New Netflix teen drama Never Have I Ever doesn't look, or well, sound, like any other teen drama out there.
The show co-created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher is, in fact, narrated by former tennis star and current commentator John McEnroe. The American champion provides a commentary on the life of protagonist Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), as she begins her sophomore year at Sherman Oaks, California.
But McEnroe isn't the only public figure lending their voice to the teenagers of Never Have I Ever. In a special episode focused on Devi's school nemesis Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison), it's Californian actor Andy Samberg's turn to shine.
What is Never Have I Ever about?
*Warning: spoilers for Never Have I Ever ahead*
Never Have I Ever follows Devi as she deals with her father's Mohan (Sendhil Ramamurthy) untimely death, her strict Indian family and hormones. Her seemingly uneventful life is narrated by McEnroe, one of her father's sports heroes.
Still processing her trauma and her anger, Devi has a hard time connecting with her mother Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan) and couldn't be more different from her perfect cousin Kamala (Richa Moorjani).
Devi also has a massive crush on Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet), one of the most popular guys in school. In a desperate attempt to win him over and be better than her frenemy Ben, Devi tries to rebrand herself and her two best friends Eleanor (Ramona Young) and Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez), resulting in creating a giant teenage mess after the other.
Andy Samberg narrates an episode of Never Have I Ever
Samberg voices Ben's thoughts in episode six "Never Have I Ever been the loneliest boy in the world".
The Brooklyn 99 star features on the episode since he's one of Ben's favorite actors, as proved by the Popstar poster in the boy's bedroom. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is a 2016 mockumentary starring Samberg as part of rap group The Style Boyz.
Moreover, as Ben's father is a big-shot entertainment lawyer, Samberg himself explained he owes him a favor. "But Ben seems like a good kid, so, happy to do it," Samberg continues.
This episode centers around Ben being neglected by his workaholic father and spiritual mother and spending most time alone in their giant mansion.
An unusually big zit will bring him closer to Devi's family, as he visits Devis' mother's dermatology practice to get it popped and ends up having dinner with them.
Never Have I Ever Season 2
This ten-episode, uplifting, genuinely funny Indian coming-of-age story might just be Netflix's best teen drama so far.
Within a few hours of dropping on the streaming platform, the show quickly made it to the top 10 for most countries and received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, Never Have I Ever holds an approval rating of 93% based on 30 reviews, with an average rating of 7.39/10.
Its reception and the fact that season one leaves a few juicy questions unanswered let the audience hope for a second season. However, a new installment hasn't been officially confirmed by Netflix at present.
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