We’ve all seen that textbook Indian character; the nerd in high school excelling at the mathematics Olympiad, the main character’s best friend who barely speaks a word, and the NYC taxi driver with the thick accent, all holding back so much potential for a character arc, yet shying away behind the shadows of the ‘cool characters’.
Growing up, brown kids barely saw their cultures and communities represented on TV. Brown girls and boys would turn on an American TV show just to immerse themselves in plotlines that were centered around a predominantly white community, their friends, and family, with a string of drama that would ensue that was not in the least bit, desi.
Flashback to 2019 and Mindy Kaling; American actress, comedian and screenwriter, released an open casting call in search of an actress to play a role in a TV series based on an Indian American teen. In July 2019, 18-year-old Maitreyi Ramakrishnan from Mississauga, Canada booked the role for Mindy Kaling’s latest project and began filming in Universal Studios, Los Angeles.
The show, named Never Have I Ever, premiered its pilot episode on the 27th of April 2020 on Netflix and became an overnight hit on the popular streaming platform. One could say the show breathed life into a new wave of South Asian representation in mainstream media, shattering the existing archetype of the South Asian character that was halfheartedly written for TV and film in Hollywood.
Never Have I Ever pivots around Devi Vishwakumar, an Indian-American Tamil Hindu girl from Los Angeles, her high school life at Sherman Oaks alongside her two best friends Fabiola and Eleanor, while also touching on Devi’s strained relationship with her mother Nalini and her constant struggle with embracing her Indian heritage.
The show first picks off a few months after Devi’s father, Mohan shockingly passes away and uncovers that Devi has been temporarily confined to a wheelchair for she has lost sensation in her legs due to the psychological impact of her father’s sudden death.
As season one opens with Devi’s sophomore year in high school, Devi is on a mission with her eccentric best friends to forget their embarrassing past and reinvent cool personalities.
Never Have I Ever episodes are creatively narrated by star tennis player John McEnroe to amplify Devi’s innermost thoughts while breaking the fourth wall between the audience and the actor. Supplementary narrations are provided by Victoria’s Secret supermodel Gigi Hadid for Paxton, while Andy Samberg narrates Ben’s tales.
Devi is a storm of chaos and self-sabotage, unlike most main characters in shows who seem likable, and the show’s writers have effortlessly crafted her into a perfectly imperfect 15-year-old trying to beat the odds that are stacked high up against her as she navigates her teenage life through her family, friendships, boys and her inner battle of grief she feels for her father.
Seasons two and three thereafter filter through the many antics of Devi and her friends, Devi’s dilemma of choosing between her ultimate high school crush, Paxton Hall- Yoshida, and her academic rival Ben Gross who has now blossomed into a love interest. With a recurrent theme of familial bonds and reconnecting with one’s roots, Devi shines a realistic light on the lives of many first-generation immigrant kids coming to grips with the cultures they feel so distant from.
Never Have I Ever is also in many ways an onscreen nod to teenage angst and rage, irrational fears, the gradual transformation from first-world problems to digging in deep to tap into their innermost feelings, coping mechanisms, and the ultimate metamorphosis into young adults leaving the cocoons of their high school lives.
Wrapping up the show with a final goodbye Never Have I Ever returned to Netflix with their fourth and final season on the 8th of June 2023. After four successful seasons well received by fans around the globe, Devi featuring her little community of friends, family and the unexpected entrance of a brand-new character go on one final ride entwined with comic elements, sentimental and emotional scenes, and a nostalgic ending in true senior year style!
