
PEN15
Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle pull off a high-wire comedic stunt by playing their thirteen-year-old selves opposite actual middle schoolers. The result is pure, unvarnished adolescent horror. Every seventh-grade trauma—from poorly concealed training bras and awkward AIM chats to desperate cafeteria social maneuvering—is staged with excruciating specificity. The writing never treats their teenage heartbreaks as trivial, giving real emotional gravity to braces-stuck kisses and fractured friendships while remaining ruthlessly funny. For anyone chasing tv shows like Big Mouth, this is the definitive live-action parallel, capturing the exact same sweaty, tear-stained terror of sexual awakening without pulling a single punch.









