Penelope A new TV series on Netflix tells the story of a 16-year-old girl who leaves her life behind to build a new life closer to nature.
At first glance, it seems worse than two countries. Provavelmente could have been handled more scandalously by someone more creative. Mark Duplass and Mel Eslin's latest teen drama, starring Megan Stott, highlighted by “Little Fires Everywhere,” makes a more powerful statement about young people's lives with its quieter approach.
“This show is about Penelope’s breakup and that moment where she creates a new version of herself so she can smell and say, ‘Isso sou everything eu,’” Stott told TheWrap. “I want people to be able to observe themselves and their lives and reflect on them, and find the things that really help put out the fire inside of them.”
Duplass wrote “Penelope” during the Covid lockdowns, as he reflected on his desire to reconnect with nature while also worrying about his films’ looming relationship with social media. The show’s focus on a 16-year-old girl was an idea from the beginning, so she brought in Mel Esslin, president of Duplass Brothers Productions, to direct and follow her adolescence in the story.
“I was going to shows like ‘Euphoria’ and other youth programs, and I didn’t see anything that represented those softer, more reflective conversations that I was having with my own kids,” Duplass told TheWrap. “I don’t want to say that these shows seem disrespectful to teens, but there’s a certain lack of authenticity given the complex inner lives that many of these kids have.”
“I really wanted an example so that in my films we could see someone living a life that was different from the way he lived,” Duplass said.
The opportunity to explore a complex subject for a younger audience and “create a new rhythm that we hadn't seen before was exciting, but also very scary,” Eslin added.
Here are the details from the star and Penelope's nanny on the new series' production as a source and instigator.
Find Megan
The “Penelope” team auditioned for the lead role. Eslyn credits casting director Amey René with narrowing the list down to 100, and credits her with narrowing down about 30 names for Duplass to make the final decision.
When she first met Stott, Eslin Limbrough was “terrified” of her. Stott had already landed a starring role in a Reese Witherspoon film in Hulu’s adaptation of “Little Fires Everywhere,” but would she be able to handle a movie on her free weeks facing the elements of the Pacific Northwest?
All hesitation disappeared during the Zoom reunion, in which Meghan mentioned that she spent the entire day traveling to her hometown to have a private conversation.
“It seemed like some moment of synchronicity,” Eslin said. “I thought, ‘That girl is Penelope.’”
Embora ela possa Not one to be shaken by the book at first glance—or by the Hollywood experience—Stott feels like she’s living life in the flesh. The 21-year-old actress grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas, filled with fishing, hiking, and foraging.
“I can tell you’re more skilled than Penelope,” Stott said. “I definitely should go back to the things I knew about camping.”
“Fantastic” discoveries.
Over the course of several episodes, Penelope meets a host of strange characters. There's an aspiring singer who takes her in for a night, played by “Dash & Lily” star Austin Abrams; a more caring, eccentric environmental scientist, played by Krisha Fairchild; and a group of Catholic teens looking to rediscover themselves, led by “O Pinguim” actor Renzi Velez.
“There are a bit of a fantasy element to this show,” Duplass said. “Is it practical to have all the 16-year-old girls running away from home and going into the woods? Proof No.
“A musician asking you to come back to his work multiple times was in a completely different way in the media, and that was a conscious choice,” the director asserted, noting that he wanted to highlight the “incredible sense of generosity” he found in America’s walk-of-life community.
Penelope also shares a canvas with some of the forest animals, including a dramatic interaction with Orso Fillehot (which ends as expected) and a more chaotic interaction with a lynx.
“Working with animals is something we always stop to think about and it’s really justified. In many cases on this show, that’s what happened,” he said. “Instead of Lupin, who’s a trained puppy in a horrible situation, we have this baby Orso. We just let her run and put the camera on her… and we changed everything in the episode to do what we were asked to do.
“It was a great dinner for us,” said the actress. “There were so many great things going on that just happened or that we had little access to Raiva.” “It was great for the dinners we had.”
“It was really kind of a simulation and improvisation,” Duplass said.
Start conversations
After years of producing “Penelope” alone, a series is now airing on Netflix in the US – shedding light on a small show and its complex premise.
By livestreaming recent events like “The Perfect Couple” and “Baby Reindeer,” Duplass said he hopes the show will find a large enough audience to create meaningful conversations about how younger generations are being affected by their reliance on electronics.
“There’s a big conversation going on globally right now, and especially in the United States, about our relationship with the technology that makes us known,” Duplass said. “I would love for someone to see the facts and data on this and validate all these theories.”
Eslyn Accrecentou: “Penelope can be extreme (in the conversation), but there are so many aspects to this conversation that we just need to start talking about.”
“Penelope” is now streaming on Netflix.
