Never Have I Ever : Story of a confused Indian-American girl

The main protagonist of the show is a 15 yr old Indian – American from Sherman Oaks, California named Devi Vishwakumar played by  Maitreyi Ramakrishnan who is trying to make a go at life while coming to terms with the recent death of her father, who she loves dearly.

Why Maitreyi Ramakrishnan?

“Ramakrishnan was extremely excited after having seen The Office work alongside Kaling. She was on cloud nine when she got the call from Kaling affirming for the role.

She told me that “I became a fan of Mindy Kaling when I found out that she wrote so many episodes of The Office, which is my favorite TV show, I’ve always really looked up to her because she wears so many hats.

Pilot

The story is narrated by the tennis legend John McEnroe, On her first day of school as a sophomore, she prays to a horde of Indian gods, asking for certain things to make up for last year, claiming “that last year sucked for a number of reasons.”

She made a long list wishing earnestly to the whole devlok, for invitations to a party with alcohol and hard drugs but also assuring and she won’t do them and would just like the opportunity to say “No cocaine for me. thanks. I’m good”,

but her major concern seems to be her arm hair which seems to look like”the friggin floor of a barbershop”

And the last wish on her list is to have, a boyfriend, who is “not some nerd” but “a stone-cold hottie who can rock me all night long.” not only for her but also for her 2 friends which seems to be their only way to be the ‘cool’ squid in high school.

Woah girl, now these are some straight single-minded wishes for a 15 yr old.

The trailer

The story further continues with the introduction of her only 2 best friends  Fabiola and Eleanor, the trio is formally known as the UN, which one might think is racist and offensive but in reality, it means “unfuckable nerds” which is later on pointed out by her nemesis Ben Gross.

This show seems to focus on all the problems a high schooler might face during their journey to make a remarkable mark in their school days. It ticks off quite a lot of boxes like diversity, cultural appropriation, teenage angst, coming of age, and grief.

All this seems like a heavy but plausible mix for a show that has Kaling’s name as co-creator.

Well, the show still has some hope as no one has been able to fill the chasm left by John Hughes.  The super attractive jock who doesn’t notice the nerdy but attractive heroine; the quirky best friends who are the perfect sidekicks;

the cliques here are no patch on The Breakfast Club, but there is a distinct ‘cool’ and ‘uncool’ divide which can clearly be seen.

Binge-watch Never Have I Ever to see the story of Devi and her struggle to make her way through her high school days.The show is premiering on 27th April 2020. Don’t forget to peek a look.