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Critic Reviews
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Its second season (the first seven episodes of which are newly streaming on Hulu) evolves beyond that pretense and looks inward at Maya and Anna. The show becomes more concerned with how strong the bond of friendship can be between young girls, especially as they experience complications on top of what’s already a complicated time of life. And it makes for beautifully relatable stuff, particularly thanks to the show’s increased focus on how puberty strains Maya and Anna’s friendship.
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Never once, in any episode, is the viewer even temporarily reminded that [Anna and Maya] are adults. Both of them were great in season one, but in this season they have seeped even more deeply into these characters. ... The beauty of PEN15 is that it’s recognizable to everyone because we’ve all been through adolescence. We know how it felt. Sometimes we forget, but PEN15 is here to remind us of every glorious, agonizing, infuriating, beautiful moment.
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If one has to choose only one millennial-made TV series that ventures into adolescent angst in the AOL era, please make it this one. “PEN15,” which returns Sept. 18 with seven endearing new episodes (another seven will follow when production can safely resume), could be almost considered an act of communal therapy. ... “PEN15” is both an exquisite wallow in hormonal chaos and a belated act of forgiveness.
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[Pen15 returns] in all its heart-shredding, hormone-confused, beautifully awkward and painfully traumatizing glory. If I had a gel pen, I would be doodling hearts all over. ... None of us would have been capable of writing about what any of that was like when we are at that age. To have it dramatized for us so viscerally—and now, at this turning point in our (millennial) lives—is pretty astonishing.
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I can't do justice to the vibrant thrill of the central performances. The bond between Maya and Anna feels unspoken and lived-in, full of sentences that trail off into meaningful glances. ... A totally unique combination of dear-diary authenticity, casual dream-state strangeness, and the genuine wonder of kids figuring out that nobody ever really figures themselves out.
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PEN15 is not so much funny as felt, deeply, uncomfortably accessing memories of a time you thought you had moved on from. It’s bold and quite possibly brilliant.
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Pen15” is a convincing and grand portrayal of friendship.
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PEN15 Season 2 is very much worth the binge, as well as the wait for the second half, set to premiere in 2021. ... Erskine and Konkle are true delights and they are surrounded by an equally delightful cast of actual kids who showcase a range of talent that keeps the adult leads of this show on their toes.
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Middle school can be hell for a lot of reasons, but the way Season 2 digs into its saddest side — by tuning in to the background noise previously overpowered by the loud love song of friendship — brings out new shading in a show that was already unique.
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There's a general sense of growing confidence to all aspects of Pen15, one that makes it justifiable that episodic running times were pushing past 35 minutes by the end of the season. Perhaps you still can't escape defining Pen15 through its core conceit and puerile title, but it's becoming easier and easier to see how the series is becoming.
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Pen15 has definitely changed, but in ways that are almost entirely for the better. What was once a gimmick is now a thoroughly excellent and warm show.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 27 out of 36
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Mixed: 2 out of 36
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Negative: 7 out of 36
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Sep 20, 2020Absolutely loved the first series and couldn’t wait for this. It somehow managed to exceed my very high expectations. Binged it in one go!
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Dec 14, 2022Season two is as good as season one, perfectly combining comedy and drama once again.
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Jul 5, 2021