[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers through the Season 2 finale of Never Have I Ever, “...been a perfect girl.”]
Co-created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, who’s also the showrunner, the Netflix original coming of age comedy series Never Have I Ever follows Indian American teenager Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), as she continues to deal with all of the drama at home and in high school. Juggling new romantic relationships with new friends and still trying to channel her rage in a healthier way, Devi definitely makes mistakes but she also learns from them while, at the same time, pushing those around her to want more for themselves.
During this virtual interview with Collider, which you can both watch and read, co-stars Lee Rodriguez (who plays Fabiola Torres) and Megan Suri (who plays Aneesa) talked about what they most connect to with this series, their romantic journeys this season, challenges for their characters, what they’d like to see with a possible Season 3, and which celebrity they’d each like to have narrate their lives.
Collider: Lee, because the show was not based on source material and no one knew who these characters would be and what to expect from them, the audience went into the first season with no expectations. When did you realize how much of a success the show had become and that it was connecting with audiences on a global level?
LEE RODRIGUEZ: Probably a couple of weeks after it came out, or maybe a week after it came out, with just all of the DMs. Seeing how many people watched the first season, I think it was 50 million streams, or something like that, it was nice. It was so amazing to know that people actually really, really liked it and they also really connected with the characters too.
Megan, what is it like to join a show that already has all of this success? Is it nerve-wracking to walk onto a set where everyone has already spent a season together, or is it exciting knowing that you’re stepping into something with a fan base and great material?
MEGAN SURI: I think it’s a little bit of both, for sure. I’m also just always a ball of nerves, so I think that plays into it. But also, just the fact that this was a little bit different, in the sense that we were filming during COVID, so we don’t really get to have that personability that you would normally have on a set. However, it was just really exciting and they were all so welcoming and really nice and friendly, and that definitely played a great part in it.
There’s something for everyone in the show and it’s easy to find something or someone to connect to. What do you guys most connect to? Is it something directly related to your character, or is it something related to one of the other characters?
RODRIGUEZ: Oddly enough, I feel like I related a lot to Devi in Season 1 — just how much of a mess she was, and a lot of that secondhand embarrassment I got from her. I saw myself in her a lot. And even in Season 2, just the messes that she gets in, over picking two people. I feel like that’s something maybe I would probably get into myself a little bit. She’s just a mess. I feel like my high school self was definitely a little similar.
SURI: That’s great. I wish I had to pick between two guys. I definitely relate to Devi’s first season of not getting two guys to even like me. Truly, that’s another conversation for another day. Maitreyi [Ramakrishnan] actually have this little thing going where we realize that, in real life, I’m way more like Devi and she’s way more like Aneesa. So, Devi all the way.
Lee, how did the first day of Season 2 compare to how you felt the first day of Season 1? Did it feel very different to come back to the show, after having a season of getting to know this world and this character?
RODRIGUEZ: I feel like being on set, the first scene we shot for Season 2 was literally the first scene you saw us in, where we were in the kitchen. We were all talking about it like, “This is so weird. We’re just back here.” It felt like no time had passed, just being on set again. It was pretty exciting and it was very comfortable.
Megan, what did your first day on set feel like? What was the first scene that you shot?
SURI: The first scene that I shot was actually the episode where we're going over to Devi’s house for the sleepover. My first scene actually took place with Poorna [Jagannathan] and Ranjita [Chakravarty] and Maitreyi. And then, I met Ramona [Young] shortly after and we did our scene in the bedroom. That sounds a little weird, but it’s out of context. Poorna is hilarious and it was great. It was really exciting. But luckily, I had Lang [Fisher] there on the side to help me get into the shoes of Aneesa and really establish her. Once we established that and figured out who Aneesa was, the rest was like, “Okay, I know who she is now. Let’s play.”
Was there a moment that you felt like you really got into a groove with Aneesa?
SURI: It’s funny, I don’t know if I had a particular moment that comes immediately to mind, where I was like, “Okay, I’ve got her.” I knew that the writers had an idea of what Aneesa’s storyline was gonna be, but when I auditioned for the role, I only knew two scenes of her and it was just surface level: cool teen that was joining the school. I learned about Aneesa throughout my journey in these episodes, and I think that helped it play out organically and I let it happen the way it did. Also, having Lang there and Mindy’s feedback also really helped me figure out who she was and getting into that.
Both of your characters have their own romantic journeys this season. Lee, what did you enjoy about exploring the dynamic between Fabiola and Eve, and seeing how much she grew in that relationship and found her voice?
RODRIGUEZ: Eve and Fabiola are just very different in many ways, from their interests to the way they dress. They’re just very, very different. Fabiola is just trying to navigate her new relationship with Eve and trying to fit in with her friend group. She’s trying to dress like Eve too and becomes an Eve clone. It’s all very interesting for Fabiola. She’s just trying to figure out where she fits in and she gets to a point where it’s like, “I’m not being true to who I am.” You’ll see Fabiola struggle a little bit with trying to navigate the relationship, but also trying to stay true to who she is.
