Benito Skinner — known online by his stage name “Benny Drama” — came into my life when I needed him most. Amidst the COVID pandemic, the world, and therefore, the cultural conversation, had never felt so fragmented. TikTok wasn’t the global phenomenon it is now, still dominated then by 16-year-olds doing horrendous and deceptively easy dance routines. I, a proud older Gen Z, couldn’t find anything to satisfy my pop culture appetite until I found Benny Drama’s Instagram and YouTube. Sketches ranged from the seventh and only gay member of the Friends group who blows Gunther, or a useless Gen Z intern who nonchantanly tells clients over the phone that “Ms. Bosslady” can’t make the meeting because she’s getting “her p*ssy cleaned.” I had nirvana for the chronically online person. Not only were these sketches firmly on the pulse of his target audience’s interests and shifting humor, but they displayed a genuine comedic talent, with Skinner doing hilarious and disconcertingly apt impressions of celebrities ranging from James Charles to Kourtney Kardashian to Shawn Mendes.
Now, Skinner is diving out of our social media reels and quippy videos into long-form narrative storytelling. His eight-episode comedy show, Overcompensating, a joint production between A24 and Amazon Studios, is an autobiographical project about Skinner’s college experience. Now 31, Skinner has always been open about the fact that he did not come out as gay until college, and until then, worked hard to fit into the popular, perfect straight guy archetype. Top grades, captain of the football team, and definitely not a Nicki Minaj fan, Skinner has given hints at his time hiding his sexuality in his sketches, all for purely comedic effect. Here, he brings that same razor-sharp humor to the existential crises that all college students go through to craft a hilarious, heartfelt, and poignant series that, at its core, is a celebration of friendship and those who make life bearable.
Cinema and TV now have a large portfolio of queer coming-of-age stories, and a lot of them are shrouded in the unfair tragedy trope, as if being gay is always akin to eternal suffering. Skinner doesn’t skimp on the hardship of struggling with one’s sexuality, but his astute script makes much more space for all the wonderful and the weird of college, from first-time sexual experiences to being forced to show the world who you really are.
What Is ‘Overcompensating’ About?

Benny Scanlen arrives at Yates College as a freshman. He’s a handsome and mild-mannered young man who was captain of his high school football team, a straight-A student, and the apple of his parents’ eye. However, Benny’s also lying to everyone about who he really is by pretending to be a macho jock! He quickly meets Carmen (Wally Baram), an outcast in a more overt way, as she struggles to make friends and find her place in the world after a family tragedy. Despite trying to make things sexual, they quickly know they’re not right for each other (despite Benny keeping his sexuality from Carmen), and they set out trying to make something of themselves at Yates while developing a friendship that neither of them knew they so needed.
Also struggling with their identity at Yates is Grace (Mary Beth Barone), Benny’s acerbic and moody older sister, who left behind her best friend and past of Twilight fandom and radio presenting to become the picture-perfect girlfriend of Peter (Adam Dimarco), the capital J Jock who is head of the college’s secret society and the campus’ no.1 golden boy. Also in the mix is Carmen’s sex-obsessed, ditsy, but ultimately endearing roommate Kailee (Holmes) who coaches Carmen on how to be a college slut and Miles (Rish Shah), Benny’s new friend who he harbors a crush on. As Benny and Carmen try to figure out the person they want to be in college, and try to be more truthful in who they are, Grace starts to reckon with the choices she has made to get her to the position of the most popular guy on campus’ girlfriend. Peter, oscillating between a lost soul, an airheaded douchebag, and a vindictive bully, sees the end of college nearing and realizes that his status will not carry over into the real world. Oh, and there’s also a ton of sex, drugs, lessons in how to be gay, and a Charli XCX concert that ends with vomiting and diarrhea.
‘Overcompensating’ Is a Nuanced Comedy About Friendship

Those who are familiar with Benito Skinner’s comedy work online might find the first episode of Overcompensating jarring. It takes a minute to adjust to his straight-passing behavior, when he’s become so known for his vibrant characters and imitations. Both Bram and Skinner play uncomfortable-in-their-skin 18-year-olds well, which almost comes across as a lack of chemistry at first. But, as the show progresses, their friendship becomes the nexus of the show’s web of plotlines. Sequences of them making fun of their fellow students, rapping to Nicki Minaj, and enjoying each other’s company are so engaging because we feel that same palpable electricity that arises when two people finally find each other, romantic or not.

