Mindy Kaling’s ‘Never Have I Ever’ Is The Show We Have Been Waiting For

“Representation” has become the buzzword to show inclusivity. However when it comes to having a worthy seat at the table it’s Mindy Kaling’s latest project Never Have I Ever that truly shows us who we are. And it’s through our chat with (brand new) Canadian star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan where she shares with us her you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up audition story, the value of taking a chance and the importance of being part of the solution. 

As an 80s child growing up I never realized what I was missing when it came to finding representation on television. Whether it was Family Ties, Facts of Life or as a young adult with healthy doses of Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place, I just naturally accepted and enjoyed the chance to relish in some escapist entertainment.

A conscious awakening of sorts happened when we as a family, discovered a show about this brown family (as seen through our eyes) led by a successful doctor father and lawyer mother. The Huxtables in The Cosby Show came closest in our search on finding a group of people who most resembled us, an Indian/Pakistani family who lived in a quaint 99% all-white town of 19,000, called Port Colborne.

We could relate to them. Their father (like ours) was a doctor. Their family (like ours) was film and music loving family, enriched by their active recognition of their ancestral history and their contributions to society. They loved being able to flaunt accents of their cultural threads just like we did. Education along with a sense of social justice with a wider understanding of the world beyond their doorstep reflected our family’s constant drive to accept, understand and learn from those outside of our South Asian circle.

And clear South Asian elements actually managed to seep into the Huxtable’s world which would just send us over the moon: Cliff’s Awami suit that he would wear to sleep, Claire’s gorgeous Hyderabadi suit she adorned at a family dinner and her listing off of her favourite Indian dishes with colleagues during lunch hour at the office. We couldn’t believe it. To us, those small moments made a huge impact. We honestly felt that we — as a cultural group — have finally arrived. I mean if big time execs at NBC via The Cosby Show recognized these South Asian elements and put them on their mainstream top-rated show, then what’s more to ask for, really?

What I Didn’t Know I Missed

Of course since then, in recent history specifically, there has been some progression when it comes to South Asian representation. And my annoyance of the mainstream entertainment world’s half-hearted attempts at showing diversity coupled with my own growing desire to be authentically portrayed grew stronger as I came into my own embrace of my South Asianness. However, when you’re talking about full blown relatable and relevant roles with a full South Asian family, it is  Mindy Kaling who made it happen with her upcoming Netflix series Never Have I Ever.

Coming out this Monday April 27, Never Have I Ever (in which Mindy holds the title of Executive Producer, Writer and Creator) is loosely based on her own upbringing as a first-generation South Asian. The coming-of-age teen rom-com centers around Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) an ambitious sophomore high school student who along with her two friends, are fixated on making their senior year the best ever. And true-to-form it involves a little “rebranding” in order to fulfill their checklist of cool which of course starts with landing a boyfriend.

Because it was in Mindy’s capable hands (her eponymous ground-breaking show will always have a special place in our Gen-X hearts), I knew in an instant, that it would be an authentic portrayal of who we are as first-generation South Asians. There wouldn’t be the tokenistic charade of inclusion that was served to us in limited quantities in the form of the side roles which usually comprised of quirky, socially-inept, bookish stereotypes with thick-accents. This show actually was all about us. And it’s about time.

That’s why when I was asked to chat with the show’s lead, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan who hails from Mississauga, Ontario about her journey towards landing the plum role of Devi I had questions. Lots of it.

Firstly, I couldn’t quite figure out her bio which was absent of her past professional roles. Does this mean what I think it means? “Professionally yes, this is my first job.” Maitreyi exclaimed.

It All Started With A Text

It was her best friend who sent the screen shot of Mindy’s casting call that she found on social. For Maitreyi however, she looked at it as more of a reason for them to hang out than anything else. They realistically thought that Mindy would be getting thousands of applications from around the world and would naturally prefer someone with some experience at least. “We spent most of the time figuring out how to start the camera and work the tripod. We just recorded it and went ‘okay, we’re done’ and called it a night.” She laughed.

The process was pretty straightforward. On Mindy’s social posts she had an automated email contact info which would then send the person the script for them to read for their audition.

The process was remarkably quick in comparison to other more traditional casting call timelines. Mainly it was due to the fact that all of it was handled online. There were no on-site audition locations. It was just as straightforward as recording and pressing send. In our world of Tik Tok, IG stories and digital storytelling, that was a no-brainer. And when I’m looking at it through today’s social distancing lens, it just made even more sense. (For the record, when I called her, she was happily self-isolating at home in Mississauga with her parents and her dog and sends her love and support for all the frontline workers).

After sending the first two videos which everyone had to submit, she received an email a week later asking for more videotaped takes. A week after that, they called her mobile to invite her to L.A. for another audition which actually turned into a ‘new phone who dis’ situation. “I didn’t pick up because it was a random number.” Maitreyi laughed.

And that’s when she told her mom, “oh my gosh, so I sent this video of myself and now they want me to go to L.A. and yes, I know this sounds very sketch but…”

It Was Far From “Sketch”

Her parents immediately jumped on board and decided that they need to find an agent for their daughter. Her mother who works in marketing and her father in IT both went through their respective contact lists and through friends of friends of friends, managed to connect with the head of the ACTRA Union in Toronto. Boom. She got her agent.

Three weeks and six video submissions later, Mindy herself decided to ring up Maitreyi to deliver the news. But it wasn’t as straight up as you would think, thanks to her agent’s penchant for a little pranking. “They told [my agent] that I got the role before they told me, so she decided to prank me,” she delightfully recalled. “She told me ‘you need to be on a call at 9, and you need a code to get certain contact information’. So, the phone rings, and I hear ‘Maitreyi? It’s Mindy, from L.A.!’ and I was thinking ‘Okay but what’s the code? When is she going to give me the code?’” She figured it out that it was the real deal and it was time to buckle up.

Never Have I Ever started filming on the Universal Studios lot in Los Angeles last summer. About three months after her high school commencement. Which meant, that yes, she received her acceptance to York University long before her best friend sent her that casting call screen grab which launched her audition journey. She has now deferred her studies for the year. And yes, once her parents discovered that it was all above board, (they got her the agent after all), they were all in and understood the weight of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Filming spanned from July to October, clocking in an expected five days a week, while averaging a 14-hour workday. Her first thoughts on her very first day on set? “Okay let’s do this. Let’s nail the part. I don’t want to give anybody a second thought about me.” She was completely in awe at the number of people it took to put a show together. “There’s a job for everything!” Maitreyi laughed, “there’s a job for somebody to make sure that the right tree is planted for the right outdoor scene.”

Being Part Of The Solution  

This barrier-breaking opportunity (for many obvious reasons) has not been lost on this spirited ingénue. Her advocacy for gender equality and fair representation is further cemented by her being part of the solution.

Add to that, her recognition that Never Have I Ever would make a significant impact on the younger audience which includes her tween cousin. As noted before, the sense of being relatable and authentic was missing in past attempts at bringing South Asian representation. “This is history making,” Maitreyi enthused. “I’m so happy! I can think about my younger cousin who can relate to it and that’s awesome!”

Of course I had to ask, what advice did Mindy impart to her new star? “It was to be authentic,” Maitreyi shared. “Because I made it this far being myself. There’s really no point being anybody else.”

And that’s all we have ever wanted.

Never Have I Ever is set to release their entire first season on Netflix on Monday April 27, 2020. 

Main Image Photo Credit: Netflix