(May Contain Spoilers)
I binge-watched the whole series, making my way to bed at 5am in the morning because I was so invested in Netflix’s new teen comedy! Watching the first episode I was worried the whole series was going to be incredibly cringey and totally American and although at times it was, the characters and storyline settled, and I found myself fully invested into the series. It reminded me of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018), one parent had passed away, the protagonist has few friends and has a high school teenage crush on boy(s). The thing I loved most about Never Have I Ever is that an Indian girl is the lead protagonist and Indian culture is being shown on a leading streaming service!
It’s sophomore year and Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) is determined to turn her life around by re branding herself and friendship group with and the small addition of all getting boyfriends. This ambition comes after Devi went through a horrendous ordeal, where her father died during her orchestra recital and that stress and grieve made Devi loose feeling of her legs. Devi then was in a wheelchair until one day she stood up to spy on her crush Paxton (Darren Barnet). From here Devi tries to pursue her Paxton as a potential lover, even asking him point blank to have sex with her, which surprisingly he agrees to without blinking! You would think it would be all smooth sailing from here, but Devi’s nerdiness gets the better of her and she skips out on him after getting flustered when he lifts up his t-shirt to revel some well chiselled abs.
Meanwhile, Kamala (Richa Moorjani), Devi’s cousin, comes to stay with the family so that she can complete her PhD and Devi and her mum, Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan), are constantly bickering. Kamala has a secret boyfriend, Steve (Eddie Liu), whilst her family are setting up and arranged marriage with Prashant (Rushi Kota) who Kamala meets at the end and decides to take it slow. Nalini and Devi fight over Nalini’s strict rules that study comes first and no boyfriends until she is married. However, there conflict is solved towards the end of the series are they spread her father’s ashes on his favourite Miami beach.
Nalini is not the only person in Devi’s world that she fights with, her best-friends Eleanor (Ramona Young) and Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez) fall out with Devi after she spends more time with Paxton than being there for them when Fabiola comes out gay and Eleanor’s absent mother comes and leaves again. Also, Ben (Jaren Lewison) is Devi’s high school nemesis as they rival over intelligence, however become friends towards the end of the series and potential lovers. Devi wants to go to parties and get drunk like a normal teenage (and she does), but she also attends Indian Hindu festival, Ganesh Puja. As far as Paxton is concerned, Devi lied about having sex with him, which he finds out about but later ends up kissing her after a party…Yes, I screamed when this happened! It is safe to say that Devi has not had to the smoother high school ride, however, has her own teenage angst problems, which is mixed with her tradition Hindu values.
Never Have I Ever is a wonderfully awkward teenage dramedy, which showcases diversity in front and behind the camera, a great push in the right direction for Hollywood. For me, the series felt like a mixture between To All The Boys I Loved Before and I Am Not Okay With This (2020), Netflix are definitely upping their teen category game! I loved that there was an Indian girl as the protagonist and Indian values were being projected onto our screens. This teen series has everything, best-friends, tick, the hottie, tick, a high school, tick, a grumpy parent or broken family, tick, parties and sex, tick(ish) and the nerdy teenager, definite tick! A must-see! Uplifting, endearing and awkward.
Stream all 10 half-hour episodes now on Netflix.
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