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Podcasts The Frame
Going Back To Middle School (Ugh!) With 'PEN15'
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Episode 19717
Listen 25:38
Going Back To Middle School (Ugh!) With 'PEN15'

Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine co-created and co-star in the Hulu series that finds all the awkwardness and humor in being a young teen; broadcast and cable networks continue to pitch their Fall schedules to advertisers in New York City.

Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle star as middle-school besties Maya and Anna in the unconventional Hulu series "PEN15."
Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle star as middle-school besties Maya and Anna in the unconventional Hulu series "PEN15."
(
Alex Lombardi/Hulu
)

On today's show:

The Hilarity Of Middle School

(Starts at 7:45)

The Hulu series, "PEN15," may be set in a '00s-era middle school, but it's very much an adult comedy. The series about two best friends as they head into 7th grade explores middle school as it really was — awkward, painful, and — maybe only looking back on it — very, very funny. Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine, who co-created and wrote the series (with Sam Zvibleman), are both in their 30s, but play 13-year-old versions of themselves in the show. The actors who play their friends and classmates, though, are actual teenagers. Konkle and Erskine spoke with The Frame about their real-life friendship, how they pitched their unusual concept for the series, and what it was like to put themselves back into a middle school mindset.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLkEpO3k514

More From The Upfronts in New York City

(Starts at :45)

The broadcast and cable networks continue their annual presentations to advertisers, pitching their Fall programming lineups as they battle streaming services for eyeballs. The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Feinberg chats with John Horn.