JUDY WOODRUFF: Tonight's
Brief But Spectacular
features comedian Nick Kroll.

He mined the hilarious
and mortifying experiences
of adolescence to create
the animated Netflix

series "Big Mouth."

Although it is a period of
life some of us would prefer
to forget, Kroll says it has

been healthy to
revisit his past.

NICK KROLL, Comedian:
"Big Mouth" is my animated
TV show on Netflix.

It is about my journey
through puberty with my best
friend, Andrew Goldberg.

It's based on our childhoods.

Andrew became a writer for
"Family Guy," and I became a
comedian, and then we came back

together 30 years after we
met to create this show.

We knew from the beginning that
we wanted this to be animated.

We felt like we wanted
adults to voice the kids.

I think I voice over 30
characters on the show.

There is the voice of Nick.

This is Nick's voice.

There is the Hormone
Monster, who is Maurice.

There's Coach Steve.

Hey, what's up everybody?

I'm Coach Steve.

There is the Jansen twins.

They are two twins.

There's a little Ladybug.

And Ladybug will tell you
what's what on a daily daily.

And I don't know.

There's like 25 more voices.

The tone of the show is very
dirty, but I think it is equally
weighted with an incredible

warmth and sincerity.

ACTRESS: You're
actually kind of fun.

ACTOR: You think so?

ACTRESS: Absolutely.

ACTOR: Should we like, I
don't know, take a picture?

ACTRESS: Yes, go for it.

You're very photogenic
from that angle.

Not that one.

Yes.

ACTOR: This one?

ACTRESS: Yes, a little
to the right, and go.

Hunk alert.

ACTOR: What's that?

ACTRESS: That's like an Amber
Alert, but also there is a
kid missing in a red Mazda.

ACTOR: Oh, no.

NICK KROLL: Being a late bloomer
meant that I just physically
matured a lot later than

most of my friends.

I didn't hit 5 feet
until into high school.

Andrew was the earliest bloomer.

It didn't take much to realize
that Andrew was hitting
puberty, because he could grow

a mustache and beard
in sixth grade.

Whether you were a late bloomer
or an early developer, you
felt alone, and you felt like

you were different.

Season two of "Big Mouth,"
we introduced a character
called the Shame Wizard.

ACTOR: Surely you
knew I was coming?

NICK KROLL: And in writing the
show, we realized how much shame
played into adolescence and

puberty itself.

ACTRESS: I wish I didn't
have to wear a bra.

What is that, an undershirt?

NICK KROLL: Your
body is changing.

You're having these different
kinds of urges, sexual
urges, emotional swings.

What comes with those emotional
swings is the feeling of shame.

I was lucky in my family that
we did talk about sex, and we
had these books called "What's

Happening to Me?"

The most gratifying thing
about making the show has been
hearing from kids and parents

and teachers saying that they
have watched the show, and
it has given them a platform

and a vocabulary to talk about
what's happening to them.

The show at its core is about
making people feel not so alone.

As I have made this show, the
experience has been incredibly
therapeutic in helping me

understand who I was
and how what I was going
through has affected the
man that I have become.

My name is Nick Kroll, and this
is my Brief But Spectacular
take on characters of different

ages brought to life.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And you can
watch additional Brief But
Spectacular episodes on our Web

site, PBS.org/NewsHour/Brief.