I love that Fabiola comes full circle by the end of the season and is able to say, “Not only do I love girls, but I love robots. This is who I am, and both of those things are a part of me.” How proud of her are you, that she was able to actually voice that?
RODRIGUEZ: Oh, my God, when I saw the scene in Episode 10, where she comes out and Gears Brosnan is trotting in front of her, it was such a special moment that I didn’t really take in while I was doing the scene. I feel like I’m very proud of her. I’m so proud of her for just figuring out that how she is, is enough. She doesn’t have to change how she looks.
Megan, what was it like for you to get to explore the relationship between Aneesa and Ben, and seeing what he brought out in her?
SURI: Who’s to say it’s Ben? It can be Paxton too. No. That was really fun. Also, Jaren [Lewison] might just be the sweetest man that’s walked this planet, so it was really fun getting to do that with him. Aneesa is a teenager and she gets crushes really fast, apparently, and starts making out with boys within a week, so shout out to my girl for being free and loose.
We also learn that Aneesa has had an eating disorder, which is something that a lot of people suffer with, and do so in silence because there is such a stigma to that. What was most important to you, as far as authentically representing that and her pain?
SURI: That’s what was most important to me. I wanted to be able to make sure that it authentically represented people who have struggled or are struggling with anorexia, and making sure that it’s sensitive. I did a lot of research and learned about the eating disorder itself and how it affects people, but I also wanted to make sure that I wasn’t playing a prissy teenager. This is something that deeply affects people and I wanted to make sure that those moments seemed very grounded, but also real because it is such a real topic and a very real issue. I hope anyone that is struggling knows that there are resources at the end of each episode that they can look into and I hope that they can be inspired to also get help the way that Aneesa did.
It’s a tricky thing to tackle in a comedy and you definitely did a good job with portraying how it feels to really have everybody looking at you with something like that.
SURI: Yeah. Well, thank you. I hope that other people will think the same.
Lee, what do you hope the representation of seeing the queen and queen of the dance gives to young people who are watching the show?
RODRIGUEZ: I actually haven’t thought about that, but I hope that actually becomes more of a thing, where two girls can be queen and queen or two guys can be king and king. I hope that actually does inspire something. That would honestly be so awesome.
I love how much it’s genuinely embraced on the show.
RODRIGUEZ: I know!
Have you guys thought about what you would like to see with your characters, in a possible Season 3, and where you would like to see them go from here? Do you have a personal wishlist of things you’d like to explore or learn more about them?
SURI: I feel defensive about Aneesa and honestly, I feel like Ben did my girl Aneesa dirty. How are you gonna take me to the dance, and then almost ask Devi to dance with you? What?! She’s been nothing but nice. So, maybe that. I need some justice for my girl Aneesa.
RODRIGUEZ: I wanna see Fabiola more comfortable. I wanna see more of her relationship with Eve and what it looks like and what they talk about it. I would love to see more of that, and just her being comfortable and vibing. I wanna see a lot more friend moments.
John McEnroe narrates Devi’s life in this show. If you could have any famous person narrate your life, who would you want it to be?
SURI: I know who, but it’s not for a cool reason. It’s because I might actually be in love with him and I just want him to know what my face looks like when he’s narrating, just so that I know that he knows who I am. So, I would want Pedro Pascal. He’s also an Aries. I just feel like that would be so fun and an honor.
RODRIGUEZ: I don’t know why this person comes mine, but I actually feel like this person would actually be really great to narrate Fabiola, and that’s Queen Latifah. It’s like inner Fabiola, just waiting to claw out.
Those are two very good choices. In what way would you say you’re most like your character, how are you most different from your character, and is there a quality of your character that you wish that you had?
RODRIGUEZ: I feel like how I’m similar to Fabiola is that this season, she tried to fit in and change her clothes, and she wasn’t really comfortable with that. I feel like I’ve had a moment in my life where I was just trying to do what everybody else was doing and trying to fit in, and it just wasn’t working. It just wasn’t who I was and how I felt comfortable. And so, I feel like I definitely connected to that a lot.
SURI: I had to really put in work for Aneesa, just because I’m not effortlessly cool. I definitely had Lang Fischer cool-coaching me on the side sometimes. But what I really loved about Aneesa and took away is that it’s cool to be confident, but you can also be confident and kind. They go hand in hand. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. So, that was really cool.
RODRIGUEZ: I think you’re way cooler than you think you are, Megan.
SURI: Thanks. Now, I’m starting to sweat, so let’s not even get into compliments.
Never Have I Ever is available to stream at Netflix.