The writer-creator-producer tells Queue about the much anticipated Season 2 of Never Have I Ever.
Never have I ever seen a show as fresh and hilarious as Mindy Kaling’s Never Have I Ever. Inspired by Kaling’s experiences growing up South Asian in the United States, Never Have I Ever is a straight-up comedy that centers misguided nerd Devi Vishwakumar, played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. In Season 1, Devi loses her father and spirals out of her straight-A comfort zone. In Season 2, she continues to grieve, while also dealing with the more traditional high school drama of choosing a boyfriend, learning how to be a better friend, and sneaking around behind her mother’s back. Queue spoke with writer-creator-producer Mindy Kaling about Never Have I Ever in anticipation of the new season.
Never Have I Ever has received a great response since the launch of Season 1. How does it feel to see your show, one of the very few centering South Asian American characters, received so well?
Mindy Kaling: It’s such a joy to have so many fans from the South Asian community for Never Have I Ever. There are billions of Indian people and millions of Indian Americans but there’s so little representation of us in American TV and film! So it’s thrilling to write and produce a comedy show with this subject material for a mainstream audience. I couldn’t believe we got to do an episode about Ganesh Puja for TV and 40 million people watched it!
Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), Kamala (Richa Moorjani), Nalini Vishwakumar (Poorna Jagannathan), Jaya Kuyavar (Aarti Mann), and Auntie (Alice Amter)
While you and Lang Fisher were writing the show, were there any non-negotiable things you really wanted to keep, to stay true to your own life and experiences growing up?
MK: Lang and I were both huge nerds in high school (and maybe continue to be), so we wanted most of the characters to be nerds. We also wanted the girls to be confident, even if they were nerdy. You don’t see entitled nerds enough on TV. Also, Lang and I have both experienced the death of a parent, and we wanted to dramatize that onscreen with our lead character. Grief in a comedy show is tricky to do, but Maitreyi performs it beautifully.
Eleanor Wong (Ramona Young), Fabiola Torres (Lee Rodriguez), and Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan)
What are some things Devi does that you wish you had gotten to do when you were her age?
MK: I love that Devi goes to therapy and that there is no stigma attached to it in her Indian family. Mental health is so important, especially for teens, and I love that her mom (Poorna Jagannathan) encourages her to see Dr. Ryan (Niecy Nash), even though she is pretty strict and old-fashioned in other ways. I also like that Devi has a temper and shows it. Young women, particularly Asian women, aren’t supposed to get angry; we’re supposed to be demure and agreeable. I love that Devi doesn’t subscribe to that at all.
Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan)