We need more representation of South Asians: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan
Never Have I Ever star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan says the popularity of the young-adult Netflix series, co-created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, proves there is a growing market for stories with South Asians in the lead roles. After a successful debut, the actor, now 19, said she was under a lot of pressure to not let down the fans and creators with season two.
Second season of the show came out on Thursday
Ramakrishnan, a Sri Lankan-Canadian, became the breakout star of the series when she beat 15,000 others in 2019 to land the character of Devi Vishwakumar, an overachieving Indian-American teenager growing up in Southern California, US, and navigating life as a teenager with best friends Eleanor (Ramona Young) and Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez). Netflix released the second season of Never Have I Ever on Thursday.
There's a market for shows led by South Asians: Ramakrishnan
"I think the reason why people like the show is because we haven't seen South Asians take the lead role as often as they should. It's happened before but most times it's because they make that space for themselves," Ramakrishnan said. "But that's not enough. We need more South Asians to take lead roles because there is a market for it," she added.
The show resonates with people of all ages: Ramakrishnan
According to Ramakrishnan, the show may revolve around teens and school life but it resonates with people of all ages. "It's slightly different because it's not necessarily the immigrant story but rather the children of immigrants. And here's why I think other people like it. They've been waiting for this story and see themselves in Devi, even if they're not 15," she said.
Second season sees Devi caught in a love triangle
In the first season, Devi is a teenager with anger issues as she grapples with the sudden death of her father. She is nursing a crush on fellow student Paxton Hall-Yoshida. But by the end, she is caught in a love triangle with her nemesis at school, Ben Gross. In the second season, Devi is trying to double date Ben and Paxton.
