‘Never Have I Ever’ Director Kabir Akhtar Believes ‘The Door Is Open for More’ Indian American Shows
One of director Kabir Akhtar’s first episodes on Mindy Kaling’s Netflix comedy series “Never Have I Ever” was the first episode told from Ben Gross’s (Jaren Lewison) point of view in Season 1.
The show follows Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) as she conquers the rollercoaster of high school, the emotions of adolescence and her particularly hot temper, which could flare at any moment. Devi also experiences a classic love triangle between two very different boys — Lewison’s overachieving, nerdy Ben Gross and Darren Barnet’s laid-back jock Paxton Hall-Yoshida.
“I ended up directing both Ben episodes and one of the Paxton episodes, and that first one, one of the things I loved most about it was — you look at it on the surface, and to that point in the show you have this young brown girl as the main character,” Akhtar told TheWrap. “This privileged white kid who...
The show follows Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) as she conquers the rollercoaster of high school, the emotions of adolescence and her particularly hot temper, which could flare at any moment. Devi also experiences a classic love triangle between two very different boys — Lewison’s overachieving, nerdy Ben Gross and Darren Barnet’s laid-back jock Paxton Hall-Yoshida.
“I ended up directing both Ben episodes and one of the Paxton episodes, and that first one, one of the things I loved most about it was — you look at it on the surface, and to that point in the show you have this young brown girl as the main character,” Akhtar told TheWrap. “This privileged white kid who...
- 6/14/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
This article contains spoilers for Never Have I Ever season 4.
Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) has had a lot of love interests throughout Netflix’s comedy-drama series Never Have I Ever. From the love triangle of her, Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison), and Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet), to the intermediary love interest of Des (Anirudh Pisharody) in season three, Devi has no issues attracting young men of all types. It made complete sense then that the show brought another heartthrob into the picture for the first half of the final season. Ethan Morales (Michael Cimino) is a bad boy in every sense of the word. Ethan likes to vandalize vehicles, manipulate situations to his advantage, and win women over with his incredible smile and toned physique. He also showed he was capable of empathy and being a good partner to Devi throughout his short stint on the show.
This is why his...
Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) has had a lot of love interests throughout Netflix’s comedy-drama series Never Have I Ever. From the love triangle of her, Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison), and Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet), to the intermediary love interest of Des (Anirudh Pisharody) in season three, Devi has no issues attracting young men of all types. It made complete sense then that the show brought another heartthrob into the picture for the first half of the final season. Ethan Morales (Michael Cimino) is a bad boy in every sense of the word. Ethan likes to vandalize vehicles, manipulate situations to his advantage, and win women over with his incredible smile and toned physique. He also showed he was capable of empathy and being a good partner to Devi throughout his short stint on the show.
This is why his...
- 6/13/2023
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
There aren’t a whole lot of comparisons between Netflix’s teen rom-com “Never Have I Ever” and the HBO drama “Succession”, but the disparate series wrapped their fourth and final seasons within weeks of each other, both sticking the landing.
Finishing a TV show is an inherently gargantuan/intimidating/daunting task, and very few achieve the holy grail of doing so without disappointing or infuriating even a small faction of their fandom. Shorter seasons and scheduled endings are less rare in the streaming age, but still satisfying for the devoted viewer. Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s “Never Have I Ever” concluded with fulfilling emotional arcs for Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) — especially in her tumultuous relationship with mother Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan) — and with a protagonist who evolved palpably in front of the audience.
Ramakrishnan told IndieWire at a reception for the final season that her favorite part of the ending...
Finishing a TV show is an inherently gargantuan/intimidating/daunting task, and very few achieve the holy grail of doing so without disappointing or infuriating even a small faction of their fandom. Shorter seasons and scheduled endings are less rare in the streaming age, but still satisfying for the devoted viewer. Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s “Never Have I Ever” concluded with fulfilling emotional arcs for Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) — especially in her tumultuous relationship with mother Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan) — and with a protagonist who evolved palpably in front of the audience.
Ramakrishnan told IndieWire at a reception for the final season that her favorite part of the ending...
- 6/12/2023
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
[This story contains spoilers from the fourth and final season of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever.]
Netflix’s Never Have I Ever ended its fourth and final season with lead character Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) at her dream college, Princeton, and with the long-awaited resolution of the series-long love triangle between Devi, Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet) and Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison).
