set in, production designer Grace Alie and set decorator Ali Rubinfeld took inspiration from their own childhoods, using details from their own and their siblings' childhood bedrooms. Inspiration was also taken from old magazines at a library in downtown Los Angeles, along with TV shows from the early 2000s, such as Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Lizzie McGuire. Many items and props were bought from thrift stores in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, and some items, such as Teen Beat magazines and a vintage Unisonic phone, were bought on eBay. The rooms of Anna and Maya were deliberately made to reflect the characters; Maya's room was more messy due to her being "more out-there and experimenting with what is going on inside of her", and the rest of the house "is indicative of a homey and harmonious partnership". Anna's house was designed to reflect her parents slowly getting a divorce, while her room "became, by design, a safe haven".

Budget restraints during season one were "the biggest challenge" according to Alie, who said they "had to be really resourceful and crafty with how we spent our money", while for season two, "we had more money and we got to build all these amazing sets on stage". Location scouting was thus also a challenge due to the budget restraints. When filming scenes in the middle school, whiteboards were replaced with chalkboards.

Release
On November 19, 2018, a video was released announcing the premiere date of the series. On December 20, 2018, a teaser trailer for the series was released. On January 18, 2019, an official trailer and poster were released. The first season was released on Hulu on February 8, 2019, and the first seven episodes of the second season were released on September 18, 2020. The eighth episode of the season was released on August 27, 2021, and the rest premiered on December 3, 2021.

Season 1
On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 94% approval rating with an average rating of 8.04 out of 10 based on 47 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Viewers willing to suspend their disbelief will find much to enjoy in Pen15, wherein Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle reprise their adolescent selves – stirring up plenty of yucks and pathos amidst the farce." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 82 out of 100 based on 17 critics.

Caroline Framke from Variety praised the show for being "written for and by women", and how the show "nails the truly bizarre experience that is being a simultaneously over-confident and incredibly insecure teenage girl". She also praises how the show takes clichés, such as getting caught masturbating, that in coming of age stories are "almost always a boy" and "hands that scene over to a girl". James Poniewozik from The New York Times similarly praises how the show "brashly claims the kind of horny humor that past teen comedies reserved for guys", while also noting that the show "understands that sex comedy isn’t just about sex. In this case, it’s about growing and self-definition and letting go of childhood." Adrian Horton from The Guardian compared the show to "a lived-in, live-action version of Big Mouth" and also saying that though the show has a "studied commitment to the Y2K aesthetic", "plenty of the everyday conundrums of middle school ... are likely to transcend the [millenial] target audience". Tim Goodman from The Hollywood Reporter saw the decision for the show to be set in middle school negatively, saying "maybe the coming-of-age stories pale in comparison to those unfolding ... in high school", comparing it to "Netflix's painfully funny Sex Education", also saying that the show's downside is the "repetitive sketch feel".

Season 2
On Rotten Tomatoes, season two holds a 100% approval rating based on 52 reviews with an average rating of 8.82/10. The critical consensus reads, "An excellent showcase for Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, and their well-cast classmates, Pen15's sophomore season goes deeper into the nuances of middle school life without losing any of its cringey charm." On Metacritic, season 2 received a score of 93 out of 100 based on 11 critical reviews.

Alan Sepinwall from Rolling Stone stated that "by this point in the series’ lifespan", Anna and Maya being "played by women in their early thirties ... barely even feels like a joke", praising how they had "already disappeared so deeply into their gangly, awkward younger selves". Referring to the sudden cancellation of the show, he also expressed that the "sense of finality isn’t really palpable in the new installments, other than a lovely, wistful, perfect closing scene". Sepinwall also praised the meta jokes about the actors' real age, such as a girl telling Anna "You talk like you’re 40, kind of." Rebecca Nicholson from The Guardian said the show had "matured into a remarkably sensitive and beautiful series about life, friendship and growing up", and that towards the end of the season, "the series takes on a darker hue".