When I first came across the trailer for the first season of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever, I thought it was a simple show about an Indian girl who has a crush on a popular guy at school. After unintentionally binge-watching two seasons, I found out that it was SO MUCH more than that. Here is an honest review of Never Have I Ever. *BEWARE OF SPOILERS*

About Never Have I Ever

The show was created by Mindy Kaling (from The Office, The Mindy Project & etc.) and Lang Fisher, who was the co-executive producer and writer behind The Mindy Project and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It made its Netflix premiere on April 27th, 2020 amidst the pandemic we’re still stuck in right now. *And on Darren Barnet’s birthday! 😮

It stars relatively newer actors and actresses like Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Darren Barnet, and Jaren Lewison. (I’ll get back to the cast a bit later.)

The Plot

So, Never Have I Ever is a story about a 15-year-old Indian American Tamil girl, Devi Vishwakumar (played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) from Sherman Oaks, CA who witnesses her father pass away at her school concert. In addition to her loss, Devi’s legs stop working due to the psychological trauma. Three months later, Devi miraculously regains her ability to walk after trying to get a better look at her crush, Paxton Hall-Yoshida, at a parking lot.

When she enters her sophomore year, Devi does everything in her power to improve her “social status” with her best friends, Eleanor and Fabiola.

But she runs into problems with her family, friends and everyone around her as she chases after her social life the hottest guy at Sherman Oaks High/her crush Paxton without dealing with her grief.

It’s a story about a young girl who tries to move on without coping with loss, trauma and grief. Who tries to avoid facing what’s hurting her inside. About a girl who makes LOTS of mistakes and makes up for the mistakes on her journey to recovery. And on her journey to adulthood.

Here is a touching scene where Devi has a conversation with her dad in her dream.

Devi’s dad, Mohan (played by Sendhil Ramamurthy), appears in her dream. The scenes where Devi and Nalini reminisce about Mohan are just… heart-wrenching.

The Cast

Now, back to the cast!

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan plays the main character, Devi Vishwakumar. The Tamil Canadian actress was chosen out of 15,000 others who auditioned for the role (THIS was the original Tweet Mindy Kaling posted for the casting search).

And, I must say, she SHINES. I don’t know who else would have played Devi so brilliantly!

The way she portrays Devi comes off as natural and likeable, despite the many mistakes she makes (some are really hard to watch, though). And that’s what the actor playing Devi has to do: show that this young heroine is a hot mess but a loveable hot mess learning and growing at the same time.

Fun Fact: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan was the voice behind “Zipp Storm” in My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale and My Little Pony: Make Your Mark as well as Priya Mangal in Turning Red. She is going to star in a Netflix film called, Netherfield Girls, as Lizzie Bennet! How exciting is that? (Further details on Variety).

Poorna Jagannathan & Richa Moorjani as Nalini & Kamala

The two actresses who play Devi’s mother and cousin are Poorna Jagannathan and Richa Moorjani, respectively. Though they’ve acted in other films and shows, this was my first time seeing them and I can’t believe that it is! They are excellent as Nalini and Kamala, delivering believable fights/interactions with Devi.

Darren Barnet (Paxton) vs. Jaren Lewison (Ben)

The two boys who end up vying for Devi’s love are Paxton and Ben. Darren Barnet plays Paxton Hall-Yoshida, the most popular guy at Sherman Oaks High who “every teen in Socal knows.”

Jaren Lewison plays Devi’s archenemy, Ben Gross, who is smart, rich, and actually kind-hearted. I have this strong feeling that Ben is actually Devi’s endgame, the soulmate she’s overlooking due to Paxton’s perfect abs. But who knows? Maybe Devi will end up with Paxton.

*SPOILER* Devi dates the two guys at the same time in Season 2 because she really likes them both and she’s scheduled to return back to India anyways. (Which is a terrible thing to do & was hard to watch. 😬) Anyways, she and her best friends, Eleanor and Fabiola, create a pros and cons list comparing Paxton and Ben side by side before Devi decides to two-time them:

Devi doesn’t finish the lists because her bffs convince her among other things that she’ll meet other nerdy guys like Ben at Princeton while this was her only chance to date a guy like Paxton. So I finished the lists myself (yes, for this post) and here is my chart:

Some smart people wrote on YouTube that Paxton is boyfriend material while Ben is husband/soulmate material. I cannot agree more with this statement!!!

Paxton is temporary, someone you’d be with for months or for years while Ben is the guy who’ll be in your life forever.

More Cast Members

Honestly, I can go on and on talking about the brilliant cast of Never Have I Ever. Each one of them is unique, talented and highly likeable, just like the cast of Netflix’s Bridgerton. (I just love how Netflix shows some of the best and most wonderful actors and actresses that are less known out into the world.)

Though I could go on dissecting everything about all the casts of Never Have I Ever, I’ll stop here with Devi’s friends: Eleanor, Fabiola and Aneesa.

