Netflix’s Never Have I Ever premiered on Netflix in late April and instantly became the must-watch of quarantine. The coming-of-age comedy from co-creators Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher follows a first-generation Indian American girl growing up in Southern California. Eighteen-year-old Maitreyi Ramakrishnan plays our heroine Devi Vishwakumar, and will return for a second season.
The series joins Sex Education, Atypical, and The End of the F*ing World as another teen show gripping the attention of audiences looking to relive (or not) their long-ago days of angst, puberty, and general anger and confusion about the world. Speaking as a full adult woman living in the middle of a pandemic, a lot of my feelings right now mirror those I dealt with as a 13-year-old in a landlocked state. When will I ever see the ocean? When can I leave this isolation?
Anyway. A lot of those same feelings were channeled into uncertainty about when Never Have I Ever season 2 would begin filming. Now, the cast is officially back to work and welcoming a few new members to the fold. So, what will the new installment look like, and which cast members are returning? We unpack it all, below.
The trailer is out.
The trailer, which released on Thursday, brings us up to date with Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), who is trying to figure out which of her crushes, Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison) and Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet), she should date before she has to move to India.
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Or, she decides, she could just have two boyfriends. While she is trying to figure out how she is going to handle two secret relationships, a girl Devi describes as an “Indian girl who’s prettier and cooler” transfers to her high school, effectively ruining her teen life.
Who doesn’t miss high school?! What we did miss, though, was this show—and Devi—here’s to counting down the days until we get them both back.
Never Have I Ever season 2 will premiere in July.
The series is slated to return on July 15.
Here’s how Netflix describes the new season: “Indian American teenager Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) continues to deal with the everyday pressures of high school and drama at home, while also navigating new romantic relationships.”
Netflix announced it renewed Never Have I Ever for a second season in July 2020. The cast shared the news on a scripted Zoom call, which was posted to the show’s social media accounts. Kaling shared on Instagram, writing, “It’s official, people! @neverhaveiever Season 2 is happening @loulielang and I are incredibly grateful for our entire cast, crew, and the team at @netflix. Thank you for watching, sharing and connecting with this show.”
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Kaling had been repping the show hard on Instagram, and she’s clearly delighted to see it get renewed. “I felt lucky to be able to do a show about an Indian nerd who’s also badly behaved, to show that because I’m deeply familiar with it,” Kaling told Newsweek in April 2020.
All your favorite cast members are returning.
Netflix confirmed that Maitreyi Ramakrishnan will reprise her leading role as Devi Vishwakumar, with other returning cast members including Poorna Jagannathan as Nalini, Richa Moorjani as Kamala, Jaren Lewison as Ben, Darren Barnet as Paxton, Lee Rodriguez as Fabiola, and Ramona Young as Eleanor.
Sendhil Ramamurthy will return as the Internet’s Favorite Father™ Mohan in flashbacks, as revealed by Kaling in an ELLE.com interview. “One of the things people were responding to in the first season was that [Devi] is a really flawed character, but she’s relatable because she’s been through a lot of stuff, like losing a parent at a young age,” the creator explained. “But also, she has a big personality: She wants to have sex and wants to have a boyfriend. Seeing what people liked, Lang and I went into our second season [knowing] we’re still going to see flashbacks of her father. I think people really loved that relationship, and we’re going to see if they end up moving to India or not.”
No word on if a new celebrity cameo will top John McEnroe’s season 1 narration.
The theme of the new season is ”moving on.”
If the first season of Never Have I Ever was about coming to terms with grief, season 2 is about finding a path forward, showrunner Lang Fisher explained to Entertainment Weekly. “Both Nalini and Devi had pushed it off and not dealt with their feelings about Mohan dying,” he said. “And this season, it’s about moving on. It’s about life without him and how to bounce back.”
Four new characters are joining Never Have I Ever season 2.
The series confirmed that filming had resumed in a November 23 social media video. It was also revealed Megan Suri would be joining the second season as a student. “The cast of Never Have I Ever is hard at work on Season 2 and want to introduce you to their newest co-star: @megansuri! She plays a new student at Sherman Oaks High, whose confidence and radiance will pose an immediate threat to Devi,” the official Netflix account tweeted.
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Suri is a newcomer who has appeared in other Netflix shows including Atypical and 13 Reasons Why. Suri tweeted shortly after news of her casting was revealed: “I couldn’t have imagined being welcomed into a new show and family any better – you all are so sweet and I wish I could hug you all this support means the world to me, THANK YOU @neverhaveiever.”
Another new addition to the cast is American Vandal’s Tyler Alvarez. He reportedly joins Never Have I Ever in a recurring role as Malcom, a teen actor who returns to school after being cast in a Disney Channel show. The outlet describes Alvarez’s character as “a ‘Young Hollywood’ type” who “went to elementary school with Devi and her friends but left when he was cast in a Disney Channel show. He’s recently returned to Sherman Oaks High whilst continuing his acting career.”
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By mid-December another pair of actors was announced for season 2. Utkarsh Ambudkar (The Mindy Project, Brittany Runs a Marathon) will play Mr. Kulkarni, who is described as “the coolest teacher on staff at Sherman Oaks High” by Deadline. Kulkarni teaches English and reportedly forges a bond with Devi.
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P.J. Byrne (The Boys, The Wolf of Wall Street) will also join the second season, Deadline reports. He’ll play Evan, head research assistant of Kamala’s Caltech program, and will reportedly feel threatened by her.
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Common will romance Nalini in season 2.
Devi’s mom is getting in on the dating game this season—with a rival dermatologist. Common will play the role of Dr. Chris Jackson, a derm who conducts business a little different than Nalini. Netflix describes the character as “a suave and debonair dermatologist who works in Nalini’s building. His high-end practice and celebrity clients are impressive to everyone—except Nalini.”
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And as Dr. Jackson woos Nalini, Devi is sure to view it as a threat, Fisher told Entertainment Weekly. “It becomes a real chasm between Nalini and Devi, because Devi feels like it’s a betrayal.”
Devi will continue working on her anger issues in season 2.
Kaling also opened up about Devi’s journey to finding herself in the second season, telling ELLE.com, “[Devi’s] figuring out how not to rage out, because that’s her problem. She has this really bad temper. And seeing if she actually does end up having a boyfriend, or whether she can even be a good girlfriend to these guys.”
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has hopes and dreams for Devi’s future.
The show’s star has very clear ideas about what her character should explore next season.
“Three main things—understanding that she needs to be more appreciative of her family and her friends because her friends do a lot for her,” Ramakrishnan told Variety. “Her friends really are her day ones. And also understanding where her mother’s coming from. That is something that we’ll be able to have a lot of audiences relate to, understanding where our parents are coming from even though they might not go about doing certain things the best way possible.”
Ramakrishnan continued, “Then also the idea of approaching that grief—confronting it, having that battle, even though it’s something uncomfortable to think about, [but] actually just running toward it and facing it, dealing with it head on. And then number three, of course, embracing her culture because that is so important in a world where identity is everything. It’s how you portray yourself. It’s how you show yourself to the world and how everybody will view you, but also how you accept yourself. And I think if Devi does those magic three, she might be a little bit more at peace with herself.”
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