# Any fans of Pen15 here? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2019, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fans-of-pen15-here/829500 "2019-02-13T21:12:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fans-of-pen15-here/829500/1 "2019-02-13T21:12:24Z")
Detailed summary [Here.](https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/2/8/18212017/hulu-pen15-review). A cringe worthy show to say the least. > [@](#): > > Created by Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle — Erskine and Konkle are adults and star as the seventh-grade semi-autobiographical versions of themselves — along with Sam Zvibleman, PEN15 zooms us back to the world of middle school circa 2000, before the dawn of Instagram-cataloged pre-prepubescence. Just finished binging this over the past three days. It c an be creepy at times. But it’s very real and NOT a feel good series. Anyway, I enjoyed the series and was wondering my fellow Dopers thoughts on this show were. If you like nostalgia, you should check this show out. ETA: It’s on Hulu ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fans-of-pen15-here/829500/2 "2019-02-14T00:43:54Z")
I’m loving it. Makes a good companion for Big Mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fans-of-pen15-here/829500/3 "2019-02-14T06:58:05Z")
It’s weird. I’ve watched the first three episodes and I’ll probably finish the rest, but I like feel-good stuff and this sure isn’t it! ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fans-of-pen15-here/829500/4 "2019-02-19T02:44:46Z")
I started watching this weekend. I love those period comedies like The Goldbergs and now they have a spin-off from the 90s called Schooled so I figured this was right up my alley, something I could watch with my 14 year old. YEAHHHH…NO. The first episode I realized this pretty fast, and she wasn’t too interested thankfully. I was intrigued though. I had no idea what this was about other than early 2000s, middle school girls. First thought was, “Why in the world did they pick these actresses. They look so freaking OLD to be 13!” I assumed they were just going for realistic normal girls, like not the fake look so many of these comedies offer. It wasn’t until the masturbation episode and me thinking WTF am I watching here, a child is masturbating in front of me this is so creepy. That’s when I decided to look this up on IMDB. OH. After that I loved every minute of it and binged on the whole season in two days. It kind of makes me think _Broad City: The Early Years_. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fans-of-pen15-here/829500/5 "2019-02-19T03:39:12Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > I started watching this weekend. I love those period comedies like The Goldbergs and now they have a spin-off from the 90s called Schooled so I figured this was right up my alley, something I could watch with my 14 year old. > > YEAHHHH…NO. The first episode I realized this pretty fast, and she wasn’t too interested thankfully. I was intrigued though. I had no idea what this was about other than early 2000s, middle school girls. First thought was, “Why in the world did they pick these actresses. They look so freaking OLD to be 13!” I assumed they were just going for realistic normal girls, like not the fake look so many of these comedies offer. It wasn’t until the masturbation episode and me thinking WTF am I watching here, a child is masturbating in front of me this is so creepy. That’s when I decided to look this up on IMDB. > > OH. > > After that I loved every minute of it and binged on the whole season in two days. It kind of makes me think _Broad City: The Early Years_. LOL. Netflix has a similar show called Big Mouth. In one episode, the characters were reminiscing about the show (Big Mouth). They basically said something to the effect of: “This show HAS to be animated or else everyone involved with the show would get arrested” Well, I guess Pen15 found a way to get around that problem by casting adult actors. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fans-of-pen15-here/829500/6 "2019-02-21T02:30:19Z")
I finished all the episodes and they did get better at the end. I LOVED the episode where they signed onto AIM for the first time. It brought back a lot of memories of how exciting IMing was in the beginning. I remember listening to the modem tones with great anticipation… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fans-of-pen15-here/829500/7 "2019-06-20T20:06:29Z")
It was about the third episode when I realized that yeah, this ain’t a millennial version of _The Wonder Years_. Loved it. I paused it at one point and googled the ages of the two main actors. Whew–they’re both 32. Didn’t know it was only 10 episodes, so I was surprised when it just ended. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fans-of-pen15-here/829500/8 "2021-12-11T20:32:25Z")
Pen15 has concluded with the second half of the second season. Probably for the best. While I enjoyed most of it, parts of it–sometimes large swaths–bored or annoyed, and I don’t think the actors could have pulled off being teenagers much longer. Plus, the real kids have been visibly growing up. I liked the way it ended. Lots of threads weren’t tied up in pretty bows, but that’s how life goes. The middle school kids banding together to support Maya and Anna in a giant fuck you was great. And the girls’ reflections on what the future might hold for them rang pretty true to my own teenage experiences. Highlights of the final episode: 13-year-old Maya gave her first blowjob. It was about as graphic as her masturbation scenes, which is to say that much more would have made it soft-core porn. And she got her first kiss shortly thereafter. All in all, I enjoyed the series. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fans-of-pen15-here/829500/9 "2021-12-11T20:38:07Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Netflix has a similar show called Big Mouth. And this post was written _before_ there was a crossover episode. > **['Big Mouth' made a great point with its 'Pen15' crossover](https://mashable.com/article/big-mouth-pen15-crossover-love)** > > Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine graced "Big Mouth" with a "Pen15" crossover for the ages.