Review of Never Have I Ever

Bar none, this is the best effort from Mindy Kaling's writing/development career. I'm a man in my fifties, not a teenage angst-ridden boy-band wannabe, but I found this show to be perfect in its tone, its tenor, its casting, and its depiction. The show flies by. It is well-written, at times, really funny (I found myself laughing aloud several times), and relatable without being preachy. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan was beautifully cast as the lead, hitting the delicate balance between awkward and attractive, cool-but-nerdy, and down-to-earth. It showcased the Indian-American experience without making the show about Indian-Americans, per se. Rather, it was about a teenager, in high school, her friends, her sexual awakening, and her desire to fit in with her friends and the more popular crowd and trying to balance and juggle these competing concerns against the backdrop of her more traditional family. I even liked John McEnroe's narration, which was awkward in its own right, and added to the charms of the show's gestalt.

I loved this show. Netflix should renew it, and Ms. Kaling should make more than 10 episodes for subsequent seasons. Devi and her friends were sophomores in this season, so perhaps they could squeeze another couple of seasons out of this show. The charm wouldn't carry over into Devi's college years, as her innocence at some point would be lost through life experience and watching her bumble her way through the difficulties of her teenage years would be simply uncomfortable (and immature) if she were depicted at a more mature age.

Highly recommended.