I'M ALREADY ANNOYED WITH BENITO SKINNER
Good looking, smart, talented actor, amazing writer, objectively hot...My annoyance is on so many levels. Skinner: how the fuck are you ALL OF THE THINGS?!
The minute I saw the clip of Charli XCX circulating Instagram of her scene-stealing moment on the new hit Amazon show Overcompensating, written by and starring Benito Skinner, I immediately sent the clip to my friend in Toronto with the message, I think I need to binge this show. Last week, I found a moment to do just that, happily noting that each jam-packed episode about Benny (played by Skinner) coming to terms with his sexual identity while making close friendships in college, clocked in at just thirty minutes each. With just 8 episodes in its first season (and there better be more, Amazon), it was a perfect way to spend a few hours horizontal on the couch.
With the amount of accolades this show has recently received and the crazy promotional tour Skinner and the cast has been on in the last week and a half, I think it’s safe to say that Amazon has put a lot of faith on the show to do well, and it seems as though it has exceeded expectations.
The show is everything you want in a young adult drama/rom-com, portraying a kind of raunchy yet wholesome Americana that feels nostalgic in today’s current political climate. Overcompensating, to me, felt like all the things I liked about American Pie, Ferris Bueller’s Day off, Sixteen Candles, Say Anything, Dazed and Confused, High Fidelity, Empire Records, Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist, SKAM, Skins, But I’m A Cheerleader, Election, Wet Hot American Summer (I could go on but you get the gist), put in a blender with matcha and poured over ice and sipped through a glass straw.
At risk of over-promising, I don’t want to talk much about the show other than advising to watch it if this kind of genre is your thing. The minute I pressed play I knew I was already done for when Connie-fucking-Britton filled the screen. When you have the mother of all American TV moms playing your mother on your show, I already know I’m going to be hooked. And the show is just jam-packed with the coolest who’s-who of culture in supporting roles and cameos: Connie, Charlie XCX, Caleb Hearon, Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers to name only a few. Which leads into the theme of this week’s Substack which is basically: what the fuck Benito Skinner?!
Even with all the star power in the show, the clear talent and winner is the creator and star, Benito Skinner. The truth is, I’m not really annoyed with Benny so much as I am annoyed at myself for not knowing anything about him prior to this show. To have him infiltrate my brain in this way is really fucking annoying, making me question if I have any handle on pop and queer culture at all.
Skinner is such a talented writer and actor. The script is crisp and funny, and every character is well-crafted and complex. I was really touched watching Benny (Skinner’s character in the show) navigate the complicated journey of learning to let go of learned behaviour of hyper masculinity. Skinner cleverly tackles this issue in his writing, heightening the discourse to comedic and often camp territory, positing how notions of masculinity really fuck with us. What’s more, Skinner is able to highlight how these complicated issues of identity are universal, especially in a college setting where most people are still trying to figure out who they really are and who they want to be in the world.
For those in the know, Skinner has been a content creator for over ten years now as Bennydrama7, and has put in the time forging his way in Hollywood as an actor, comedian and podcaster. What makes me mad is knowing that what may appear like an “overnight success story” of Overcompensating to some (well, to me), that is certainly not the case.
My annoyance is on so many levels. Skinner: how the fuck are you ALL OF THE THINGS?! Good looking, smart, talented actor, amazing writer, objectively hot, perfect hetero-to-homo code switcher… The idea that someone who checks off all the boxes of an Abercrombie and Fitch model ever has any issues of finding love is criminal to me. In other words, if someone like you has problems finding love, then in the immortal words of Naomi Smalls: Life, truly is, not fair. And to be in your early thirties, with that rocking’ body, and those brains, experiencing an upward swing in your career, my annoyance is more of admiration. For an elder queer like me, it’s a marvel to behold how powerful queerness has become in the cultural zeitgeist.
I’m so annoyed with myself that I’ve become a late-Skinner stan through the show. With each episode, I grew more frustrated wondering why he had never crossed my path before. Have a I just become a lazy gay over the years? Is it not enough to watch Drag Race and listen to the odd episode of Las Culturistas? I like to think of myself as somewhat informed of the goings-on of my community. I listen to Bald and the Beautiful, I enjoy a ‘Very Delta’, I know who Cole Escola and Liz Treyger are. How the fuck did Skinner fall through the cracks like that? I’m not just annoyed, I’m embarrassed.
The truth is, not knowing who Benito Skinner was makes me feel like a Boomer (that’s what the kids call us right?) and maybe that’s okay. Maybe I just need to suck it up and take the L. There’s just too much art and culture to consume and not enough time to consume it (especially if part of what makes you happy, is creating it). I know I said I am annoyed, and believe me, there is a part of me that does feel that way, but there’s another part of me that is just so incredibly proud. I don’t know Benito Skinner at all and I have no idea what he went through to get this show ultimately greenlit by producers. But his show feels representative of queer excellence, and marks a momentous lavender ascension, subverting hetero-homogeneity and patriarchal ideologies. What seems evident to me by watching the show is that Skinner created something meaningful for him and his friends to participate and contribute in, something that was full of love and joy resulting in a formidable final product. As the world burns, the queers are making their mark and I, for one, am here for it.