Never Have I Ever: A Witty, Warm & Engaging Take on an American-Indian Teenager and her High School Struggles!

Netflix's series 'Never Have I Ever' is created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher. 

Cast:

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi Vishwakumar

Richa Moorjani as Kamala

Ramona Young as Eleanor

Lee Rodriguez as Fabiola

Jaren Lewison as Ben Gross

Darren Barnet as Paxton Hall-Yoshida

Poorna Jagannathan as Nalini Vishwakumar

John McEnroe as Narrator

Never Have I Ever revolves around the story of Devi, an Indian-American teenager struggling to balance her life between two entirely different cultures. The series starts off with introducing Devi, who is all set to begin her Sophomore  year in High School. She is seen reciting her prayers to the Hindu Gods, asking them for a few things to be added on her list, considering the previous year which had gone haywire. One of the major things which Devi wanted to add to her list was to get a boyfriend. 

Devi, and her two best friends Eleanor and Fabiola have a new aim in school this year, to get a boyfriend and become the new 'cool kids' of the school.  When we take a wide look at Devi's character, her rebelliousness, high temper, academia competition, Jealousy with her cousin Kamala, dealing with her own grief and her struggles to get a boyfriend, they all combine together to depict that Devi might not be the most perfect character but she is for sure relatable to various extends.

Even though the show tried to bring out the Indian references, catering to the Indian audience and making it more relatable, several stereotypes could still be seen. For example, the entire track of Kamala, being forced for an arranged marriage by her parents and the Indian gossip aunties who are more interested in your life than their own. It still manages to put in a number of pop culture references like mentioning shows like Riverdale & Grey Anatomy, Priyanka Chopra, BTS amongst others. 

Apart from Devi, her two best friends Eleanor and Fabiola are also seen dealing with their own issues and it is interesting to see their story arc. This is one of the major strong points of the story which brings out several important issues which still needs to be addressed. 

The entire show is seen narrated by John McEnroe, a legendary American Tennis plyayer and three times Wimbledon Champion. His narration comes out as a surprise package and it brings in more humour and wittiness to the story. There are several references made to her career and it certainly will keep you hooked to the entire plot.

The entire cast was seen delivering a phenomenal performances and have managed to keep us hooked till the very end. Apart from this, Darren Barnet as Paxton Hall-Yoshida, Jaren Lewison as Ben Gross and Poorna Jagannathan as Nalini Vishwakumar were seen performing their roles with utmost perfection. 

Verdict:  The series will keep you engaged till the end and it can be be surely added to your binge watch list. It will take you on a rollercoaster ride on the journey of a teenage girl trying to fit in with the rest of the people around her.

Ratings: 3.5 stars