TV show recommendation/opinion – Never Have I Ever (Season 1)

The most obvious and likeable thing about the show is the representation it provides Indians with, specifically Indian Americans. While representation of Indian communities is obviously increasing, it is still somewhat scarce.

There are elements of the show that many will resonate with in terms of culture, tradition, and upbringing but also things that are unfamiliar. The show does not claim to reflect experiences of Indians all around the world anyway. That would be an impossible task, a broad generalisation.

The main character, Devi, definitely has a similar ‘no filter’ sense of humour as the main character in The Mindy Project. The typical conversation surrounding fitting in/belonging at school is a part of her story but the show does well to integrate emotional and heavy topics into the story given the allotted, compressed time frame of 30 minutes.

One of my favourite lines in the show is this: “Aunties are older Indian women who have no blood relationship to you but are allowed to have opinion about your life and all your shortcomings and you have to be nice to them because you’re Indian.”

It is frustrating to see the hypocrisy of the group of women who attended the puja and were judging Devi’s mum, trying to dictate how she should grieve. Of course, what they expect is a very public and outward expression of her pain.

Everyone has a story to tell about how they felt judged and scrutinised by members of their community, whether that is in relation to education, or career, or relationships. However, the judgement and scrutiny in connection to grief is usually something that is overlooked by people looking to portray the ‘Indian experience’ on television. It was interesting to see it addressed in this show.

Kamala’s arranged marriage storyline is an obvious choice for exploring traditions. This is a sitcom so of course there are moments that were exaggerated. For example, when Devi’s mum was holding up cues for Kamala during her video call with her potential in-laws. However, it did not really take away from the underlying tension. There were many moments that reinforced the extent of the pressure that she felt.