“Never Have I Ever”: A Netflix original worth a watch

“I have a lot of questions. Number one: how dare you?”

I’ve been quoting that Kelly Kapoor line pretty much every chance I get since I began watching “The Office” in third grade. To say I’ve become a Mindy Kaling fan would be an understatement. So when I saw she wrote a new show on Netflix, I knew it had to be my next quarantine binge.  

“Never Have I Ever” follows Devi Vishwakumar and her friends’ sophomore year of high school. After a tumultuous end to her freshman year — including watching her dad die of a heart attack at her orchestra concert and becoming temporarily paralyzed from the waist down — Devi wants a fresh start. 

Devi, played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, decides that her friend group needs to drop their self-proclaimed title of “nerds” to get boyfriends and subsequently become popular. Fabiola and Eleanor, her two best friends, are much too skeptical for comfort.

Between Devi’s rivalry with Ben, a neglected rich kid, and her lusting after Paxton Hall-Yoshida, a popular, older boy, it seemed like this would be yet another show made with Netflix’s mold for teen television. These trite plotlines made me wonder if I could make it through a whole season.

I managed to make it past the classic Netflix cliches of the first episode and found something unique — well-developed supporting characters. Devi’s friends have their own issues that she at times neglects to acknowledge. Fabiola is struggling to come out as gay to her friends and family and Eleanor is dealing with a mom who abandoned her.

Kaling made a bold choice when she focused on Ben for an entire episode narrated by Andy Samberg. This episode gave depth to a character that was written to be easily hated. Samberg’s narration made this episode the high point of an already great first season.

From “The Office” to “The Mindy Project”, Kaling has proved to be an expert of comedy, but with “Never Have I Ever”, she gives space to relevant issues without copping out for a good punchline.

“Never Have I Ever’s” diverse cast gracefully weaves together a heartfelt story of loss and healing without losing Kaling’s classic comedic touch to create something far more personal than any other Netflix original. So if you have a few free hours — and right now I know you do — this show is worth a watch.