“Never Have I Ever” is a comical coming of age Netflix original series with a lot to offer. Released on April 27, 2020, “Never Have I Ever” is a trending series that connects with a range of audience interests. The ten episode season dives into topics such as identity, culture, friendships, high school life, familial pressures, grieving and relationships. By focusing on the main character’s modern day Indian-American lifestyle, keeping up with pop culture and a diverse cast, this series is nothing like any television series before.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan plays Devi Vishwakumar as her first major role at eighteen years old from Mississauga, Canada. Ramakrishnan pulls off a teenager with a lot on her plate. Devi is a fifteen year old sophomore who had a tough, to say the least, first year of high school. First, her dad had a heart attack and died during her school concert and then her legs were unexplainably paralyzed for three months. Returning to school back on her feet for sophomore year, Devi plans to rebrand herself and her two friends so that they are “cool.” However this plan includes all three of the girls getting boyfriends which doesn’t really work out for them but in some ways it worked out for the better. Since the death of her father, Devi sees a therapist to assist in her emotional healing while also revealing Devi’s shaky mental state where she thinks only a boyfriend could be the solution. Devi does have in mind who this guy could be and he’s the Orange County hottie Paxton Hall-Yoshida.
Paxton Hall-Yoshida, played by Darren Barnet, is supposed to be a high school swimmer-hunk but is twenty-nine years old in real life and just doesn’t look the part. Being half Japanese, Paxton’s mixed ethnicity, adds to the cast of diverse characters and addresses a common confusion about mixed kids’ backgrounds. For example, his pal Trent Harrison, played by Benjamin Norris, found out Paxton was half Japanese, Paxton asked who he thought his dad was and Trent answered, “I thought that was your neighbor.”
Devi’s two quirky friends on the other hand have just as developed personalities as Devi. Fabiola Torres, who is played by Lee Rodriguez, is the captain of the robotics team and has the style of a private school uniformed boy and discovers her identity. The final part of the friend trio is Eleanor Wong, played by Ramona Young, who is the theatre geek with an interesting style, and has a mother who abandoned her. Fabiola and Eleanor, while not the stars of the show, are still relatable to almost all kinds of students in high school. While all the girls have problems of their own, making this a teenage drama, Eleanor and Fabiola find ways to support each other and Devi but sometimes Devi pushes them away too much for them to reach her.
The root of Devi’s teen angst personality is her struggle to properly grieve her father who also makes occasional spiritual visits to Devi throughout the series. Devi’s life turned into a mess when she puts Paxton before her friends and disobeys her mother which was unsavory for my cinematic taste because one’s downfall is uncomfortable, but it emphasized her rise from the ashes. Eventually as she finds a solution in the final episode and herself, her friendships and familial dilemmas are solved. A lesson that takes the whole series to explain is: sometimes you need to fall apart to get back together.
Devi also has a “nemesis”named Ben Gross, who is played by Jaren Lewison and they have been academic rivals always trying to be better than the other in school and extracurricular activities. Ben often brags about his father who is a big shot celebrity lawyer and is just as competitive as Devi in being better than the other. Ben does shine through as a significant character in the series but this theory wasn’t confirmed until I saw episode six was dedicated to him. Having his own episode revealed his struggles behind the pretense he usually wore. His appearance as a smart, rich kid left out how he often felt lonely without his parents around, with a lousy girlfriend and without any real friends. Offering Ben more depth, just like the rest of the cast, he is a well developed character contributing to the complex plot that covers many aspects and lessons in life.
Meanwhile Devi’s beautiful Indian cousin is living with Devi and her mother, housing her own issues. Kamala, played by Richa Moorjani, has a secret romance with a classmate she met in college but her parents are arranging a marriage with someone else in India. Kamala finds this secret and her plan to reject her family’s wishes will only have negative outcomes. Kamala portrays the traditional Indian daughter and niece who is very respectful, high achieving and feels a responsibility to her parents even though it is later revealed that she doesn’t feel ready for marriage.
Episode four titled “Never Have I Ever… Felt Super Indian,” is an episode dedicated to a Ganesh Puja celebration that reveals Indian Hindu culture but also Devi’s feelings toward her native traditions. Growing up in America and surrounded by American culture, Devi finds herself looking at the holiday as a bit of a joke until she starts to question and finds out more about her identity from understanding more of her culture. Devi is also co-creator Mindy Kaling’s trace character and reflects Kaling’s own experience on embracing her Hinduism.
The show is rated TV-14 and categorized as a coming of age series but portrays stereotyped aspects of high school life that make this series too mature for younger viewers. With hilarious writing and co-created by Mindy Kaling, this series has a lot to offer but the scenes about sexual relations and underage drinking is not what I’m looking for in a good series. “Never Have I Ever” received a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes but out of my five star rating, I would give it a strong 4 because it reflects current day issues that the audience can relate to in one way or another so there’s something for everyone.
