Pen15’s nostalgic 2000s look came from eBay finds and spot-on AIM visuals
Pen15’s depiction of the early 2000s is frighteningly, uncomfortably accurate, and even that isn’t saying enough. The breakout Hulu comedy, produced by Lonely Island members Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone, is crafted to a level that viewers describe as giving them “PTSD flashbacks” to middle school. Creators Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine play their 13-year-old selves among a cast of actual middle-schoolers, but they blend in seamlessly. They’re believably awkward, with braces, bowl cuts, and ponytails with two face-framing strands of hair pulled out.
Production designers Grace Alie and Ali Rubinfeld were responsible for making every scene of Pen15 feel like it was set in the Y2K era, and the prop gadgets prove it. “That...