Who’s ready to see Indian-Americans take over the small screen? Netflix is premiering its new teen romance show “Never Have I Ever,” written by Mindy Kaling, on Apr. 27. Just last night, they released the show’s full trailer on YouTube.
Starring Hollywood newbie Maityeri Ramakishnan, the story revolves around Devi, an indian high school student in LA, as she finally starts turning her life around in her sophomore year. Despite being a sheltered nerd, she wants to experience what it’s like to fall in love, and possibly sleep with Paxton, the hot guy in her dreams. She rebrands herself to the point where someone commented that she looks like an “Indian Kardashian.”
In a previous interview with Variety, we could tell that Kaling is the best person who could write about a “teenage Indian nerd growing up in America” because it’s something she could relate to. “Nerds are not only the wallflowers and the quiet ones,” she told Variety. “We’re ambitious, we have obnoxious personalities sometimes, we want to have sex and dreams like all the other kids.”
Truth be told, this series seems to be quite promising. With an Indian woman as its writer, we’re hopeful representation wouldn’t be an issue. There’s also the brilliant casting of Ramakishnan who, despite being a newcomer, seems to fit the character quite well.
In American TV, representation of Indian immigrants is scarce compared to Chinese and Filipinos. We’re used to only seeing Indians in Bollywood films. It’s great to see that they’re finally getting more attention, and with appropriate casting as well. Let’s just hope more accurate representation in movies and TV follow suit.
Photo courtesy of Never Have I Ever’s Instagram account
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