Warning: Spoilers ahead for Netflix’s Never Have I Ever season 1. Raise your hand if you also watched Netflix’s Never Have I Ever in under five hours. As we wait for season 2 of Mindy Kaling’s rom com, at least we have these shows like Never Have I Ever on Netflix to keep us satisfied.
Never Have I Ever, which premiered on April 27 and is created by Kaling and Lang Fisher (her screenwriter on The Mindy Project), follows Devi Vishwakumar, a 15-year-old Indian-American from Sherman Oaks, California, who’s as uncool as one can expect from a teen rom com. While a lot of Never Have I Ever is about Devi’s romantic ventures (especially with her crush Paxton Hall-Yoshida), the show also explores Devi’s relationship with her Indian-American identity, as well as her mom, who she resents after the death of her father.
The series also tells the story of Devi’s cousin, Kamala, who’s about to be in an arranged marriage, a decision she’s unsure about. As much as Never Have I Ever is about Devi, the show is also about her mother, Nalini (who’s struggling to raise her daughter after her husband’s death) and Kamala, who came to America from India to attend college but is torn between the culture she once knew and she culture she’s living in now. We won’t spoil the rest of the series, but Never Have I Ever sure tugs on the heartstrings. And as we await a possible season 2, here are the series to watch in the meantime.
Jane the Virgin
There are a lot of similarities between Never Have I Ever and Jane the Virgin, which aired on The CW from 2014 to 2019. For one, both shows have narrators who voice the leads’ lives. But the more obvious similarity is that both Jane the Virgin and Never Have I Ever explore the relationships between three women of different generations. For Jane the Virgin, it’s Jane Villanueva, her mom Xiomara and her grandmother Alba. For Never Have I Ever, it’s Devi, her mom Nalini and her cousin Kamala. Both shows explore how these women can relate to each other, despite their obvious differences. Jane the Virgin follow the life of Jane Villanueva, an aspiring romance novelist who’s accidentally artificially inseminated with her boss’ sperm.
The Bold Type
Female friendships are at the center of The Bold Type, which premiered on Freeform in 2017. The rom com follows three friends at the fictional magazine, Scarlet, as they struggle with their romantic relationships, sex and friendships. Like Devi’s relationships with Eleanor and Fabiola, The Bold Type trio—Kat, Jane and Sutton—are unbreakable.
The Mindy Project
Of course, those who have seen Never Have I Ever must watch The Mindy Project, Mindy Kaling’s comedy that made her a household name. The show, which ran from 2012 to 2017, followed Mindy Lahiri, a gynecologist in New York City who’s trying to balance her personal and professional life. Along the way, things become messy when she falls for her best friend and coworker, Danny Castelleno, whom she has obvious differences with.
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings and a Funeral, Kaling’s other show, has the same spirit and tone as Never Have I Ever. Though the show focuses on a circle of adult friends as opposed to a group of high school teens, the same theme of love, friendship and self-identity is still there. Based on the 1994 Richard Curtis film of the same title, Four Weddings and a Funeral follows four American friends who reunite for a fabulous London wedding. What could go wrong? Well, turns out, a lot.
Sex Education
Sex Education has hints of Never Have I Ever when it comes to Devi’s storyline about her virginity. The show follows Otis Milburn, a British teenager whose mom is a sex therapist. Despite his mother’s job, Otis is sexually inexperienced. He’s still a virgin, and he can’t even masturbate. Through a twist of events, though, Otis becomes the sex therapist of his high school, but unbeknownst to his clients, he’s as sexually inexperienced as they come. The first season of the show ends with Otis masturbating for the first time, while the second season follows his journey to lose his virginity, much like Devi.
On My Block
Like Never Have I Ever, On My Block is another teen show on Netflix. The series, premiered in March 2018, follows a circle of teenage friends in a rough inner-city neighborhood of Los Angeles as their friendship is tested when they start high school. Like Devi’s drama with her best friends, Eleanor and Fabiola, the cast of characters in On My Block also don’t have it easy when it comes to finding out who really has their backs.
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