Coming of age stories are my favorite. It’s that one theme that I can easily relate to whatever the gender of the main character is. Because growing up is actually a stage we’re stuck for like, forever. Even adults have things they still need to learn, believe it or not when they reach their forties. This is to say that Never Have I Ever isn’t just about Devi Vishwakumar. This is about her and the people around her.

Almost all of its actors are new to me. I think I can only recognize Devi’s uncle as Principal Figgins from Glee. But yeah, they were all new to me and they were all impressive. I wouldn’t be surprised if Maitreyi Ramakrishnan got a breakout performance award, acting is one thing but getting the audience engaged with her character is another, and she does that so well. Darren Barnet and Jaren Lewison, Devi’s leading men are quite charming. Giving the story more dynamics to work on as they are completely different from each other which makes Devi’s relationship or approach to them different as well.

I call Devi’s coming-of-age story as unique because everyone of us has a unique story to tell, and Devi, though fictional, isn’t a exemption on that. But that’s the thing, that makes her story engaging. Because we can all relate to her troubles, to her journey but at the same time, it’s a different approach, it’s a different point of view. Whether it’s about fitting in school, or finding the right guy, or being head over heels with someone in school, or even the misunderstandings we have with our family. These issues are universal but Never Have I Ever made something unique out of them.

Never Have I Ever kinda has the same ending or cliffhanger as Netflix’s other original series Sex Education. But all in all, it being a coming-of-age story is already a yes for me. Yes in a way that Devi’s story tells a new point of view of a stage we can all relate to.

4 OUT OF 5 STARS

‘Never Have I Ever’ is now streaming on Netflix.