Never Have I Ever
TV Show Review
Never Have I Ever…laughed so hard at a TV show. HAHA ok that was an incredibly cheesy opening line, but Never Have I Ever is one of those comedic gems that can get you laughing and invested from the very first episode. It clicked all the right buttons for me - it has themes about romance, family, and friends. It is overall a hilarious take on high school life! The show centers around Devi, who is an Indian-American high school sophomore living in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California. At first glance, this show might come off as something immature since it’s about high school kids and their lives, but it is the perfect blend of fun high school shenanigans and comedy that people of all ages will find witty and hilarious. None of the jokes feel overly immature to me, but rather really smart and well-placed.
The pilot episode does a really good job setting up and introducing the characters. And as mentioned earlier, it got me hooked from the start! The story is a bit ridiculous, and high school drama is not exactly groundbreaking or original, but seeing a story about an Indian-American family makes it fresh and entertaining. The real draw of this show for me is the quality of the jokes and the writing. I found myself smiling widely in every episode, and laughing almost uncontrollably at some scenes. Big shoutout to my absolute favorite character, Ben Gross, the nerdy Jewish boy who is essentially Devi’s academic rival. I look forward to every scene he is in because his character is so ridiculously funny, and I think it helps that this actor is so great with his facial expressions. And of course, I am team Ben in this Ben x Devi x Paxton “love triangle.”
If you have not seen this show, I cannot recommend it enough! I watched all 10 episodes in the first season over the course of 2 days. It was so addicting and consumable that I found myself looking forward to every opportunity to keep watching. I feel like this show is going to do a really good job connecting with audiences, and also launch careers for these young actors. Looking forward to season 2!