Penn Characters
Beth Behrs’ character, Caroline Channing, is a trust fund baby Wharton grad whose Daddy gets caught for a Madoff–esque Ponzi scheme and is left penniless. With only intern expe- rience at places like Conde Nast, she needs the help of been–broke–all–her–life girl Max (played by Kat Dennings) to learn how to live like the other 99%—paycheck to paycheck. This Wharton nod is likely only due to show creator Whitney Cummings’ Penn degree, but we’ll take it anyway.
Watch it: Netflix DVD + recent episodes on Xfinity.
This critically–acclaimed but shortlived NBC drama aired from 2002–2005 and took place in dear old 1960s Phil- adelphia. The Philly locale coupled with the numerous young adult characters (in- cluding an up–and–coming Brittany Snow) means that Penn was basically a minor character on the show. Every other main character's boyfriend or girlfriend was either a cheating Quaker or a too-earnest Quaker. In all, four characters throughout the show study at Penn, and a regular hangout called "The Lair" from seasons two and three is supposedly on our campus as well.
Watch it: Netflix DVD
“Queer” chronicles the lives of a Pittsburgh clique of gay friends, including protagonist Ted Schmidt, who starts out as an accountant with an MBA from Wharton. He then transitions to a porn site mogul after being fired for watch- ing some XXX at work, and eventually devolves into a recovering sex party and crystal meth addict. Moral of the story: A Wharton degree doesn’t give you much of a bonus.
Watch it: Netflix
Penn Name Drops
Suits Season 3 Episode 4 "Conflict of Interest"
There was a mild Penn Twitterverse explosion this summer when “Suits” character and esteemed Pearson & Darby lawyer Louis Litt got schooled by an investment banker. In attempts to outsmart an oil company, Louis finds himself face to face with an investment banker who tells him: “You think you’re the first lawyer to try to outsmart us? We’re not lawyers, we’re in- vestment bankers, we call you for the paper work. We didn’t go to Harvard, we went to Wharton, and we saw you coming a mile away.”
Watch it: Xfinity TV
Pretty Little Liars Season 4 Episode 2 "Birds of a Feather"
Pretty Little Liar Spencer Hastings gets re- jected from Penn, the school that everyone else in her family, including her betchy sister Melissa, attended. This sends Spencer down a crazy spiral, but I mean hey that’s some pretty good publicity. Penn too good for a pretty little liar? Not bad for the resume, not bad at all.
Watch it: Netflix + recent episodes on Hulu.
The Office Season 5 Episode 6 "Employee Transfer"
Dwight Schrute, in an effort to engage in his favorite activity of enraging Andy Bernard, decides to become a huge fan of Andy’s alma mater, Cornell. He comes to work donning a Cornell crew- neck and a Cornell mug claiming that he is going to apply to Cornell. As part of the ruse, he casually says to Andy in the break room “So how do you think we’re gonna do against Penn this year?” Andy responds with further anger about Dwight’s joke, and Quakers every- where thought to themselves “I always forget we have a football team.”
Watch it: Netflix