Ramona Young (Eleanor Wong), Lee Rodriguez (Fabiola Torres), and Megan Suri (Aneesa Qureshi)

Never Have I Ever Review: It’s Been a While since I Enjoyed a Teen TV Show This Much

*SPOILER ALERT!*

I honestly haven’t enjoyed a teen comedy show this much since Malcolm in the Middle, Drake & Josh and other classics of the early 2000s. I can’t say it’s as good as Malcom in the Middle, because that show was just pure comedic gold that will always have a special place in my heart. But I CAN say that Never Have I Ever is better than most teen TV shows that have come out these past years.

I usually don’t watch more than one to three TV episodes in one day. But this teen comedy got me HOOKED. I watched episode after episode and ended up binge-watching the first two seasons in a few days!

Cheeky & Amusing

Never have I ever watched a show so full of cheeky energy! I genuinely enjoyed watching the protagonist mess up and grow up, though as I’ve said before, it was sometimes difficult to watch. Like when she cheated on both Paxton and Ben and when she inadvertently spread a fake rumor about the new girl at school, Aneesa, that turned out to be true… It was painful, to say the least, to watch the protagonist mess up so badly.

But each time, Devi redeems herself by making up for the mistakes. That’s why the audience like myself keep watching the series. And all these mistakes and pains of growing up make this show as amusing as it is.

Plus, even though I’m not a Tamil American, I was able to relate to Devi’s being torn between being Indian and being American as an Asian American myself! I can see countless other Asian Americans and people from immigrant families totally identifying with Devi.

And I just love the scenes where Devi talks with her psychologist, Dr. Jamie Ryan (played by Niecy Nash)! The way Dr. Ryan puts up with Devi is quite admirable and funny. 😂

*But according to this YouTuber who is a psychologist herself, real therapists wouldn’t talk like Dr. Ryan (and shouldn’t) and the script is purposefully written to be funny (without stigmatizing therapy) rather than accurate with genuine therapy skills.

Diversity

Never Have I Ever is more diverse than the “diverse” Bridgerton series. (For my honest review of Bridgerton season 2, click HERE.) It focuses on a Tamil American girl, which I don’t think was ever done before. Not only are there Indian, Jewish, white, African, Asian, Afro-Latin, and Japanese American representations in the show, but also other groups like the queer community and people with disabilities are included.

Could Have Done Better

Despite such diversity, Never Have I Ever is far from perfect. According to various sources along with my own observations, it has many grave problems, like ableism, poor representations, and more. For instance, Ben (played by Jaren Lewison) is Jewish, and he is portrayed with Jewish stereotypes like being super smart and rich with busy, rich parents. And with girlfriend Shira Liedman (played by Hanna Stein) who is based on another stereotype – “the Jewish American princess.”

And then there’s Kamala’s East Asian boyfriend, Steve (played by Eddie Liu) from CalTech. When she decides to dump him after finding out that the man of her arranged marriage is actually handsome, she tells Steve that “it’s not because you’re bad at sex.” The way Ben and Steve are written tie back to the clichés associated with them and reinforce the “academically competitive, smart Jew” and the “less sexually desirable East Asian man” stereotypes.

Nobody really mentions this, but I also found Paxton Hall-Yoshida’s representation to be inaccurate. I read that the show writers changed Paxton from Paxton Hall to Paxton Hall-Yoshida after hearing Darren Barnet speak Japanese on the phone. Darren Charles Barnet is Swedish, Japanese, German and Cherokee American.

So I found it odd that they simplified his race to be “Japanese American” when he in fact is Swedish, Japanese, German and Cherokee American.

It’s already misleading enough that there are actors playing races other than their own and that Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese and Chinese actors are used interchangeably in the industry. (Some say these aren’t problematic and even offer greater job opportunities for actors and actresses of color. But using actors from the same racial group interchangeably reinforces and aggravates stereotypes and the notion of “they look all the same.” It’s as if non-white directors casted American, Canadian, French, English, Dutch and other Western Europeans interchangeably.)

Anyways, I personally think that the showrunners behind Never Have I Ever missed an opportunity to be accurate and inclusive of mixed race Americans. It’s a shame that they brushed Darren Barnet’s Swedish, German and Cherokee heritage to the side.

Conclusion

Regardless of its flaws, Never Have I Ever is a fresh, quirky TV series to enjoy when you want to laugh (and cry). And here’s why you should watch Never Have I Ever seasons 1 & 2 right now:

Season 3 is coming to Netflix on 8/12/2022! In just 3 weeks!

If you love being part of the conversation and joining in the hype like me, I highly recommend finishing the first two seasons of Never Have I Ever before August 12th! (Link to Netflix HERE). If you already did watch them, what are your thoughts?

👇🏽Comment below!

Update 7/27/2022: The official trailer for season 3 just dropped!