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Released on May 15, 2025, on Prime Video, the American comedy drama series Overcompensating is in part, inspired from real life, rather than being based on a true story. The eight-episode series draws heavily from the creator, Benito Skinner's, own experiences from his college days. Skinner confirmed in an interview with Today.com on May 16, 2025.
“At a certain point, your life starts to feel kind of like boring and not that interesting — like, you have to make a TV show, you need stakes. So yeah, at a certain point, I was kind of like, ‘OK, I feel like my coming out story and these relationships are in there.'”
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The story of Overcompensating is about a freshman named Benny who hides his s*xuality behind a golden boy image. He is the homecoming king, a star football player, and the valedictorian. He is excited about going to college.
His life starts to fall apart when he meets Carmen, an outcast. Given that they become friends, Benny has to figure out how to accept himself without putting himself out there for criticism.
Through humor and honest storytelling, the story shows how complicated it is to be gay and live in secret as a young person.
Overcompensating is partly connected to Skinner’s life
Overcompensating is inspired largely by Benito Skinner’s own life. Skinner, who created and stars in the series, came out in his senior year at Georgetown University after years of hiding his s*xuality. He explained to Today.com,
“I feel like I really based it on feelings and experiences and relationships, so like the coming out things were as honest and true as we could go.”
Benny shared that he was like Skinner in a lot of ways, especially how hard it was for him to keep up a "straight-passing" image while hiding his gay identity. Skinner detailed his experience of developing a “golden boy” persona by playing football, adopting a monotone voice, and hiding interests like Gossip Girl. The friendship between Benny and Carmen also reflects Skinner’s real-life relationships.
“The relationship between Benny and Carmen is something that I felt with women my whole life, of them always being protectors for me,” he said.
Carmen's character is based on Skinner's grandmother and other important women in his life. Skinner set up their relationship to show how rich, complicated, and real these kinds of friendships are.
Also read: Overcompensating: Release date, plot, and everything we know so far
Skinner stated he started working on the show in 2019 and used very specific stories from his own life. He emphasized that while the series includes fictional spins,
“Those feel like I did experience pretty much everything in the show.”
What is Overcompensating all about? A detailed view
Overcompensating is about a college freshman from Idaho named Benny who is hiding the fact that he is gay by pretending to be a star athlete and popular student. At the beginning of the series, Benny tries to fit in at college while adhering closely to the persona he has created to keep from coming out. However, his life changes when he meets Carmen, an outcast whose outspoken personality goes against Benny's carefully put-together front.
During the eight episodes, Benny has to deal with the stress of trying to find out who he really is while also trying to keep his secret. His friendship with Carmen grows stronger. They help each other grow as they deal with their own problems, like being alone and grieving. The show shows how both characters "overcompensate" to get love and acceptance, which shows how heavy their emotional loads are.
The show's pop culture references, like songs by Charli XCX, Lorde, and Lady Gaga, are like currency for college students. Some scenes, like Benny's panic attack set to Lady Gaga's The Edge of Glory, are based on Skinner's real feelings when he came out. The series portrays the difficulties of being a young queer person in an honest way by mixing funny and sad moments.
Overcompensating is now streaming on Prime Video.
