Created by Lang Fisher and Mindy Kaling, Netflix’s Never Have I Ever has amassed immense popularity with its first two seasons and has now been renewed for a third run.
This young-adult coming-of-age comedy traces a young Indian American girl called Devi’s journey through high school. We follow her as she navigates herself through grades, friendships, jealousy, aspirations, young love and subsequent love triangles while grappling with the tragic demise of her father and the constant bickering with her mother.
Led by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, who plays the role of Devi with unimaginable spunk and ease, the show has gained a vast fan following due to its relatable content as a young Devi voices her concern about her lack of social skills and more. It is hilarious and abounds in Kaling-like humour, perfectly portraying the generation gap between Devi and her immigrant mother, who tries to instil certain Indian values in her.
In their joint statement yesterday, Kaling and Fisher said, “We are so grateful to Netflix and Universal Television for letting us continue to tell this story, and to the fans around the world who clamoured to see more of this badly behaved Indian teenager.”
Throughout the first two seasons, we have seen Devi being caught in a love triangle with the popular jock, Paxton (Darren Barnet) and the cool nerd, Ben (Jaren Lewison), stealing kisses with them both. Their triangle is central to the comedy, and hilarity ensues when Devi has to choose her path.
In a July podcast interview with THR, Fisher admitted that she was willing to work on the show “as long as they’ll pay me for it”. “I do think [Devi’s] got very different relationships with these two guys and you could see her going in either direction,” she said.
“So much of it depends on what the rest of the stories are that we want to tell. With teen shows, everyone is 45 and you have to graduate from high school. I do think the love triangle will be significant for the run of the show.”
With John McEnroe instilled as the narrator and starring Poorna Jagannathan, Lee Rodriguez, Richa Moorjani, and Ramona Young, the show’s popularity has only risen further. Bring on the fun-packed third season!
