By Ryan Diaz
“What the fuck am I doing here? You think I want to fucking play ‘Boom Clap’ at a fucking college? Are you joking?”
You may have heard or seen that audio on TikTok circulating over the past several months, with Charli XCX screaming at her manager for booking her at a college for a show. But have you seen the show?
In recent months, Overcompensating has exploded in popularity, heavily circulating on TikTok and other social media platforms. Overcompensating has a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.7 IMDb rating, starring American actor and comedian Benito Skinner, who plays Benny. The show is about a closeted college freshman who is navigating his sexuality as a former football player and athlete.
He feels the pressure from his parents, as he has his whole life, and is pressured into majoring in business. The point of the show is that the main character is overcompensating for his sexuality to come off as “straighter.” As he navigates his sexuality, he discovers he is gay.
While navigating his sexuality, he feels deep denial and shame, but at his freshman orientation, he meets Carmen, played by Wally Baram, who quickly becomes his best friend. But enough about the plot — trust me, this show is amazing.
Carmen is such a supportive character to Benny throughout his journey, though her character begins to shift later in the show. I still love Carmen and appreciate her, as she has been dealing with the grief of losing her brother since the first episode, making some interesting decisions along the way. Grace, Benny’s sister, played by Mary Beth Barone, is the best character with an incredible arc—starting as a popular college girl, dating the controlling Peter, but gradually peeling back layers to reveal her true identity and worth. This was my favorite plot point of the show. Hailee, played by Chelsea Elizabeth Holmes, is one of the funniest characters, with countless TikTok clips highlighting her humor. Overall, this show is one of the funniest I’ve ever seen and such a quick watch that you can binge it in one sitting.
Overall, I would recommend this show to everyone, especially people in college. With major players in the show, it’s a 10/10 in my book. It provides so much humor, harps on the 2010s vibe, and showcases the reality of the closet for LGBTQ+ people. It also has a duality to show the fun in college, girlhood, coming of age and becoming an adult while navigating a new environment.
The show reminds me to cherish my time in college and have an appreciation for college-aged television. I myself am navigating college and figuring out who I am, right here in Humboldt.
Ryan Diaz is a senior at Cal Poly Humboldt and is a second-semester reporter who has an ambition to work in the public relations field after graduation. He is also a DJ on 105.1 FM KRFH, hosting a weekly show on Thursday from 7-8 P.M.
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