"Pen15" is another series that I came to from the Guardian's "Top TV of 2020" list. It was actually this second season that was on the list, but we went back and watched the first one initially, which I felt was beautifully observed but was just a touch less funny than I hoped it would be. I said at the conclusion of that review that I hoped the second season would hit the sweet spot more often, but unfortunately, I felt that this run was perhaps less enjoyable.
The girls enter the second year of High School where the pressures of conformity and maturity are even stronger. Anna (Anna Konkle) is further damaged by her parent's divorce and be the arrival of a new student who drives a wedge between the girls. They both join the school play though, where Anna works in the lighting and technical department but Maya (Maya Erskine) lands the lead role.
I mean, it's still a devastatingly accurate portrayal of the trials of emotionally heightened nonsense that teenagers go through, viewed back through adult eyes. The conceit of having Anna and Maya play themselves at the age still works really well. There is a bit of a change in tone for this season, with it telling more like one continuous story - whereas the first was more episodic - although with some season arcs. That story was a lot more serious than anything in the first run, with the girls falling out for much of the middle episodes. This though meant that I show I was hoping was going to get funnier, is actually less funny this time out.
It's not enough to put me off a third season (or a second half to this season - based on how IMDB has the episode guide detailed at the moment) but again, just a little funnier would go a long way with me.
