It’s been just over a month since the release of Amazon Prime’s Overcompensating on May 14, and it’s still sitting in the platform’s Top 10 in the U.S. list. No doubt, Overcompensating is a huge success, beloved for its quirky, dirty comedy and relatable portrayal of college life. It follows college freshmen Benny and Carmen (played by Benito Skinner and Wally Baram, respectively) through a semester full of awkward hookups, fake IDs, and campus crushes.
Beneath its jokes that are bound to make you laugh and painfully relive your own embarrassing campus stories, Overcompensating offers a refreshing new take on the coming-of-age sitcom. It explores peer pressure, parental expectations, and self-acceptance — especially for Benny, who grapples with his sexuality and being in the closet.
If you’ve just finished watching Overcompensating for the first or fifth time (I won’t judge!) and are looking for something similar to watch, here are nine shows and movies with queer characters that have a campy and comedic campus vibe.
- The Sex Lives of College Girls
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The Sex Lives of College Girls on Max follows roommates Leighton, Kimberly, Bela, and Whitney (played by Reneé Rapp, Pauline Chalamet, Amrit Kaur, and Alyah Chanel Scott, respectively) navigating their freshman year of college and growing into their newfound sexual freedom. If you connected with Overcompensating because of Benny’s queer identity and his ongoing journey to self-acceptance, you’ll be a fan of Leighton’s similar storyline in TSLOCG. Plus, this show portrays new adult friendships in an authentic and heartwarming way.
- XO, Kitty
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For campus crushes, friend group drama, and a plethora of embarrassing moments, tune into Netflix’s XO, Kitty. It follows Kitty (Anna Cathcart), a new transfer student at a boarding school in South Korea, where she chases love and a connection with her late mother. As a spinoff of the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before movies, XO, Kitty is peak rom-com excellence, and will have you laughing (and cringing) at Kitty’s daily awkward encounters.
- Bottoms
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Bottoms follows two high school seniors, Josie and PJ (played by Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott), who start a fight club at their school to catch the attention of — and hopefully hook up with — their cheerleader crushes. Similar to Overcompensating, Bottoms hyperbolizes real-life school situations and portrays just how catastrophic life and romance feel as a young adult. It’s also insanely hilarious (Edebiri’s improvised gay pastor monologue, IYKYK).
- Twenties
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Twenties on BET follows Hattie (Jonica T. Gibbs), a queer aspiring screenwriter, and her two straight best friends Nia and Marie (played by Gabrielle Graham and Christina Elmore) as they try to find their place in bustling Los Angeles. At its core, Twenties is about overcoming growing pains and learning to laugh while doing so.
- Heartbreak High
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Netflix’s Heartbreak High follows a diverse group of high schoolers, including Amerie (Ayesha Madon), who becomes the biggest social outcast of the school. It dives into the complexities of friendship and rebuilding broken reputations, and portrays racial tensions between Australian high schoolers.
- Booksmart
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Between a yacht party and an awkward rideshare trip with their school principal, Booksmart follows two Ivy League-bound besties, Amy and Molly (played by Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein), on a chaotic night before their high school graduation. Booksmart shares Overcompensating’s campiness and quirkiness, and explores how young adults deal with the end of a chapter, like graduation, fluctuating between excitement and anxiety.
- Sex Education
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In Sex Education on Netflix, high schoolers Otis Milburn (played by Asa Butterfield) and Maeve Wiley (Emma Mackey) start a sex therapy business at their school that lacks a proper sex education program, aiming to help their peers with their sexual problems. Hilarious and endearing, Sex Education deals with complicated crushes, peer pressure, and difficult family situations.