PEN15 proves that the frank, no-holds-barred Big Mouth approach to puberty can work without animation

Vulture

Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, both 31, play seventh-graders on their Hulu comedy opposite actual middle school-age kids. "The fact that this unusual, semi-autobiographical stroke of casting works is a testament to Erskine’s and Konkle’s innate understanding of preteen-girl behavior and their ability to translate their real-life friendship into a bond that provides the foundation for this very funny, cringey coming-of-age comedy," says Jen Chaney. "With its attention to the details of American life in the year 2000, idiosyncratic protagonists, and mix of brutal honesty and gentle poignance, PEN15 is an ideal blend of Freaks and Geeks and Napoleon Dynamite. It’s also heavy on imagery and references that tap into millennial nostalgia, millennials being the demo most likely to fall hard for this series. That said, the show is so relatable and well-written that even if you’re too old or too young to have hit puberty around the time of Y2K, you’re still likely to be charmed by it."

ALSO:

• PEN15 brashly claims the kind of horny humor that past teen comedies reserved for guys
• PEN15 takes advantage of having adults -- and not kids -- act out the most mortifying, sexual, or otherwise non-child-friendly moments
• PEN15 demonstrates that middle school isn’t any easier to navigate with hindsight
• It feels too much like a sketch stretched into a TV series
• PEN15 works because it doesn’t shy away from letting its kids be brats
• The time period has been rendered with loving detail, but the humor goes beyond lame referentiality
• PEN15 walks the fine line between "coming-of-age story" and "raucous" sitcom
• The PEN15 masturbation scenes are some of the frankest depictions on TV
• PEN15 really is an accurate portrayal of being a teenager in 2000
• There’s no way PEN15 connects with everyone on the same level: 40-somethings will have a different view from 30-somethings
• Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle are both 31, but they grew up on separate coasts and didn't meet until college at NYU
• Erskine and Konkle say they made one executive so uncomfortable he became nauseous during the pitch for the series