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The autobiographical approach doesn’t overtake the entire story, as Overcompensating is about so much more than Benny’s journey to understand his sexuality; there’s also a dedication to the unapologetically messy portrayal of young friendships. The show’s core themes of identity, self-acceptance, and honesty are all upheld by the throughline of friendship, and the care taken in accurately portraying blossoming relationships between lost, young souls is one of the series’ greatest strengths. With this coming from Skinner’s personal experiences, his character’s journey is also handled with extreme care, knowing when to strike at the heart and which moments require more levity. Benny’s dilemmas are never defined by just sex or romance; it goes beyond that to investigate how hiding one’s sexuality affects their platonic and familial relationships, and how far someone is willing to go to hide their secret, even if it’s self-destructive.
‘Overcompensating’ Proves Benito Skinner Is a Skilled Storyteller

Image Via Prime Video

One couldn’t be blamed for comparing Overcompensating to Mindy Kaling’s recently canceled series, The Sex Lives of College Girls. Both nail the balance of comedy, drama, and thematic execution, and it’s impressive to see Skinner, who writes or co-writes all but one episode along with Jordan Mendoza, Scott King, and Mitra Jouhari, display such a sharp ability at storytelling on a similar level to a veteran like Kaling. The juggling of several characters, each with their own anxieties, flaws, and troubles, is astounding; no one feels one-note, even if their characteristics are often played for laughs.
With Skinner’s comedy usually so reliant on pop culture topics, it’s impressive to see a show like this work so well without ever feeling the need to be forcibly in the know or aimed at a certain generation. There are both millennial and Gen Z touchstones, and while it’s never stated what year it’s filmed in, the strictly pre-2018 Charli XCX soundtrack suggests that it’s meant to be when Skinner himself attended college in the mid-2010s rather than current day. It’s not just witty one-liners that make the show so funny and enjoyable, but the dimensional and well-written characters, bolstered by a terrific cast.
‘Overcompensating’s Cast Plays Their Characters Perfectly

Image Via Prime Video

The elephant on campus is that Overcompensating’s main cast is mainly in their late twenties and early thirties, and it does take an episode to get used to seeing a cast of immaculately looking adults with perfect bodies pass for awkward college students. Some may find this a glaring issue, but since there isn’t one weak performance to be found, it’s easily forgivable. Even though the script is so sharp and full of belly-laugh-inducing one-liners, what really sells the heart and humor of the show is the cast. Again, this is a total gear shift for Skinner, but he’s able to imbue this fictionalized version of himself with equal parts confusion, joy, anxiety, self-hatred, and warmth while exhibiting his skill at comedic acting. Wally Baram as Carmen is just as dynamic, never falling into the tropes that female characters in these types of shows so often do — grief is part of her story, but it never defines her. Despite her not having the same struggles with sexuality as Benny, her interiority is just as built out. The show gives the characters room to unfold on their own, but they are absolutely magnetic when together.
Without a doubt, the performer who will earn the most laughs is Holmes as Carmen’s roommate, Hailee. It’s spectacular, over-the-top comedic acting, like an even more ditzy version of Broad City’s Ilana. Right from the moment we meet her, when she asks Carmen, “Are you Latinks?”, I was constantly waiting for her to come back on screen. When she finds out she’s going to see her favorite singer in person, the guttural scream she releases nearly made me fall out of my chair with laughter. Hailee is, without a doubt, Overcompensating’s wildest character, but Holmes ensures we see her as the endearing friend she is, helping Carmen with exploring her newfound identity while, admittedly, giving some terrible advice.
Mary Beth Barone’s Grace earns one of the show’s more complex character arcs — the conflict between living for the male gaze and wanting to be a girl’s girl is most adeptly explored through Grace. Every episode subtly brings out a new side to her, and behind every cutting insult and filthy look, Barone maintains a wrenching level of pathos, constantly framing Grace as someone we should feel sorry for, despite her “mean girl” facade. Meanwhile, if you thought it was an odd choice to cast the sweet, sensitive Albie from The White Lotus Season 2 as a frat boy king, you’re in for a wonderful surprise. Adam DiMarco chews up the scenery as Peter, walking a careful line between satire and character acting. Out of all the characters, Peter could have easily been one-note, but his arc sees him going to very dark corners, underlining the show’s entire ethos that everyone has something to hide and something to be ashamed of.
Overcompensating is a hilarious, warm, and honest show from one of comedy’s most exciting voices. It never lets its outrageous humor and satire detract from its dramatic themes, and with a cast full of skilled comedic actors, Benito Skinner’s long-form debut is the must-see comedy show of the summer.

Overcompensating

Overcompensating is a fresh, hilarious, and thoughtful look at the lies we tell when we’re still trying to figure out who we are.

Release Date

May 15, 2025

Network

Prime Video

Writers

Scott King, Mitra Jouhari

Pros & Cons

Benito Skinner and Wally Baram have remarkable chemistry as two lost best friends.
Holmes is a standout as Hailee, bringing hilarious absurd humor to the show.
The show goes beyond the basic queer coming-of-age story to interrogate the implications of living a life of lies.

The cast is notably playing much younger characters, and that might take some viewers out of the plot.