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Woman Crush Wednesday
Somehow, here we are, already halfway through September and less than a week away until the official beginning of Fall. Luckily, before we get there, we’ve got one last Woman Crush Wednesday for Summer 2020, and who better to write about than a woman who’s starring in a show all about leaving summer behind to go back to school, and all of the changes and hilarity that come with that transition? So, without further ado, give it up for this week’s talented, lovely, and delightful WCW, Maya Erskine!
WHO’S THAT GAL: Maya Erskine
WHY WE’RE CRUSHING: Erskine is back and better than ever for the second season of critically acclaimed Hulu Original comedy series of PEN15, which drops its first seven episodes on the platform this Friday, September 18th. Erskine reprises her role as awkward, horny, and bowl cut-wearing seventh grader Maya Ishii-Peters, who feels like a whole new girl, nay, woman, after letting one of Brandt, one of the cool boys in her grade, touch her boob, alongside best friend Anna Kone (Anna Konkle). This season will see these two grappling with everything from the divorce of Anna’s parents to a new girl trying to force their duo into a trio (plus plenty of wonderful middle school cringiness and hormones in between), and is looking to be even better and more nuanced than its breakout first season, so don’t miss out on this fantastic show starring (and created and written by!) two phenomenal actress-comedians.
WHERE YOU’VE SEEN HER BEFORE: While PEN15 may have been her biggest or most known role to date, Erskine has had an impressive professional career full of credits on screens big and small over the past decade, beginning in 2010 in short drama film Somewhere a Son. From there, her career quickly took off over the next few years, appearing in television shows like Hart of Dixie, Project Reality (which she wrote and executive produced), and High School USA! all in 2013 before landing her first big recurring role as Mikki in Amazon comedy series Betas form 2013 to 2014.
2015 marked another big year for Erskine, as she made her feature-length film debut as Wanda in sci-fi thriller Frankenstein, while also getting guest or recurring roles on series like FXX animated comedy Stone Quackers, FXX surrealist romcom Man Seeking Woman, and Comedy Central’s Big Time in Hollywood, FL. Since then, Erskine’s filmography and talent have only continued to grow and impress, with roles in films like 2018 drama 6 Balloons, 2019 romcom Plus One, 2019 comedy Wine Country, and 2020 animated mystery-comedy Scoob!, and in acclaimed TV series or specials like Heartbeat, Michael Bolton’s Big, Sexy Valentine’s Day Special, Insecure, Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later, BoJack Horseman, Robot Chicken, Bob’s Burgers, and Crossing Swords. There’s no doubt that Erskine has an extremely bright future ahead of her, and we’re excited to keep up with her and her great work throughout the rest of her career!
WHERE YOU’LL SEE HER AGAIN: You can look forward to seeing Erskine in the second half of PEN15 dropping on Hulu early in 2021. Seem like too long to wait? Well, you can still keep up with her in the meantime on Twitter and Instagram, so give her a follow and become a fan (if you aren’t one already)!
