Cringe-Worthy Shows You Should Absolutely Watch The art of the ‘cringe’ is hard to master. The ability to touch on uncomfortable topics and socially-awkward situations while entertaining a massive audience is usually reserved for only a select few shows. When people think about these kinds of shows, household cringecomedies like Arrested Development and Curb Your Enthusiasm come to mind. There are many more shows that excel in the ‘cringe’ and they happen to be streaming on common platforms like Netflix and Hulu. Here are some cringe-worthy shows that you should absolutely add to your watching list.
PEN15: Hulu
If there was a show that encapsulated the female middle school experience and how absolutely awkward it is, it would be PEN15. Yes, it’s pronounced the way you think it is. The show, named after the unofficial club most middle school girls were tricked into joining in the 2000s, depicts the antics of two seventh-graders as they traverse the social dynamics of adolescence. The series stars Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle and is spearheaded by the same people that brought viewers The Lonely Island, according to Hulu. Konkle and Erskine, who are clearly adults, play versions of themselves as middleschool outcasts and are surrounded by actual thirteen-year-olds. Hilarity ensues with love notes written in gel pen, middle-school crushes, and AIM usernames galore.
Sex Education: Netflix
“Last night I looked at some cheese and got an erection” is an actual line from this Netflix comedy-drama. It stars Asa Butterfield as Otis Milburn, a shy and inexperienced highschooler, whose mom just so happens to be a well-known sex therapist. Equipped with his mom’s advice, Otis starts a sex therapy business of his own with fellow classmate Maeve, played by Emma Mackey. Most of the humor from the show comes from fellow students in Otis’s school and their lack of sexual education. However, this show is more than capable of portraying serious and uncomfortable issues that the main characters go through, problems such as homophobia, sexual assault and parental abuse. Sex Education is not as much so about the actual sex therapy business as it is about the struggles of the people running it.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Netflix
Have you ever had a friend make some questionable moves and you just watch as a trainwreck unfolds? That is the feeling one gets when they watch Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, a musical comedy-drama from the CW. Rachel Bloom plays Rebecca Bunch, an Ivy Leagueeducated lawyer who suddenly uproots her life from New York to the small town of West Covina, California, to chase after an old ex-boyfriend from summer camp. She is joined by her coworker and new BFF Paula Proctor, played by Donna Lynne Champlin, who enables Rebecca’s odd behavior by suggesting odd schemes, assisting in illegal antics, and giving problematic advice. Bunch suffers from mental health disorders and constantly makes impulsive decisions that tend to harm herself and others around her. The show touches on several serious topics— suicide, depression, emotional trauma— and yet it manages to entertain viewers with witty jokes and original comedic music. With catchy songs like “Let’s Generalize About Men” and “Antidepressants Are So Not a Big Deal,” serious topics that once were off-topic on television are slightly more palatable to viewers.
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November 2, 2020
Photos curtesy of hulu.com, imdb.com, reelgood.com and clipartix.com
By: Janelle Suriaga Editor-in-Chief
