Mindy Kaling's 'Never Have I Ever' is coming back for a second season

Guess what’s poppin?! We’re only two days into July and we already have our first major piece of good news. Mindy Kaling’s coming-of-age dramedy Never Have I Ever has officially been renewed for a second season. If you don’t find high fiving too violent, now is the time to do it.On Wednesday, Netflix announced the renewal for the smart, hilarious and heartwarming teen series, which debuted in April. Written and created by Kaling and Lang Fisher, who also worked with Kaling on The Mindy Project, Never Have I Ever is loosely based on Kaling’s upbringing as a first-generation Indian-American. Although Kaling was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts by both parents, Never Have I Ever is set in Sherman Oaks, California and centers around 15-year-old Devi Vishwakumar, who returns to school for Grade 10 after suffering the devastating loss of her father during her freshman year.Never Have I Ever has been one of the biggest hits of the year and stars Canadian newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. The 18-year-old Mississauga native was chosen out of a pool of 15,000 audition tapes, counting Never Have I Ever as her first professional acting job. On Wednesday, Ramakrishnan appeared in a promo to announce the renewal of her series. Participating in Zoom call with castmates Darren Barnet, Poorna Jagannathan, Richa Moorjani, Jaren Lewison, Lee Rodriguez and Ramona Young, the actors joked that the call was to discuss Ramakrishnan’s new bangs, which are cute and exciting, but admittedly not as exciting as the renewal announcement.

 

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@loulielang and I are incredibly grateful for our entire cast, crew, and the team at @netflix. Thank you for watching, sharing and connecting with this show. ? #NeverHaveIEver⁣ ⁣ @maitreyiramakrishnan @jarenlewison @darrenbarnet @poornagraphy_ @richamoorjani @leerodriguezz @ramonabishyoung

A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Jul 1, 2020 at 1:05pm PDT

Kaling shared the promo on her Instagram account, which has already garnered over 800,000 likes, receiving praise from fans like Padma Lakshmi, Phoebe Robinson, and Kaling’s The Office co-star Angela Kinsey. Never Have I Ever actor Nicey Nash also left a comment on behalf of herself and her character, writing “Dr. Ryan approved!”Commenting on the video, Kaling thanked fans who binged and streamed the series, writing “@loulielang and I are incredibly grateful for our entire cast, crew, and the team at @netflix. Thank you for watching, sharing and connecting with this show.” Kaling also thanked fans on Twitter for watching the series, which is currently sitting at an impressive 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

We are so excited for a second season of #NeverHaveIEver! It’s all because you guys turned up to watch it and told your friends - it’s that simple! Thank you so much. And THANK YOU to our partners at @Netflix! ❤️??❤️

— Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) July 1, 2020

Kaling and Fisher have yet to reveal any details in terms of storyline, returning characters or filming dates, but considering the new promo includes all the major cast members, it seems safe to assume that the core performers will be present in Season 2.In June, Ramakrishnan spoke to Deadline about her involvement in the show and what it meant to her as a Tamil-Canadian actor to be cast as the lead. “Usually the Asian characters are sidekicks, we’re side pieces to somebody else’s story. So, it’s of course amazing to see that the South Asian girl is the focus, and it’s refreshing to see really. But also, I think my favorite thing about the character is that she knows she’s smart and she doesn’t dumb herself down, which is the case with a lot of female characters, especially in young adult movies and TV,” said Ramakrishnan.  There’s always this idea that the girl had to dumb herself down for a guy, but Devi is super smart and she knows she’s smart. And she likes to be smart, which I think is great.”Ramakrishnan also revealed where she hoped to see Devi if the show was picked up for a second season. “I would love to see Devi love herself,” said the actor. “I think that’s an important message that not just high school teenage girls could learn. Just the idea of loving yourself is something I think a lot of people need to hear. I don’t think we do that enough. I don’t think we value ourselves as much as we should. People tend to take care of other people, but they tend to neglect their own emotions, their own well-being, their own mental health. Devi’s a prime example of that. She only just started at the end of the series to confront her grief for her father. We can’t go to Season 2 and pretend Devi’s all better now. That doesn’t make sense. That’s not how it works.” See? Smart.