Hulu’s wonderful sitcom brought a lost era to vibrant life.
It was a whole lot ofACT-TINGwith real purpose because the character was a performer, prone to spot-onAce Venturaimpressions.
They were both so funny, so awkward, so heartbreaking; don’t make me choose!
Maya (Maya Erskine) and Anna (Anna Konkle).Credit: Hulu
Let’s agree that together, they were pure TV wonder.
Junior high was casual hell: Bullying, disinterested crushes, parents who just don’t understand.
(Now was the time to do everything their parents told them notto do.)
There’s a tendency to describePen15with glowing arty-sitcom melancholy.
So many cathartic hugs, so many rainbow gel pens!
But this was a nasty show, too, boldly evoking the raunch ofAmerican Pie-era youth.
Kids did things I’ve never seen kids do on TV.
In “Shadow,” a friend visits from Japan.
Gibberish ensues, true gibberish.
A lot ofPen15episodes rode that razor’s edge, tempering offensiveness with absurdity and authenticity.
In “Luminaria,” Maya and Anna find themselves at a 24-hour Walk for Cancer.
Yes, there are cancer jokes.
Yes, the episode left me in tears.
(Meanwhile, they also can’t stop giggling at a funeral.)
Maya and Anna were sweet and sincere, but what mattered more forPen15was that they were confused.
(The real-kid actors were across-the-board great, especially Taj Cross as Maya’s will-they-or-won’t-they pal Sam.)
What I remember most from the year 2000 is mess.
American culture was body fluids and cargo pockets, everything baggy, jeans distressed.
There was more bad make-up, less bad Botox.
The finale is a quietly humane sexual horror story with some genuine LOLs and serious swoons.
It’s as disturbing as a French movie, yet somehow romantic enough for Technicolor.
Does it really have to be over?
Hulu only just announcedthe show’s endinglast week, with hamhanded “leave the door open” language.
There were COVID delays, and (more happily)near-simultaneous pregnanciesfor Erskine and Konkle.
A third co-creator, Sam Zvibleman, exited for this final phase.
The creators swear this was their planned ending.
The first half of season 2 got a Best Comedy Emmy nod, and this half is even better.
Excellence helps with archival discoveries, andPen15goes out stronger than ever.
Erskine and Konkle performed the incoherence of youth with a glee that felt improvised.
And Anna completely understands what she’s saying!
In the finale, something awful happens in a suburban house full of shadows.
Series Grade: A
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