PEN15’s Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle

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Photo: Jesse ThornMaya Erskine and Anna Konkle on their new Hulu show ‘Pen15’ Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle join us to discuss their new coming of age show Pen15. It’s a show about middle school. Or, more accurately: it’s about a version of middle school you might have actually experienced.The show is set in the year 2000 with plenty of cuts from N*SYNC and Lit and Mandy Moore. The characters wear Bebe tanks, Ruff Ryders shirts and UFO pants. It’s a show about kids that definitely isn’t for kids – sex and menstruation come up a bit, for example. The show digs deeper into what it means to be 12 or 13. A time in your life when a lot of kids are very, very insecure.

On Pen15, Maya and Anna play middle school aged versions of themselves. They’re best friends. Maya has a bowl cut. Anna has braces. They’re starting 7th grade at the beginning of the show and while 6th grade wasn’t great, they have a pretty good feeling that this year is gonna be different.

Maya and Anna tell us how they mined stories from their own lives to make the show. And why they cast Richard Karn – yes, Al from Home Improvement – as Maya’s dad.

Pen15 is now streaming on Hulu

Listen to this interview on YouTube!