This fall, Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle will revive their 13-year-old personas for season 2 of Pen15. The Hulu comedy, which debuted last February, follows the awkward adolescence of seventh grade best friends Maya Ishii-Peters and Anna Kone, as portrayed by the actresses (who are both 33 in real life). Inciting both nostalgia and nightmarish flashbacks, the critically acclaimed ode to the early-2000s middle school experience returns with 14 new episodes. Ahead, what we know about the new semester.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Pen15 season 2 debuts in September.
After being renewed for a second season last May, the Emmy-nominated show will officially return on September 18. Season 2 will contain 14 episodes, four more than the first season. Viewers can binge-watch the first seven installments in September and the following seven episodes at a TBD date in 2021.
The first sneak peek teases more cringeworthy adventures.
Pen15, which was created, written, and executive-produced by Erskine, Konkle and Sam Zvibleman, has never shied away from an awkward moment. “You’ve changed…like, a lot,” a classmate tells our outcast heroines. (Did we mention all of Maya and Anna's co-stars are played by actual pre-teens?) But the show's embrace of the uncomfortable hasn't shifted much. There's still clumsy gym-class encounters, vintage Tommy Hilfiger fashions, and more body hair commentary than you bargained for.
This content is imported from Instagram. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
The show will get "darker," but remain in 7th grade.
Giving new meaning to the idea that you never really leave middle school, both Erskine and Konkle have said their characters will remain in seventh grade for season 2. "We’re hoping to keep the show [about] Anna and I in 7th grade, forever," Erskine told Entertainment Weekly last May. "That’s what the whole concept of the show is about: that purgatory. It’s not about these two characters going to high school."
While the first season ended with the friends sharing their first cigarette together, there will be even more experimentation in season 2. "We were trying to shape and have them be more innocent—at least for the first season," Erskine told The Hollywood Reporter when the show premiered. "We're going to explore more mature, darker content in the second season. The girls will possibly experiment more." As for what darker means in the context of middle school, Erskine told EW, "I mean darker like, maybe we’ll have the girls experiment more, sexually, and go into more R-rated things! Anna’s parents just got divorced, so, seeing how that plays out would be interesting. Maya still has a secret from Anna about [having her first] period. How will that be revealed?"
Watch Pen15 season 1
Savannah Walsh Editorial Fellow Savannah Walsh is an Editorial Fellow at ELLE.com. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io This commenting section is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page. You may be able to find more information on their web site.
