NEVER HAVE I EVER S2
TALKING TEENHOOD WITH THE STAR OF NEVER HAVE I EVER S2...
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan talks Mindy, major twists and John McEnroe.
The 2020 debut season of Never Have I Ever was a big Netflix hit, watched by a reported 40 million households and scooping the People’s Choice Award for Comedy Show Of The Year. Co-creator Mindy Kaling’s childhood is the inspo for topsy-turvy teen Devi Vishwakumar, played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. Here the star talks new pals, coping with Covid and sporting superstars…
What can you reveal about S2?
Let’s just say that as excited as I was about S1, I’m even more so about S2. So much happens; I want everyone to be super-shocked when they see it. We worked really hard on it.
You have Megan Suri (TV’s Atypical) joining, as new school friend Aneesa…
It’s awesome to see another brown girl on the show, and she’s cool to hang out with. Devi isn’t the epitome of brown girls; not all can relate to Devi, so maybe some can relate to Aneesa.
Did you have a lot of fun on and off set?
If not for Covid, we’d have had lots of shenanigans! On the first season, me and a few other cast did this cool Da Vinci-themed escape room together. I needed to win, and we nailed it. There was a lot of screaming. On this season, we were really safe and worked under a lot of restrictions. I love our show’s crew so much; some of them say that I’m the niece they never asked for, but got. [laughs] We all joke with each other a lot.
Tennis legend John McEnroe both stars and narrates… what’s he like?
Honestly, I didn’t really know who he was! I’m not a big sports guy at all, in general, except when I hype up my [Toronto] Raptors, which is my Canadian pride coming into play. I first met [McEnroe] at a table read for Episode 10 of Season 1 and he seemed pretty chill. He came in, did his thing and left.
I asked him if he still played sports. He said yes. I said, cool, that’s sick, I don’t play sports, I just wanted to know. I respect people who do. I’m too lazy for sports [laughs].
Devi’s outfits are spot on…
Sal[vador Perez] does a great job costuming the characters. In the S1 scene where Paxton’s sister [Lily D. Moore] made dresses for Devi to model, the fabric came from Mindy’s outfits from The Mindy Project. The S2 costuming is so good [does chef’s kisses].
Picking up the People’s Choice Award must’ve been a big moment…
I was really shocked that we won, that we had all that support. It was crazy. We left the award on stage; I didn’t take it because of Covid. I’m so conscious about what I touch!
What’s next for you?
I’m being really selective. I don’t want anything one-dimensional. I’d love to take a role that’s not at all like Devi. A period piece would be really sick - especially those costumes – or a dark psychological thriller. Ashanti Omkar
NEVER HAVE I EVER S2 IS COMING SOON TO NETFLIX.