Netflix has recently garnered attention for its increasingly diverse casting both on and off the screen, especially in the teenage romantic comedy genre. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before gave viewers a heartfelt and delicately crafted movie adaptation of the original book with half Korean protagonist Lara Jean Covey (played by Lana Condor) at the forefront. Shows like On My Block have been praised for their candid portrayal of certain marginalized black and Latino communities. However, when Never Have I Ever hit the streaming service in the summer, it was met with mixed reviews. Is it as much of a win for the Indian-American community as it was made out to be, or is it, plain and simply, a mess?
Never Have I Ever follows the story of Devi Vishwakumar (played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), an Indian-American teenage girl who has recently suffered through the sudden death of her father and is struggling to rebuild the relationships in her life. Of course, that sounds like heavy stuff, but the show makes it clear that it is, first and foremost, a comedy. At least, it’s trying to be. Creator Mindy Kaling is known for her humorous touch, but it’s hard not to admit that the jokes run dry. Whether it’s the cringeworthy pop culture references, Devi’s annoying obsession with boys and popularity, or her equally annoying obsession with rejecting her own culture, it’s clear that the writing team may not have read their target audience very well. For the tons and tons of South Asian teenagers vehemently looking forward to watching this show, myself included, it was certainly disappointing to see the protagonist be so unlikable.
Is Never Have I Ever all bad? Definitely not. It does have a diverse cast of characters.The core group of the show is made up of Devi and her two best friends, Fabiora, an Afro-Latina, and Eleanor, who is Chinese. Even the love interest is half Japanese Paxton Hall-Yoshida. Culture certainly plays a role in the show, with episodes surrounding the various languages and dialects the characters speak, certain Hindu holidays, etc. Even so, what is probably more refreshing about the diversity in Never Have I Ever is its casualness; the characters and their cultures simply coexist with the world around them and they are never made to seem like outsiders because of their race. It fits more accurately with the world we live in today.
Diverse casting is hard to do well because it really has two components to it. One, you have to cast someone that fits ethnically. This show certainly checked that box. But the second requirement is a little more complicated. You also have to make sure your portrayal of this ethnically diverse character is constructive, fair, and well-mannered. How many more nerdy and awkward Indian characters do we need before it gets old? Devi is certainly an interesting and three-dimensional character, and by the end of the first season, it is clear that she deserves a second chance (her character arc is truly phenomenal, and Ramakrishnan delivers an impeccable performance). Despite that, I can’t discredit the hundreds of Indian-American teenage girls who felt betrayed by the cringy and stereotypical elements of her portrayal.
It’s certainly sad that we have so little onscreen diversity that we feel one diverse show with imperfect elements must be branded as a failure. I don’t think it should be, but I do think it is a testament to how important it is to get diversity right, at least as much as possible. Never Have I Ever is now getting ready to film a second season. Let’s hope and pray that the creators have taken feedback from audiences and are ready to swing even harder this time.