PEN15 ending after two seasons

The Hollywood Reporter

Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle's acclaimed Emmy-nominated Hulu cult hit comedy, in which they play 13-year-old versions of themselves,. will conclude when it drops the second half of Season 2 on Friday. Erskine and Konkle, who co-created PEN15 with Sam Zvibleman, decided to end the series, reports The Hollywood Reporter. "Sources note the duo were ready to take a break from the series that, in total, they’d been working on for nearly a decade," reports The Hollywood Reporter's Lesley Goldberg. "Other sources note Hulu very much wants to do additional seasons of PEN15 and is leaving the door open for more should Erskine and Konkle opt to someday return and mine their adolescence for additional material. The Disney-backed streamer is also interested in working with Erskine and Konkle on other projects. (Neither Konkle nor Erskine has an overall deal with Hulu.)" Konkle and Erskine were the subject of a New Yorker profile published on Monday. "The creators had always envisaged PEN15 ending after three seasons—at some point, they would all have to move past seventh grade—but COVID and its attendant difficulties cemented their decision," writes The New Yorker's Rachel Syme, adding: "In Season 3 (Hulu is calling it Season 2, Part 2; it premières on December 3rd), Maya and Anna are still a unit, but some of their most intense experiences are taking place independently...In October, Erskine and Konkle allowed me to observe them at work in a virtual screening room as they wrapped up the final scene that they ultimately agreed upon. Erskine was at her home in the Hollywood Hills, wearing a green T-shirt and large over-the-ear headphones. Konkle, in a nearby office space, was fiddling with a plastic tooth flosser, but otherwise the mood of the proceedings was businesslike. The women and the finale’s editor, Matt McBrayer, each occupied a small box at the top of the screen. A larger box at the center held the queued-up footage. McBrayer clicked a Play button, and they all watched in silence. In the show’s final minutes, Maya and Anna are sitting on the floor of Anna’s bedroom, gushing over their own baby photos. The scene sticks to the year 2000 while making room for the girls’ future selves. When it finished, a plunky tune from the PEN15 score played." “I think this music’s so beautiful,” Erskine said. “ ’Cause it is so Maya and Anna, but it feels so . . . full.”