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Tag: never-have-i-ever

  • ‘Never Have I Ever’ Season 4 Cast Interviews

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    Premiering on Netflix beginning June 8th is the fourth and final season of the popular series ‘Never Have I Ever,’ which was created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher.

    What is the plot of ‘Never Have I Ever’?

    ‘Never Have I Ever’ is a coming-of-age comedy about the complicated life of a modern-day first-generation Indian American teenage girl. The series stars Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi, an overachieving high school student who has a short fuse that gets her into difficult situations.

    Who is in the cast of ‘Never Have I Ever?’

    ‘Never Have I Ever’ stars Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi, Jaren Lewison as Ben, Darren Barnet as Paxton, Poorna Jagannathan as Nalini, Richa Moorjani as Kamala, and Lee Rodriguez as Fabiola, and Ramona Young as Eleanor.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Darren Barnet and Jaren Lewison about their work on season 4 of ‘Never Have I Ever,’ shooting the final season, their characters, and what they’ll miss most about the show.

    Darren Barnet, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Jaren Lewison star in Netflix's 'Never Have I Ever' Season 4.
    (L to R) Darren Barnet, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Jaren Lewison star in Netflix’s ‘Never Have I Ever’ Season 4.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Ramakrishnan, Barnet, Lewison, Poorna Jagannathan, Richa Moorjani, Lee Rodriguez, and Ramona Young.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Maitreyi, what was going through your mind when you filmed your final scene for this series?

    Maitreyi Ramakrishnan: I think for me, it was like being at your last day of high school or even kindergarten. It was just last day of school vibes. All my life, it has always felt like a very fast day, like the hours were going by so quick and all of that. For some reason, on the last day of filming, time felt slow. It didn’t even feel normal, it just felt slow. I think it’s because unlike the previous times when it was last day of school or whatever, last day of camp, I wasn’t as mature enough to be able to really understand gratitude on such a deep, profound level. Now, on our last day of filming, I felt such overwhelming gratitude that I knew how to also slow myself down, not stress about the clock and see, “Oh my God, we only have two hours left,” and keep ticking down. It was just letting myself be in that moment, listen to all the stories, hear people, and just take in the environment for one last time. Then I bawled my eyes out after they called a series wrap on me.

    MF: Darren, how did you feel shooting your final scene for the series?

    Darren Barnet: How fast time passes. Especially when you’re in the middle of a season, when you’re in a position like Maitreyi that you’re there every single day for hours and hours and hours. Sometimes, Jaren and I had weeks like that as well. It’s not easy balancing life, it used to get like you’re kind of aching for, “Let’s get through this,” sometimes. But then at the end, I wanted to slow it down as much as I could. It was just a testimony in life. You never know what you have until it’s about to go or going. I think in that moment it all just hit me. This has been a dream.

    Jaren Lewison as Ben Gross, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi in 'Never Have I Ever.'
    (L to R) Jaren Lewison as Ben Gross, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi in ‘Never Have I Ever.’ Photo: Lara Solanki/Netflix © 2023.

    MF: Jaren, what was hooting the final scene like for you?

    Jaren Lewison: My life motto is “remember the feeling,” and that was for me the whole day. I was trying to just remember the feeling of the entire day, of that gratitude, of that profound sense of joy. There was a lot of emotions that day. But we also got to have a little party, we had a long lunch. That was really cool because we got to celebrate with people that weren’t even working that day. There was a DJ, and we were in a dance circle, and there was different food, and it felt like a party. It felt like we were all saying goodbye together. I guess maybe I was ready. I think I had emotionally processed that that was the last day and I just wanted to remember the feeling of every part of it. Then, it hit me later.

    MF: Maitreyi, what has it meant to you personally to be a part of this show?

    MR: I personally take away, of course, the impact that Devi, as a main lead, brown woman. I take that with such heaviness because it’s such a big impact. I could never even understand fully it’s impact, but I do know that it is big. What excites me is that the impact that ‘Never Have I Ever’ has as a whole in the industry is only pushing for future shows that are just as amazing, if not truly, and more realistically, better. Because we’re only going to get better with our content if we continue to strive in that way for representation that’s authentic and doesn’t shy away from specificity. Because there’s nothing wrong with specificity. That excites me. As a brown woman that really excites me for myself and other underrepresented groups of all different backgrounds and identities.

    MF: Jaren, what do you see your character doing in 10 years?

    JL: I think Ben is a high-powered attorney. He’s like a trial lawyer or a corporate lawyer or something. He’s trying to work really hard to be a partner at a law firm, probably in New York or something.

    Darren Barnet as Paxton Hall-Yoshida in 'Never Have I Ever.'
    Darren Barnet as Paxton Hall-Yoshida in ‘Never Have I Ever.’ Photo: Lara Solanki/Netflix © 2022.

    MF: Darren, what do you think Paxton will be doing in 10 years?

    DB: I can see, Paxton moved to some island and he’s teaching people to surf and skate. Hawaiian shirts all day, but I think that makes sense.

    MF: Finally, Maitreyi, where do you see your character in 10 years?

