Overcompensating: Release date, plot, and everything we know so far
Prime Video's upcoming comedy-drama TV series Overcompensating is set to premiere on May 15, 2025. Benito Skinner serves as both the creator and lead actor who portrays a closeted football player navigating his way through college.
The official synopsis for Overcompensating on Amazon Prime Video reads:
"Created by Benito Skinner, Overcompensating is a college-set ensemble comedy about the chaotic journey of Benny (Skinner), a closeted former football player and homecoming king, as he becomes fast friends with Carmen, an outsider on a mission to fit in at all costs. Deeply funny and personal, the show explores the lengths to which we all overcompensate while finding out who we really are."
Wally Baram, Mary Beth Barone, Adam DiMarco, and Rish Shah are some of the other actors who are starring in the show. Charli XCX, Andrea Martin, and Megan Fox, among others, are also supposed to make guest appearances.
When and where will Overcompensating be released?
Overcompensating premieres exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on May 15, 2025. The first season has eight episodes, which will be released at the same time on the streaming platform.
In an interview with Slant Magazine published on May 8, 2025, Skinner opened up about what inspired him to make the show. He was asked if the show was completely autobiographical or if parts of it were invented.
"I wanted to share experiences that happened to me as I came out and experiences I had where I started to overcompensate less, [but] I feel like I wanted to develop characters, and I don't think just pulling directly from my life was going to inspire me or make for good TV. It was a mix, and once we were in the writers' room and Wally was writing this with us, I feel like that's when I opened up," Skinner revealed.
He also took into account others' college stories and wanted to make the narrative of Overcompensating a universal experience that people from both the present and the future could relate to.
"I feel like there's an epidemic of people feeling unlovable, and it's about finding people that love you. They exist. You just have to really claw for it. I wish it was a little bit easier. Also, what better time to give people a four-and-a-half-hour break from a really scary reality and let them know that there are people out there that feel the same way they do—unlovable and strange in their bodies and in their minds?" Skinner explained.
Read more: Forever: Release date, plot, and everything we know so far
What is Overcompensating all about?
In the trailer, viewers see Benny, a closeted former football player and homecoming king, who finds himself torn between pleasing everyone else and being himself while navigating college.
"I don't even really know who I am," he says.
He can be seen trying to navigate his feelings as he explores relationships with both men and women. When Carmen realizes that Benny isn't attracted to women, she tries to help him out.
"It feels like you're kind of out of sync with your life," she says.
However, Benny says that he's "better at being in the closet." Another friend of his also tries advising him.
"Guess no matter how much we try to pretend to be something that we are not does not mean we are that thing," he says.
The show explores themes of identity, self-acceptance, overcompensation, and the quest for belongingness.
Also read: 7 shows to watch if you liked 'The S*x Lives of College Girls'
Overcompensating is set to premiere on Prime Video on May 15, 2025.