Devi ends the show with Ben, with the pair cuddling together in Devi’s dorm room. The enemies-turned-friends-turned-lovers start off the final season having sex but after the awkward experience, the first time for both of them, they don’t immediately get together, with Ben dating art student Margot (Victoria Moroles) and Devi having a fling with bad boy Ethan (Michael Cimino). As their senior year progresses, Devi and Ben find themselves becoming friends again after not even speaking to each other for part of the fall, but it’s not until the final episode that the two finally couple up.
Netflix’s Never Have I Ever ended its fourth and final season with lead character Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) at her dream college, Princeton, and with the long-awaited resolution of the series-long love triangle between Devi, Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet) and Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison).
Devi ends the show with Ben, with the pair cuddling together in Devi’s dorm room. The enemies-turned-friends-turned-lovers start off the final season having sex but after the awkward experience, the first time for both of them, they don’t immediately get together, with Ben dating art student Margot (Victoria Moroles) and Devi having a fling with bad boy Ethan (Michael Cimino). As their senior year progresses, Devi and Ben find themselves becoming friends again after not even speaking to each other for part of the fall, but it’s not until the final episode that the two finally couple up.
- 6/11/2023
- by Hilary Lewis
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Warning: This piece contains major spoilers for the final season of “Never Have I Ever.” If you haven’t watched yet, turn back now!
Jaren Lewison hopes the scene in Netflix’s “Never Have I Ever” Season 4 finale where Ben Gross realizes he needs to profess his love to Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) becomes as iconic as Heath Ledger’s dancing in “Ten Things I Hate About You” or John Cusack’s boombox scene in “Say Anything.”
In the scene, Ben flies from New York back to California to tell Devi he “likes her,” nay, he “loves her” during Nirmala’s wedding.
“I’m really hoping that audiences respond to that because I think that’s the culmination of the last four years of every Ben and Devi moment, the first one being at Model Un when they work together. There’s a connection there, and Ben says to her,...
Jaren Lewison hopes the scene in Netflix’s “Never Have I Ever” Season 4 finale where Ben Gross realizes he needs to profess his love to Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) becomes as iconic as Heath Ledger’s dancing in “Ten Things I Hate About You” or John Cusack’s boombox scene in “Say Anything.”
In the scene, Ben flies from New York back to California to tell Devi he “likes her,” nay, he “loves her” during Nirmala’s wedding.
“I’m really hoping that audiences respond to that because I think that’s the culmination of the last four years of every Ben and Devi moment, the first one being at Model Un when they work together. There’s a connection there, and Ben says to her,...
- 6/10/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
There comes a time in our lives when high school, like all good things and bad nightmares, must come to an end. And in the series finale of Never Have I Ever, the intrepid brainiac Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) is ready to end her time at Sherman Oaks High drama and virginity-free and say hello to boys and her dream college: Princeton. If only things were ever that easy.
When it first premiered in 2020, the Mindy Kaling Netflix series (co-created byThe Mindy Project’s Lang Fisher) asked an extremely important...
When it first premiered in 2020, the Mindy Kaling Netflix series (co-created byThe Mindy Project’s Lang Fisher) asked an extremely important...
- 6/10/2023
- by CT Jones
- Rollingstone.com
For three seasons, Never Have I Ever’s overachieving Devi Vishwakumar has been trying (and failing) to have sex for the first time. Is the fourth and final season, which began streaming today on Netflix, the charm?
The show’s final season picks up after that jaw-dropping choice she made in the Season 3 finale: to finally go all the way with her academic archrival, Ben, despite spending most of the season dating popular-yet-sweet jock Paxton. But the Season 4 premiere shows Devi’s worst fear coming true: Sex with Ben wasn’t all that great. It was anticlimactic, even.
More from...
The show’s final season picks up after that jaw-dropping choice she made in the Season 3 finale: to finally go all the way with her academic archrival, Ben, despite spending most of the season dating popular-yet-sweet jock Paxton. But the Season 4 premiere shows Devi’s worst fear coming true: Sex with Ben wasn’t all that great. It was anticlimactic, even.
More from...
- 6/8/2023
- by Morgan Pryor
- TVLine.com
Spoiler Alert: This interview contains spoilers from the series finale of “Never Have I Ever” now streaming on Netflix.
