Then, in 2018, right as films like Lady Bird and Eighth Grade were gaining critical acclaim for tackling adolescence, Hulu picked up the series for a ten-episode run. “And then one night,” says Erskine, “we went to this party where there were all these kids from my middle school.”. And Maya kind of replaced me this year. And that's how the idea for PEN15 was born. “We are two separate actors, we are two separate writers, but I can’t imagine going throughout life and not making more together,” Erskine says. It's fine. Erskine explained to the L.A. Times that they felt like they "hadn't seen middle school represented in a way that felt authentic and true to our experiences." And since they started working on the series, people have been telling them the best middle-school stories. Last year's first season opened with Anna and Maya being naively excited about starting middle school, only for reality to kick in when Maya shows up with a bowl haircut from her mum (played by Erskine's own mother, Mutsuko Erskine) who has tried to fix Maya's attempt at layering her hair. Despite the different locales, they both dealt with similar feelings of not fitting in. Maya gets her period and hides it from everyone out of shame. Erskine recalls her real-life debut smooch as “a huge thing for me.” She didn’t make lip-to-lip contact until ninth grade, but not for want of trying. There's no self-consciousness in how you express your love for your friend at that age. I thought I was a monster. The answer to that is both yes and no. “The things you pretend aren’t happening.”. “I think it looks really natural on you,” says her friend warmly. On how Maya hid her period from her parents and everyone for a year. Much of PEN15 is gleaned from the creators' lives, but it's reworked and reimagined. Erskine — whose real-life mother plays her mom in the show — used Season 1 of “Pen15” to examine her Japanese American identity. There aren't many people who would choose to go back to middle school — what with all its braces, bullies, crushes and drama. But the show is rooted in their adolescent emotional lives and experiences. Copyright © 2020 NPR. Read Next: ‘Lovecraft Country’s’ Production Designer Talks Creating Ardham Lodge, the Time Machine, Maria Sharapova Nets Pastoral Santa Barbara Ranch, How Artist Jordan Nassar Turns Out ‘Beautiful and Smart’ Works Inspired by His Palestinian Culture, Atalanta Media Flips Distribution Script With Women’s Soccer Approach, Celebrate this Holiday Season Safely with the Best Christmas Face Masks. It feels like you’re in the middle of writing something and someone just grabs your paper.”. But beyond the physical transformation, they wanted to explore the emotional lives of their 13-year-old selves. ”, But Erskine and Konkle have a deep empathy for their characters and an understanding of how they felt at that age. I thought, oh, now I'm a woman. What do these two young women find in each other? When I’m exposed, I feel a sense of shame.”. SIMON: To set up the characters a bit, Maya, played by Maya, is a shy, sensitive seventh grader - Japanese American family - being raised by her mother. Erskine, Konkle, Zvibleman, Debbie Liebling, Gabe Liedman, Marc Provissiero, Brooke Pobjoy, Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, and Becky Sloviter serve as executive producers. Note: The conversation below includes some frank talk about sexuality.). “As soon as you start talking about being 13 with anyone, the floodgate opens,” Konkle says at the restaurant.
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