Generally considered one of the smartest characters on PEN15, Yuki Ishii-Peters is Maya's mom and was actually played by Maya Erskin's real-life, Mutsuko Erskine. Though PEN15 is the elder Erskine's only credit thus far, she gave a naturalistic performance that only helped to make her interactions with Maya all the more real. So much of the drama and intrigue of PEN15 was the coming-of-age struggles of Maya and Anna, and their connections with their parents reflected real-life and heartfelt moments that brought the over-the-top comedy back down to Earth.
PEN15 hit the ground running when season 1 dropped on Hulu in February 2019, and season 2 came quickly with the release of the first seven episodes in September 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic affected the production of the series which resulted in the second half of season 2 coming over a year later in December 2021. To overcome the appropriately awkward pause, the creators produced an animated special called "Jacuzzi" which aired in August 2021, and gained high praise from publications such as The Guardian.
Shows like PEN15 often rely on running gags, and one of the funniest repeated punchlines in the series was the visual humor derived from Erskine and Konkle playing middle school students despite being in their thirties.
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