The difference between an actor who knows how to narrate and a person enlisted for the fun of it becomes even more stark in “…been the loneliest boy in the world,” an episode that trades Devi’s inner monologue for that of her school rival Ben (Jaren Lewison), whose pithy voiceover came courtesy of comedian Andy Samberg.Īt the very least, the “Never Have I Ever” scripts are self-aware about the jarring clash between the characters and their narrator counterparts. After hearing him try to express teenage excitement over the course of 10 episodes, it became clear that his commentating career didn’t necessarily prepare him for one in voiceover, a specific and trickier than meets the eye form of performance that requires more nuance than McEnroe’s flat affect ever grasps. Pressing play on the second season, though, I was rather hoping not to hear McEnroe’s voice. Waiting for that connection to reveal itself was one of the first season’s initial hooks, and on an emotional level, it pays off. In the first episode of Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s series, McEnroe introduces himself as our guide to Devi, eventually revealing that he was her father Mohan’s favorite tennis player before his sudden death. But Hadid’s voiceover quickly proves just as flat and unnecessary as McEnroe’s, exposing a frustrating flaw in an otherwise very entertaining teen comedy. In the world of “Never Have I Ever,” which features former tennis phenom John McEnroe voicing the innermost thoughts of Indian-American teen Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), it’s as logical a choice as any other. Hadid is a replacement for the episode’s original narrator, Chrissy Teigen, who got caught up in yet another internet controversy and was subsequently scrubbed from the series altogether. Mutual beauty aside, that’s not entirely the reason for this particular narration. “Believe it or not, I relate to this kid.” “You might be wondering, ‘why is old Geegers taking time out of her busy sched to narrate the story of a 16 year-old boy?’” supermodel Gigi Hadid asks the audience as resident teen heartthrob Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet) broods in his garage. Three episodes into the second season, a new voiceover (briefly) takes over the Netflix show. The season ends with Devi coming to his house and handing him the card.“ Never Have I Ever” is a great teen comedy - with one glaring, omnipresent exception. Earlier in the season, Ben handed Devi a coupon that said "One Free Boink" while she opened up to him about still being a virgin. With all of her prospective romances at a standstill, Devi toys with the idea of leaving Sherman Oaks for good to spend her senior year at a boarding school in Colorado. After talking it over with Nalini and later helping Devi after seeing her hyperventilate, Rhyah tells her son to stop dating Devi, and he agrees. Nirdesh and Devi continue to sneak around behind their mothers' backs until Rhyah catches them in the act. As her mom watches the connection between Manish and Kalama, she realizes how much they care for one another and accepts their relationship. Devi ultimately gets caught cheating during a debate club match, and Manish brings her home to face her family. The unlikely duo bond over Paxton's support, and Ben eventually helps him write his college essay. Despite their differences, Paxton picks him up and takes him to the hospital. Nalini branches out and befriends Rhyah and Nirmala, two other traditional Indian moms, while Devi's newly single bestie, Fab, kisses Anessa in the girl's bathroom.īen is backed up after not pooping in weeks and experiences a medical emergency that makes him fall to the ground right in front of Paxton. Devi's relationships may be rocky, but there are fun developments for the people closest to her. Devi receives a text warning her about Paxton and later finds that it's from his former bestie Haley. As Devi faces adversity at school, her bestie Fab breaks up with her long-distance girlfriend because it's putting too much stress on her, while Kamala tells her ultra-conservative and traditional family that she is not going to get married. Season 3 begins with Devi and Paxton in a fully committed relationship, much to the dismay of their peers, who begin to slut shame her. All is not lost for Kamala as she makes what seems to be a love connection with Devi's English teacher Manish (Utkarsh Ambudkar). Once she does that, her boyfriend Prashant (Rushi Kota) pops the question, and she denies his proposal, largely because he encouraged her not to speak up about the injustice she experienced at work. Devi's big cousin Kamala experiences sexism at her job and finally decides to stand up to her misogynistic boss Evan. However, she realizes she's not ready to date so quickly. Romance is in the air this season as Devi's mom goes on several dates with a fellow dermatologist.
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