Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle did not grow up together like their characters in PEN15: they met as adults at New York University. Their friendship became a close creative partnership, and its humor and affection informed the series—but the show’s middle-school stories combine distinct childhood memories with fiction, rather than recounting a shared childhood.
How Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle met
Erskine and Konkle met during their junior year at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, not in middle school. Their real friendship began in college and grew alongside their work together. In a Backstage interview, Konkle described the connection this way: “And then it kind of developed as just a friendship from there, and then in addition to that, we have a creative synergy.”
That synergy came from recognizing both common ground and difference. Erskine told the Los Angeles Times, “We lived such different lives but we also have so many similarities.” The pairing was not based on having identical backgrounds; it was a friendship in which each could bring a different perspective and a compatible sense of humor.
What their friendship is like off screen
The two have described their adult friendship as close, candid and supportive. In a Maximum Fun interview, Konkle said they share just about everything and reflected on how performing together can express the care between them. Erskine called the friendship “deep and complex and beautiful and supportive,” adding that their dynamic comes through in scenes even when they are not trying to make it happen.
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That description helps explain why their performances can feel unusually intimate: they are drawing on a real adult bond. But the relationship between Erskine and Konkle should not be confused with the childhood friendship between the characters they play.
How their real friendship shaped PEN15
Erskine and Konkle’s rapport informed both the writing and the performances. Erskine told Nylon, “Anna and I really put in our real friendship dynamic into the stories, so that informed a lot of how we wrote.” Their trust and shared comedic instincts gave the characters’ awkwardness, affection and conflict a lived-in quality.
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That influence does not make the series a literal account of the actors’ lives. The creators drew on memories from their own childhoods, exchanged stories and shaped material for dramatic and comedic purposes. Some events came from one person’s experience, some drew on different experiences, and some were fictionalized to make a story work. Erskine and Konkle’s creative process was collaborative; their childhoods were not one shared source of truth.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where the actors end and the characters begin
PEN15 centers on Maya and Anna, fictionalized middle-school versions of Erskine and Konkle played by the adult actors. The contrast between their adult performers and the young characters is part of the show’s approach, but the characters’ friendship is not evidence that the actors knew each other as children. The real connection began at NYU, years after the period depicted on screen.
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Vanity Fair’s December 2021 interview reported that the series had concluded after two seasons. It also described how the fictional relationship and the actors’ real one influenced each other during production. That is a snapshot of the show’s status at the time of the interview, not a statement about current streaming availability.
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