Netflix
As a millennial who grew up on soapy dramas like The OC, Gossip Girl, I could tell from the beginning that Netflix’s Never Have I Ever would be a different beast. But it’s not just the show’s stereotype-busting South Asian representation, or the fact that it centers around the nerds à la Freaks and Geeks without making them out to be losers that has made this series stand so far apart. It’s also not only because of the immaculate wardrobes, which color the show’s world with imagination and boldness worthy of adolescence.
Instead, as Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s brilliant comedy comes to a close Thursday, it’s the thoughtful heart at its center that has made it so consistently joyful to watch.
Unlike so many teen shows, which can thrive on plot twists usually involving backstabbing and subterfuge, the kids on Never Have I Ever are always rooting for one another, even when they’re mid-beef. (And over the years, there’s been a lot of beef.) For four seasons, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has played the grieving, rage-prone teen Devi Vishwakumar with attitude and levity, but her vulnerability has anchored the series most.