Grab Your Bestie — You're Going to Want to Binge Season 2 of Pen15 Together
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For us millennials who experienced our formative years during the early aughts, middle school was a very specific type of hell. There was the Y2K collective freakout, the new world of the internet, and who could forget all the fun fashion and beauty trends — hello, belly shirts and butterfly hair clips, amirite? Beyond what was going on in the world, we had to contend with everything else that comes with the most awkward phase of young adulthood — changing bodies, tons of "firsts," and the ups and downs of female friendships. Not to mention the fact that, for many of us, it was the first time we started to see our parents as real people with problems of their own.
The first season of Hulu's Pen15 tackles all these issues with eerie spot-on-ness — watching Maya and Anna navigate the world of middle school in the year 2000, I felt like I was back in the halls of my own middle school, rolling backpack in hand. My friends and I couldn't get over how perfectly the series captured the absurdity, hilarity, and incredible awkwardness we felt back then — and how something as small as crafting an instant message felt like life or death.
Now, Pen15 is back for a second season and follows the two BFFs into new territory as they go through the highs and lows of middle school together. Ahead of the premiere on Sept. 18 on Hulu, here's a taste of what you can expect from Maya and Anna's seventh-grade year.
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It's Awkward AF
No matter how long ago middle school was, one thing is for certain — seventh grade sticks with you forever. It's just that awkward. Something as simple as seeing a kid with braces or a picture of myself from that time in a tankini or with a slicked-back ponytail can make my stomach turn in embarrassment for my younger self. Cringe!
And if Pen15 season two delivers on anything, it's bringing those feelings right up to the surface in the funniest — yet most empathetic — way possible. Through the eyes of Maya and Anna, the emotional preteen tolls of surviving seventh grade feel like they took place yesterday . . . but hopefully now we can laugh about it!
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A Celebration of Firsts
From first "relationships" and first kisses to first periods and the first thrill of breaking the rules, middle school plays host to so many life milestones. It's a time that's both exhilarating and humiliating, and it often doesn't live up to the fantasies we've created in our heads. Season two pays homage to the experience of all these first times, most importantly how the experiences are shared between two best friends.
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All the 2000s Fashion
From spiked hair and scarf headbands to embroidered denim and platform flip-flops, the fashion and beauty trends of the early 2000s are on display in all their ridiculous glory in season two of Pen15. My best friends and I spent so much time during the first season exclaiming things like, "OMG, I had that exact puka-shell necklace," or, "Wow, I can't believe I was so into frosted lip gloss." Get ready to see your favorite cringey fashion statements return in season two — think: chunky highlights, low-rise jeans, stretchy popcorn shirts, tattoo choker necklaces, and, of course, butterfly clips.
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A Deeper Look Into Family Dynamics
I can distinctly remember when I had the realization that my parents were actual people with their own flaws, interior struggles, and lives and experiences that didn't involve me. It kind of falls on you like a ton of bricks, TBH. Season two explores this aspect of growing up both through Anna's struggle with her parents' ongoing divorce and diving in a little deeper with Maya's parents, adding another layer to their middle school experience.
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So. Much. Nostalgia.
Massage trains! Self-choreographed dances to boy-band songs! Early-aughts slang (remember "da bomb"?)! The 2000s nostalgia reigns supreme in Pen15 and is insanely fun for millennials to re-experience. The commitment to capturing the look and feel of the time immediately transports you back to those years, whether it's by reminding you of all the iconic sleepover snacks that kept you and your friends up all night or reliving the feeling of getting ready for your first boy/girl party.
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A Love Letter to BFFs
Through it all, the one constant in the show is the enduring friendship between Maya and Anna. It's a testament to the power of having a best friend to go through all the horrors of middle school with and how those friendships define the rest of our lives. Through all the bizarre and cringeworthy moments, it's their friendship that's at the heart of the show and makes it truly relatable. So grab your BFF, and get ready to relive it all — together.