Co-created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, Never Have I Ever follows Indian-American Devi Vishwakumarand throughout her sophomore year at high school. Just in the past year, Devi witnessed her dad die in front of her at her orchestra concert, became paralyzed and then months later became unparalyzed. She has the support of her two best friends and her therapist, but that's not enough because Devi always finds herself in some trouble.
Devi is angsty, confident, determined and incredibly hilarious. The audience will soon fall in love with her as she is determined to make her sophomore year the best and become one of the popular kids. In order to do so, she believes she must lose her virginity. She ploys swimmer hottie Paxton Hall-Yoshida to be the one to deflower her. While Devi attempts to climb the social ladder at school, she learns the value of friendship, self-discovery and family.
Never Have I Ever is the perfect combination of comedy meets drama. Not only does the show have great representation, but it also so accurately portrays what it is like to be a high schooler today. These high schoolers do not have a perfect, cookie-cutter, Disney life. Not often do you see a show that portrays teenagers so raw and this show truly did not hold back; they cuss, they talk about sex, sexual identity, mental health, family issues, alcohol, *actual* teen romance and so much more.
The show also normalizes mental health and what high schoolers endure. Devi is still coping with the death of her dad and is seeing a therapist to help her handle the trauma. Never Have I Ever also accurately shows how past events can affect things you do years later and if you do not address the trauma, you will spiral. It does all this while still being hilarious.
My favorite thing about the show is how incredible it is written. The storylines are not forced and I love that the writers do not let all of the issues get solved in the end, because that is not real and is not how life works. It has to be the most accurate portrayal of teen life I have ever seen. I'm almost mad at myself for binge-watching it all in one sitting because now I don't know what to do with my life. The first season consists of 10 episodes all under 30 minutes long. Take some time today (because I know you have free time now) to check out this incredible show. Be prepared to laugh, cry and then laugh some more. I promise you will not regret it.
