Mindy Kaling's Never Have I Ever is a near prefect example of a coming of age comedy, which is why the series garnered many fans and great reviews when it hit Netflix in late April. The show, which stars Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi, a 15-year-old high school student who's trying to handle all the standard teen angsty stuff while also dealing (not very well) with the recent death of her dad, was popular enough in Season 1 to get a renewal from the streamer, and now that we know how many folks watched the new show, Ramakrishnan has given us a truly funny response to all the views.
If you were one of the people who streamed Never Have I Ever, enjoyed the first season and are really looking forward to Season 2, know that you are certainly not alone. Netflix just revealed that 40 million households tuned in to check out Maitreyi Ramakrishnan in her first leading role. And, with that news, came a very funny reaction from Never Have I Ever's leading lady on Twitter. Take a look:
Awwww! Maitreyi, of course we watched your face willingly. It's awesome and does so many interesting things during the course of Never Have I Ever. Without it, well, we would have been watching Devi for some very different reasons, and I must admit that I think most of us would probably still not have been able to look away. You know, if you (and Devi) somehow didn't have a face. Anywho...
Viewers who took a gander at Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and her face in Never Have I Ever will know that she helped bring Devi to life in a way that audiences really gravitate towards, especially when watching teens navigate their growing responsibilities and changing emotions. When we meet Devi, she's coming off of a devastating freshman year, where the death of her dad (R.I.P. Hot Dad) led to her losing the use of her legs for three months. So, she's determined to remake her life and image during her sophomore year.
As you might expect, though, this turns out not to be so easy. Devi is still in therapy to try and figure out how to handle her father's passing. She and her mother have frequent clashes at home. Devi also has a mighty crush on an upperclassman, an intellectual nemesis that she has to deal with daily, and has two friends whose problems frequently fall by the wayside as she attempts to juggle everything life is now throwing at her.
Devi's second year of high school is a lot, and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan's performance manages to keep the audience on her character's side even when she's petty, selfish or makes terrible decisions. These are all signs of Devi just being a human who's trying to handle herself when life keeps changing, but sometimes fails (a lot), much like the rest of us, which makes us enjoy watching Ramakrishnan as the character even more.
Ramakrishnan has already voiced her hopes for Devi in Season 2, and we should be able to see if those come true, along with seeing how that big love triangle comes out, before too much longer. You can revisit Season 1 of Never Have I Ever on Netflix right now, and see what else is new with our guide to summer TV!
