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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
7 great TV shows to watch if you loved 'Overcompensating'
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. - YouTube 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. 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. - YouTube 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. - YouTube 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. - YouTube 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). - 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. - YouTube 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. - YouTube 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.
Times
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Benito Skinner reveals the moment that changed his career
We caught up with the American comedians Benito Skinner and Mary Beth Barone, who are about to star in the new series Overcompensating, to ask them about the time they first met, when they were last in London and how Benny came out in real life.
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Critics applaud new Prime Video comedy series with an outstanding 92% Rotten Tomatoes score - as they warn 'binge responsibly'
Comedy fans are addicted to a new Prime Video series with an outstanding 92 per cent Rotten Tomatoes score - as they warn 'binge responsibly'. Overcompensating, which only dropped on the platform on Friday, is an eight-part American series following a closeted football player and frat boy as he starts university. As he wrestles with his identity and sexuality, he develops a friendship with fellow freshman Carmen, who is facing her own challenges - a long-time wallflower, she is resolved to gain more confidence while at college. Created by TikTok sensation and comedian Benito Skinner, who also takes the lead role, the programme follows the pair as they gain the confidence to be themselves. Alongside newcomer Wally Baram as Carmen, it boasts a stellar cast with Adam DiMarco (Albie on The White Lotus series two), alongside Black Mirror actress Mary Beth Barone, Ms Marvel actor Rish Shah. Fans and critics alike are already loving the programme, co-produced by Amazon and A24, with appearances from singer Charli XCX, actor James Van Der Beek and SNL star Bowen Yang - and they warn it is dangerously addictive, SurreyLive reports. Online publication Leisure Byte dubbed it 'fun, extremely loud [and] thoroughly relatable'. Meanwhile, entertainment blog TV and City praised its fresh take on the coming-of-age tale: 'In a landscape crowded with college comedies, Overcompensating manages to carve out its niche by being unapologetically bold, refreshingly honest, and consistently funny. 'It's a testament to Skinner's talent that the series feels both deeply personal and universally resonant. 'For those seeking a comedy that delivers both laughs and heart, this is one to check out.' Review site Gazettely said: 'Viewers seeking a fresh take on coming-of-age tales, especially those highlighting queer discovery, will find its ensemble dynamics rewarding.' But there was only one snag, in the reviewer's eyes - that the cast are all considerably older than university age: 'Binge responsibly: the cast's decade-older appearance may momentarily jar, but strong performances quickly eclipse that detail.' Creator Benito, 31, has previously said the protagonist is modelled on his own experience as an 18-year-old. But he added he worked with an acting coach to try to perfect the mannerisms of the adolescent character. Fans took to X to express their praise for the new comedy series One fan said on X: 'I just binged Overcompensating on Prime Video, a wild mix of cringe, charm and chaos that somehow works! 'Also, shoutout to Adam DiMarco for making a killer comeback. College drama has never been this extra (and this much fun)!' Another said: 'Overcompensating delivers a raunchy and sexy college coming-of-age queer comedy from Amazon and A24!' Someone else added: 'Didn't expect Overcompensating to eat like this. Came for Charli XCX, stayed for the comedy, chaos and iconic soundtrack. 'Feels like a love letter to her pop eras wrapped in queer college drama. Funny, real, well-written. I need season two like now.' British singer Charli XCX makes a short cameo in the fourth episode of the show, playing herself in a concert at the show's fictional university - with some cracking one-liners. She screams, 'What the f*** am I f***ing doing here?', before referring to her own 2014 song: 'Do you think I want to play f***ing Boom Clap in a f***ing college?' It comes after fans also found themselves hooked on another series on Prime Video in recent times - with an impressive 93 per cent Rotten Tomatoes score, it has been hailed the next American Horror Story. Three of four seasons of anthology programme Channel Zero, first released between 2016 and 2019, have recently been uploaded to the streamer. Like beloved anthology show American Horror Story, which has run since 2011, each series has a self-contained chilling storyline. The first season, for instance, named Candle Cove, follows a child psychologist (Paul Schneider) and his mother (Fiona Shaw) investigating his brother's disappearance - mysteriously linked to a creepy children's TV show they used to watch. The programme has been popular with critics, with season one boasting a whopping 93 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes - and the second and third instalments rated a perfect 100 per cent. And fans love it just as much too, taking to Rotten Tomatoes to leave their verdicts - with some even suggesting it rivals cult horror classic American Horror Story. One said of the first series: 'Somewhere between American Horror Story and Stranger Things, Channel Zero: Candle Cove provides a meandering plot through the subtle horrors shared by children around the world. 'Relying on few jump scares or over-the-top special effects, Candle Cove still delivers spine-tingling terror. For who prefer chills to thrills, a must-watch.'
