7 great TV shows to watch if you loved 'Overcompensating'

Yahoo

a day ago

Overcompensating, the Prime Video show created by and starring content creator and comedian Benito Skinner had all the perfect ingredients to hook a young audience. The show featured an ensemble cast comprising internet stars like Holmes, Caleb Hearon, and Owen Thiele, as well as A-listers such as Charli XCX, Kyle MacLachlan, and Connie Britton, all set to a fast-paced, joke-filled tone. It centered around a group of young adults figuring out life together with a few hijinks and side quests sprinkled throughout. The show became an instant smash, shooting straight to number one on the platform's most-watched TV shows list less than a week after it aired.
Skinner plays a college freshman named Benny, who decides to attend the same college as his sister, Grace (Mary Beth Barone), and forms a quick, co-dependent bond with a young woman named Carmen (Wally Baram). The two figure out college life together and navigate sticky relationships, Benny uncovering his sexuality, and figuring out who they really are. The eight episodes go down easily, and it's one of those shows that if you blink, you'll realize you already finished the season.
To help with the post-show hangover, here are some other shows about young people stumbling through early adulthood and figuring it out.
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Adults was released two weeks after Overcompensating, so it's no surprise that two shows with somewhat similar premises are being compared to one another. Some people are even calling the show "cousins," related by way of casting internet personalities with different premises.
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The FX show follows a group of co-dependent 20-somethings living in Queens, New York, as they navigate various situations, including health insurance, interpersonal relationships, and the complexities of citizenship. It stars a group of actors and comedians who have a few acting credits to their name, consisting of Malik Elassal, Lucy Freyer, Jack Innanen, Amita Rao, and Owen Thiele.
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Sort Of is a show on HBO Max that deserves more love from Americans. This Canadian sitcom follows an acerbic nonbinary South Asian millennial named Sabi Mehboob (Bilal Baig), who is based in Toronto. Audiences watch as Sabi navigates embracing their identity while working as a bartender in a queer bar and babysitting a young couple's kids, all while dealing with a somewhat understanding family. The heartwarming show won a Peabody Award and ran for three seasons.
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Almost everyone agrees that they would not want to relive their middle or high school days. However, it may not seem applicable to Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, who decided to play fictionalized versions of themselves in their early teenage years in the early 2000s. At first, PEN15 is a cringe-fest of uncomfortable yet relatable moments that most young people experience in middle school; however, these moments ultimately bring the two main characters closer together.
We watch, over two (very) quick seasons, as Maya and Anna maneuver (physically and figuratively) through unpleasant moments of excruciating awkwardness that come with growing up and learning about yourself. The show delicately addresses more complex topics, such as race and sexuality.
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Three seasons of Derry Girls isn't enough, but we can understand quitting while you're ahead. This Netflix show centers around a group of misfits in 1990s Northern Ireland during the final year of the Troubles. Audiences are treated to a hilarious romp featuring a truly stellar cast that portrays young kids in an all-girls Catholic secondary school, figuring out life amidst political unrest. The group features Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), her cousin Orla (Louisa Harland), their friends Clare (Nicola Coughlan), Michelle (Jamie-Lee O'Donnell), and James (Dylan Llewellyn).
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- YouTube
The title sort of gives away the show's premise. Sex Education follows the show's protagonists, Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield) and Eric Effiong (Ncuti Gatwa), as Otis accidentally becomes an expert on sex at their school. He is not particularly well-versed in that department, but his mother, Jean (Gillian Anderson), is a sex therapist. Having grown up speaking openly about the topic (and being surrounded by videos, books, etc.), he teaches his classmates what he knows.
The Netflix series doesn't primarily focus on heterosexual sex, nor does it only focus on intercourse. It has an afternoon special/public service announcement sort of lilt without sounding too preachy, and it substitutes that for interpersonal drama.
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We will never forgive HBO Max for canceling Our Flag Means Death after it released the show's second season. While it may not be a coming-of-age show, it still feels like one. Audiences follow Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) as he becomes the captain of the Revenge. Bonnet, however, is not like other pirate ship captains; he is dubbed "the gentleman pirate" for a reason — he's actually very lovely and a great boss to his underlings, listening to their concerns and allowing them to voice their feelings.
The Revenge encounters the infamous pirate, Blackbeard (Taika Waititi), who is initially at odds but quickly forms an unbreakable bond. When Our Flag Means Death announced it wasn't returning for a third season on Max/HBO Max, its creator expressed interest in finding a new home for the show — alas, to no avail. BlackBonnet will live on in our hearts.
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Yes, we know this is a kid's show, but this kid's show has heart. It has themes of love, acceptance, and chosen family, all wrapped into a program that feels like a big, warm hug. Steven Universe follows the story of the Crystal Gems, a group of intergalactic magical beings who are tasked with taking care of the titular character. Steven, a half-gem half-human boy, is figuring out how to use his powers, protecting his town — Beach City — from alien attacks, and learn more about himself.
This kids' show is not just a silly, fun time; it also features depictions of queer relationships and made history as the first children's animated show to feature a same-sex wedding. If you're looking for another show about young people discovering more about themselves, we can't recommend this one enough.