    MR: I feel like for Devi, whether it’s a lawyer or some kind of government job, it would definitely be something that helps fight for underdogs and fight for people who need someone to fight for them. I could totally see Devi doing that. Like a public defense lawyer, I could see her doing that. That would be a legitimate path for her. But I also definitely see it being a rocky way to get there. She’s definitely not getting the job straight out of college. That’s not her. She’s going to be unemployed I think for a little bit. Because life’s never easy for her. Life is just never easy for her, and that’s okay, that’s fine. I’m okay with that. She’s so getting fired from so many jobs.

    Jaren Lewison, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Darren Barnet attend Netflix's 'Never Have I Ever' season 4 premiere at Westwood Village on June 01, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
    (L to R) Jaren Lewison, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Darren Barnet attend Netflix’s ‘Never Have I Ever’ season 4 premiere at Westwood Village on June 01, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix.

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  • ‘Never Have I Ever’ Season 3 Cast Interviews

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    Premiering on Netflix on August 12th is the third season of the popular series, ‘Never Have I Ever,’ which was created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher.

    The series follows the complicated life of Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), a modern-day first generation Indian American teenage girl.

    In addition to Ramakrishnan, the series also features Poorna Jagannathan, Richa Moorjani, Darren Barnet, Jaren Lewison, Ramona Young, Lee Rodriguez, and Megan Suri.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Darren Barnet, and Jaren Lewison about Never Have I Ever’ Season 3.

    Darren Barnet, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, and Jaren Lewison star in Netflix's 'Never Have I Ever,' season 3.
    (L to R) Darren Barnet, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, and Jaren Lewison star in Netflix’s ‘Never Have I Ever,’ season 3.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Ramakrishnan, Barnet, Lewison, Poorna Jagannathan, Richa Moorjani, Ramona Young, Lee Rodriguez, and Megan Suri.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Maitreyi, how is Devi handling her new relationship when this season begins?

    Maitreyi Ramakrishnan: I mean, pretty much what you think Devi would be like if she was handling a relationship. It’s messy, as she does. But it’s exciting for her because it’s her first real relationship, where she’s actually committing to one guy.

    So, good job, Devi. Making real strides. She’s pined over him for years and it’s happening. It’s very exciting for her, but of course it doesn’t come without its challenges.

    MF: Darren, Paxton seems to be taking this relationship more seriously than Devi, is that fair to say?

    Darren Barnet: I think you’ve seen Paxton kind of get in his head about not wanting to be seen with the girl that got me hit by a car. There was a lot of ego involved there. I think a lot of that is dropped as they enter this relationship. A lot of those cares go away, and he realizes how much he actually likes her, and how much she challenges him.

    It’s been a wild ride, and like Maitreyi said, you will see how Devi handles this, and it’s exactly the way you would think. Once you get what you’ve wanted for so long, you start to realize, “I’ve done so much work, trying to attain this, I haven’t done any work on myself for preparing for it.” I think that shows a lot.

    Darren Barnet as Paxton Hall-Yoshida, and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi in 'Never Have I Ever.'
    (L to R) Darren Barnet as Paxton Hall-Yoshida, and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi in ‘Never Have I Ever.’ Cr. Lara Solanki/Netflix © 2022.

    MF: Jaren, how is Ben handling seeing the new couple?

    Jaren Lewison: I think that it’s hard for him. I think at the end of season two, we saw that longing look that he gave watching Devi and Paxton dance. I think that it’s difficult for him to navigate how to have a friendship with Devi, while also being in a relationship with Aneesa, and how much he can give to that friendship with Devi.

    He’s challenging her and she’s challenging him, trying to keep those feelings at bay and trying to be a good boyfriend for Aneesa. As we can see, it’s a little more difficult for him than maybe I would’ve liked, if I was rooting for him. But, you know, what are you going to do?

    MF: Maitreyi, when a new season begins do you get all the scripts at once or episode by episode?

    MR: Most certainly we do not. Pretty much like a week before we start filming, we get the first episode’s script, and then we keep going. So, as we film, we find out what happens, which honestly, I like. I enjoy that. It keeps us on our toes and it doesn’t give us too much information right away.

    So, we don’t know how it’s going to end while we’re starting. So, we get to really go with the flow with the characters, experience those stakes and we get excited. We get to be fans for a little bit and we do anticipate, “Wait, what do you think is going to happen?” That’s how it really goes every season.

    MF: Finally, Darren, when you get a new script, are you surprised by the different directions the writers take your character?

    DB: I think the writers make it very easy because they a hundred percent know who Paxton is. It’s pretty automatic for me to switch into it. But I do enjoy that I think he’s become a more multidimensional character as we’ve developed throughout the show.

    I don’t know if that was intended upon starting season one, but they’ve allowed that to happen. So, it’s given me a lot of room to play, and I have wonderful co-stars to work off of who help me grow into that and make it an easy and very fun job. So, no, I’ve never shocked. I’m always very pleasantly surprised.

    Jaren Lewison as Ben Gross, and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi in 'Never Have I Ever.'
    (L to R) Jaren Lewison as Ben Gross, and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi in ‘Never Have I Ever.’ Cr. Lara Solanki/Netflix © 2022.