Netflix's Never Have I Ever is a beloved show created by Mindy Kaling. Apart from being a teen comedy series, what's unique is that fans get to see brown representation on the screen, with Maitreyi Ramakrishnan playing the role of Devi, a first-generation Indian teen in the US.
The show's premise is simple with Devi trying to get intimate with the boy of her dreams while dealing with everyday tussles with her mother, friends, and school. Even though the Indian representation isn't entirely perfect, the show has still managed to get rave reviews and favorable audience reactions. Fans want to know if Never Have I Ever based on Mindy Kaling's life as the show has a personal angle and is inspired by her own years growing up. Viewers also wonder did Mindy Kaling's dad die as Devi deals with grief over her father's passing. However, there are some fictional fantasies too which Kaling hoped were real in her teenage years.
Updated on November 19th, 2022 by Aya Tsintziras: Since its premiere on Netflix in 2020, Never Have I Ever has had three seasons and fans are looking forward to season 4, which will be the final one. Fans will be sad to say goodbye to these beloved characters, especially Devi. In the teaser for these new episodes, viewers learn that Devi has a crush on a boy named Ethan. The show is so relatable and sweet because it's inspired by many experiences that Mindy Kaling had growing up, and it's fun to learn what Kaling added that she really went through and what is fictional.
Inspired
Kaling's Dad Loved John McEnroe
One of the most unique aspects of Never Have I Ever is the fact that it's narrated by John McEnroe. Kaling told McEnroe that her mom and dad loved him and that's why he became part of the series, according to Men's Health.
McEnroe's narration is funny and heartfelt at the same time and is a nice addition as viewers get to know Devi well and know everything that she's thinking at all times as she navigates high school and the feelings that result from her experiences.
The Opening Scene Really Happened To Kaling
There are many underrated Never Have I Ever season 1 moments and the opening is memorable. The first scene of Never Have I Ever sees Devi praying in her bedroom that she will be able to have a boyfriend who is an athlete at school. She also wants to attend a party.
According to Men's Health, Kaling did the same thing. As Kaling said in an interview with The Hindu, “And if people watching it can say, ‘Oh my gosh, yes, I too before my SATs have to pray in front of two gods, only two of whom I know what their deal is’—that is a rewarding feeling.”
Devi's Ethnicity
It would be stating the obvious but the first and foremost similarity between Devi and Mindy Kaling is that they both are of Indian ethnicity. Devi is the first-generation daughter of Indian parents, the same as Kaling.
While Kaling is half-Tamil, Devi is also shown as having Tamilian parents. To add accuracy to the portrayal, actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is also of Canadian-Tamil ethnicity.
Devi's Sense Of Loss
Early on, it is revealed that Devi's father passed away in an unexpected cardiac arrest. Still, her father does make occasional appearances when she's down, either in flashbacks or even as a mystical coyote.
Mindy Kaling thankfully never saw the demise of her parental figures while growing up, but she grieved for her mother in her 30s, who passed away from pancreatic cancer. This was a crucial point in her life as she tried getting through it. Even Devi tries to move over this loss while getting reminded of her old man every once in a while. As the comedienne revealed in an interview with Decider.com, the show "deals with the emotional fallout of death and trauma."
Slightly Strict Parents
Devi's mother Nalini is one of the best Never Have I Ever characters and is not always a very stern parent. Nalini tries talking to her in the sweetest voice but she's shown as being slightly on the conservative side, not allowing her to venture out much. Devi, in fact, lies to her mother whenever she wants to meet a boy or go to party with alcohol.
Mindy Kaling has had a similar household experience with her parents consistently advising her to focus on academics. This is further explained in detail, again in her memoir. Kaling wrote, "My parents didn’t let me do social things on weeknights, because they were for homework—and maybe an episode of The X-Files if I was being good, and on extremely rare occasions, I could watch Seinfeld, if I had aced my PSATs or something."
Experiencing FOMO
Devi's constant goal to be a cool kid in high school makes her a classic patient of the Fear of Missing Out (what Gen Z dubs as FOMO). In Mindy Kaling's memoir, this FOMO is also touched upon as she always felt she was missing out "because of how the high school experience was dramatized in TV and song."
As mentioned before, Devi maybe stands for living the life which Kaling wished she got a chance at. Devi is afraid of missing out on the classic high school experience and works on turning these fantasies to reality. Kaling, on the other hand, turned these regrets into a Netflix series!
Fantasies Of Crushes
While Devi dates her frenemy Ben in Never Have I Ever, fans like Devi and Paxton together. Mindy Kaling never got to live such a fantasy. But still, she, like Devi in the early episodes, had her own series of fantasies with high school crushes.
She got candid about this way back in a 2015 Seventeen column in which she elaborated on having plenty of crushes. These proved to be a good escape mechanism for her to imagine hanging out and being close with all the hot guys in her school. Being single however turned out to be a blessing, as she reveals, for it helped her spend more time with her obsession with comedy.
Not Inspired
Different Cities
While Devi's life takes place in Sherman Oaks, a suburban family neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. The showrunner, on the other hand, had a '90s childhood growing up in Boston.
But this doesn't affect the story much as the show focuses more on Devi's struggles in her Indian household as well as her school and the best Never Have I Ever episodes feature these themes. Fans hardly see Devi at any other place in the city other than these two locations.
Devi's More Outgoing Nature
Devi is the epitome of a nerd initially. But like the lead characters of Booksmart, she too aspires to hang out with the "cool kids," have sex, and get invited to "alcohol parties." By the end of season 1, she even manages to come close to her goals, getting invited to such parties. Finally, one can't put Devi in one watertight high school category as she starts getting the taste of both the academic and non-academic world.
Maybe, while creating this character, Mindy Kaling wanted to make Devi as the epitome of all the high school fantasies that she could not enjoy. In her book Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me, she described herself as "a respectful and hardworking wallflower." She added, "I don’t think I went to a single party with alcohol at it," according to RD.com.
Absence Of A Real Passion
Devi seems to be good at school and other than that, she obsesses over boys as her hormones act up. There's no other passion or hobby that viewers see her indulge in while her best friends obsess over robotics and theatre. Maybe, the viewers will get a glimpse of this aspect of Devi's personality in the final season.
In contrast, Mindy Kaling found her passion for comedy way back as a teenager, as revealed in an NPR podcast. Shows like Saturday Night Live, Cheers, Dr. Katz, and Frasier had served as constant inspirations in her writing. As she absorbed Comedy Central from a young age, Kaling started writing comedy plays from the age of six, she said in an interview with The New York Times.
Devi's Slight Lack Of Love For Parents
Even though she gets emotional flashbacks of her late father, Devi tries to avoid spending much time with her mother almost on every occasion. Mindy Kaling wrote in Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me that she did enjoy spending time with her parents, even if they could be a tad bit strict at times.
As she puts it in her own words, "Later, when you've grown up, you realize you never get to hang out with your family. You pretty much have only 18 years to spend with them full-time, and that’s it."
Dependency On Social Media
Mindy Kaling put her teenage hopes and desires in Devi's character but at the same time gave her a 21st-century background. Hence, social media plays a major theme in the life of the teens around her. There's a hilarious scene in which Devi and her best friends record a coordinated TikTok dance video.
Then, when Paxton clicks a selfie with Devi in the hospital, he uploads it as an Instagram post. The fact that he put it up as a post rather than a temporary Instagram story amuses Devi and fills her with joy. Such post-millennial issues might seem trivial on the surface but they seem to matter a lot for such teenagers as the series's Gen Z-oriented satire shows.