The senior season of Netflix’s “Never Have I Ever” is here and, with it, the social, cultural, familial and sexual education of Devi Vishwakumar has reached its conclusion.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan stars as the quirky and ambitious first-generation Indian American high schooler, whose fiery temper has gotten her into some hot water in her relationships and into the point position of a simmering teenage love triangle with studly swimmer Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet) and her equally-nerdy nemesis Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison).
Season 4 of the coming-of-age comedy kicked off with a bang — literally — as Devi and Ben have sex. But awkwardly losing their virginity is just the beginning of a new round of will-they or won’t-they drama.
Over the course of the “Never Have I Ever’s” final 10 episodes, Devi has...
The senior season of Netflix’s “Never Have I Ever” is here and, with it, the social, cultural, familial and sexual education of Devi Vishwakumar has reached its conclusion.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan stars as the quirky and ambitious first-generation Indian American high schooler, whose fiery temper has gotten her into some hot water in her relationships and into the point position of a simmering teenage love triangle with studly swimmer Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet) and her equally-nerdy nemesis Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison).
Season 4 of the coming-of-age comedy kicked off with a bang — literally — as Devi and Ben have sex. But awkwardly losing their virginity is just the beginning of a new round of will-they or won’t-they drama.
Over the course of the “Never Have I Ever’s” final 10 episodes, Devi has...
- 6/8/2023
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Devi Viswakumar‘s romantic endeavors in Never Have I Ever were indeed a significant part of the show’s storyline, but in addition to enhancing the show’s romantic vibe, Devi’s love interests also took center stage as protagonists for brief periods, showcasing their own journey of ups and downs and how they navigated through life’s challenges. Devi’s high school crush, Paxton Hall-Yoshida, was more than simply a passing fling. We get to witness snippets of Paxton’s life and troubles as the show goes on. Despite his popularity and good looks, Paxton faces his own insecurities and familial challenges. Similarly, Ben Gross, Devi’s nemesis turned love interest, also receives his share of the spotlight and eventually becomes an important person in Devi’s life.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did Paxton Return To College?
Played by Darren Barnet, Paxton Hall-Yoshida had been the heartthrob of Sherman Oaks High,...
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did Paxton Return To College?
Played by Darren Barnet, Paxton Hall-Yoshida had been the heartthrob of Sherman Oaks High,...
- 6/8/2023
- by Poulami Nanda
- Film Fugitives
Well, they did it!
The nerds finally had sex on Never Have I Ever Season 4 Episode 1, but it wasn't all they thought it would be.
Sometimes you wait for something so long that the real thing will always disappoint.
Senior year was here, and there were a lot of changes. Sometimes change can be good, but other times, it drags someone out of their comfort zone, leaving them feeling lost.
Devi's life had some significant changes, but the biggest was that she'd lost her virginity to Ben Gross.
The version that had played out in her head saw the whole event happening like in the movies, or in her own words, Euphoria. Yet, it was underwhelming.
She didn't expect to feel like she'd been used for the first time.
But in Ben's defense, he was also not an expert on the subject, and if it was worth anything, he...
The nerds finally had sex on Never Have I Ever Season 4 Episode 1, but it wasn't all they thought it would be.
Sometimes you wait for something so long that the real thing will always disappoint.
Senior year was here, and there were a lot of changes. Sometimes change can be good, but other times, it drags someone out of their comfort zone, leaving them feeling lost.
Devi's life had some significant changes, but the biggest was that she'd lost her virginity to Ben Gross.
The version that had played out in her head saw the whole event happening like in the movies, or in her own words, Euphoria. Yet, it was underwhelming.
She didn't expect to feel like she'd been used for the first time.
But in Ben's defense, he was also not an expert on the subject, and if it was worth anything, he...
- 6/8/2023
- by Denis Kimathi
- TVfanatic
Alright, nerds. There’s one season of Mindy Kaling’s “Never Have I Ever” left. Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) and her besties Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez) and Eleanor (Ramona Young) will return to Sherman Oaks High School to conquer their senior year with confidence, ready for anything that might come their way, or so they think. Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison) and the other boys Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet) and Trent Harrison (Benjamin Norris) will return to school too in various ways.
Michael Cimino’s special guest appearance as a potential new love interest for Devi will shake up Sherman Oaks, and several other faces either return briefly or join for the final season of the Netflix teen comedy show. The core characters have themselves quite a year ahead, dealing with college admissions and the close of this chapter that brought them all together.
