Never Have I Ever is a Netflix original comedy centered around an Indian-American teenage girl, Devi Vishwakumar, who had a rough year after her father died, and she became temporarily paralyzed. She desires to climb the social ladder, but her friends and family act as an obstacle. The show also follows many events, such as the Ganesh Puja festival, a Model UN conference, and the numerous parties Devi attends. The plot of season one mostly follows Devi and her obsessive crush, Paxton Hall-Yoshida. Season two covers her newfound feelings for Ben, her academic rival, as well as her old feelings for Paxton, which leads her to cheating on both of them. A new character, Aneesa, also joins the show as someone who Devi is envious of. In season three, Devi dates Paxton, but they break up sooner than later. A new love interest, Des, is introduced as the son of a friend of Devi’s mom, Nalini.

This show has been incredibly controversial but has also been known as an amazing teen comedy containing representation of young Indian-Americans. The main flaw of the show is its main character, Devi. Whether it’s her obsession with having a boyfriend, making bad decisions, or disrespecting her own culture, she seems to be wrong almost all the time. Ultimately, the question is, is Never Have I Ever truly worth the watch?

Devi’s desire to have a boyfriend and be sexual is unrealistic. In the beginning of the show, she is 15 years old, and it is not normal behavior for a 15-year-old girl to be obsessed with doing it, especially for Indian girls since most Desi parents are conservative.

Devi made numerous bad decisions, and that is what created the plot of the show. However, these mistakes are much more serious than regular mistakes teenagers make. For instance, most normal teenagers do not spy on their moms while they are on a date. Other bad decisions include her cheating and spreading terrible rumors. Many viewers describe her as narcissistic and highlight her negligence towards her friends.

Additionally, Devi had a strong disregard for her own culture, especially in the episode focusing on Ganesh Puja (Season 1, Episode 4). This particular episode enraged me, especially when she dissed a beautiful Indian dance and constantly complained about the entire event. As an Indian-American myself, I know some Indian-American teenagers do not respect their culture, but most do, so these scenes were unrelatable for me.

Never Have I Ever has also been accused of being like every other teen drama. There’s a basic teenage girl who desires to be popular and have a boyfriend. Typical. The only difference is that the main character is a different race.

The last essential flaw is how cringey it is. Critiques describe the writing and acting as corny. Nalini’s accent is especially condemned because it seems forced and unnecessary. Some of the scenes just seemed irrelevant. However, I do think the writing and acting improved throughout the seasons.

Never Have I Ever most definitely has flaws that make the show hard to watch and hard to like, but its humor and interesting plot outshines the flaws. It highlights important social issues as well, including eating disorders, identity crises, and sexuality. This show is worth watching, but people should not have high expectations for it.