Here are the cast and characters of “Never Have I Ever...
Michael Cimino’s special guest appearance as a potential new love interest for Devi will shake up Sherman Oaks, and several other faces either return briefly or join for the final season of the Netflix teen comedy show. The core characters have themselves quite a year ahead, dealing with college admissions and the close of this chapter that brought them all together.
Here are the cast and characters of “Never Have I Ever...
- 6/6/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for Never Have I Ever Season 3.] If you haven’t binged the latest season of Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s addictively bingeable series Never Have I Ever, we’d suggest turning around now as we prepare to take a deep dive into spoiler territory. As fans know by now, the show chronicles the ups and downs of Devi Vishwakumar’s (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) day-to-day life as a teen navigating grief and complex romantic relationships with a comedic twist. While Never Have I Ever is just as much about Devi’s friendships, it’s the show’s central love triangle with her longtime crush Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet) and longtime academic rival Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison) that has sucked fans into the drama. While the season led to some interesting developments, Fisher wants to reassure fans heading into the fourth and final season that despite Devi pursuing “one free boink” with Ben,...
- 8/15/2022
- TV Insider
Click here to read the full article.
[This story contains spoilers from the third season of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever.]
At the end of season three of Netflix’s teen comedy Never Have I Ever, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s Devi says goodbye to the dream version of her longtime crush Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet), who she started the season dating before they broke up just a few episodes later amid Devi’s incessant insecurities about their relationship.
But even though Devi’s done with the dream of Paxton, co-creator Lang Fisher indicates that Devi’s not entirely done with him or the other corner of the show’s central love triangle, her friend and academic rival Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison), with whom Devi appears to be rekindling things after she shows up at his door in the season finale.
“There are plenty of romantic hijinks in season four to come,” Fisher tells The Hollywood Reporter of Never Have I Ever...
[This story contains spoilers from the third season of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever.]
At the end of season three of Netflix’s teen comedy Never Have I Ever, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s Devi says goodbye to the dream version of her longtime crush Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet), who she started the season dating before they broke up just a few episodes later amid Devi’s incessant insecurities about their relationship.
But even though Devi’s done with the dream of Paxton, co-creator Lang Fisher indicates that Devi’s not entirely done with him or the other corner of the show’s central love triangle, her friend and academic rival Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison), with whom Devi appears to be rekindling things after she shows up at his door in the season finale.
“There are plenty of romantic hijinks in season four to come,” Fisher tells The Hollywood Reporter of Never Have I Ever...
- 8/15/2022
- by Hilary Lewis
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Following July’s packed movie slate, more upcoming TV shows and films are beginning to roll out their trailers. “Never Have I Ever” Season 3 dropped its first trailer ahead of the August 12 premiere, while large casts have fans excited for the remaining summer TV shows, including Nick Offerman, Abbi Jacobson, Chanté Adams, D’Arcy Carden, and Roberta Colindrez in “A League of Their Own.”
We also got our first look at Ana de Armas’ upcoming performance as a fictional interpretation of Marilyn Monroe in “Blonde” as well as the trailer for the third and final season of Netflix’s “Locke & Key.” Guillermo del Toro’s stop motion animated “Pinocchio” is sure to rival Disney’s and Lionsgate’s.
We’ve rounded up all of the trailers you may have missed this week to put in one post. There were quite a few, so read below.
Echoes Netflix
Michelle Monaghan plays...
We also got our first look at Ana de Armas’ upcoming performance as a fictional interpretation of Marilyn Monroe in “Blonde” as well as the trailer for the third and final season of Netflix’s “Locke & Key.” Guillermo del Toro’s stop motion animated “Pinocchio” is sure to rival Disney’s and Lionsgate’s.
We’ve rounded up all of the trailers you may have missed this week to put in one post. There were quite a few, so read below.
Echoes Netflix
Michelle Monaghan plays...
- 7/30/2022
- by Charna Flam and Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
Devi Vishwakumar’s days at Netflix are numbered.
The streamer has renewed Never Have I Ever for a fourth and final season, Netflix announced Tuesday. Season 3 is slated to premiere later this year.
More from TVLineVikings: Valhalla Officially Renewed for Seasons 2 and 3 at NetflixBridgerton Season 2 Trailer Previews Love as a Competition (and Anthony and Kate Make the Rules) -- WatchRussian Doll Gets Season 2 Release Date at Netflix -- Watch a Trippy Teaser
Season 4 of the coming-of-age comedy will begin streaming in 2023; production on those episodes likely will get underway in the next few months.
The comedy, which hails from Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher,...
The streamer has renewed Never Have I Ever for a fourth and final season, Netflix announced Tuesday. Season 3 is slated to premiere later this year.
More from TVLineVikings: Valhalla Officially Renewed for Seasons 2 and 3 at NetflixBridgerton Season 2 Trailer Previews Love as a Competition (and Anthony and Kate Make the Rules) -- WatchRussian Doll Gets Season 2 Release Date at Netflix -- Watch a Trippy Teaser
Season 4 of the coming-of-age comedy will begin streaming in 2023; production on those episodes likely will get underway in the next few months.
The comedy, which hails from Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher,...
- 3/8/2022
- by Kimberly Roots
- TVLine.com
In typical Mindy Kaling fashion, her Netflix teen comedy, Never Have I Ever, is equal parts romantic comedy, coming-of-age story, and cultural revelation. The show focuses on Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), a first-generation Indian-American teenage girl who is an overachieving, whip-smart high school sophomore who also happens to have a short temper that tends to get her into sticky situations. Despite being a self-proclaimed nerd, Devi isn't meek or unassuming - instead, she's brazenly outspoken, headstrong, stubborn, and a pop culture savant. She's ready to take her sophomore year of high school by storm, but shenanigans and classic Kaling insanity intervene, and she finds herself smack dab in the middle of a love triangle.
Somehow, the nerd finds herself torn between the affections of the hot, high school jock Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet) and her nemesis-turned-friend Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison). Devi grows closer to each boy throughout the first season,...
Somehow, the nerd finds herself torn between the affections of the hot, high school jock Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet) and her nemesis-turned-friend Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison). Devi grows closer to each boy throughout the first season,...
- 5/1/2020
- by Mekishana Pierre
- Popsugar.com
OTTThe show puts an Indian-American teen at the centre, pushing past generations of stories that have placed white protagonists in the spotlight.Nikhita VenugopalThere’s a formula when it comes to classic teen rom-coms — a girl, a boy, best friends, overbearing parents, school. The best versions of these stories draw us in with tropes (because who doesn’t love a good rom-com) but keep us hooked for something much more. For teen stories, the task becomes harder because we’re wired to dismiss their problems as ‘angst’ and move on with our day. But beyond the crushes and homework and screaming matches, it’s ultimately a kid in crisis, hoping to be taken seriously in a world where the adults are talking. Netflix released the first 10-episode season of Never Have I Ever this week, a new series from actor and comedian Mindy Kaling and writer-producer Lang Fisher, about a...
- 4/29/2020
- by Nikhita Venugopal
- The News Minute
“Hey gods,” Never Have I Ever‘s Devi prays at the start of the Netflix comedy’s premiere, reminding the deities to whom she’s praying that she’s “your favorite Hindu girl in the San Fernando Valley.” It’s the first day of her sophomore year in high school, and she’s worried that she’ll be forever marked by a traumatic event that happened in Grade 9 — hence the higher-power entreaties.
In a minute, we’ll want to hear what you thought of the Netflix series’ premiere. But first, a quick recap of Devi’s back-to-school shenanigans.
More from TVLineQuarantine-Inspired Social Distance Series,...
In a minute, we’ll want to hear what you thought of the Netflix series’ premiere. But first, a quick recap of Devi’s back-to-school shenanigans.
More from TVLineQuarantine-Inspired Social Distance Series,...
- 4/27/2020
- TVLine.com
Spotify’s Genius-powered “Behind the Lyrics” integration, which flashes lyric snippets and behind-the-scenes tidbits during users’ listening experience, has become one of the music-streaming service’s most viral, beloved features. Not to be outdone, rival service Apple Music is now also partnering with Genius — and in classic one-up fashion for the company, it’s gone for bigger scale.
Beginning Thursday, Apple Music will be the official streaming platform on the Genius website, allowing subscribers who visit the site on either desktop or mobile to play any song in full directly from the song page.
Beginning Thursday, Apple Music will be the official streaming platform on the Genius website, allowing subscribers who visit the site on either desktop or mobile to play any song in full directly from the song page.
- 10/11/2018
- by Amy X. Wang
- Rollingstone.com
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