Never Have I Ever is back for a third season and it’s more dramatic and queerer than ever, as the cast told PRIDE while on the red carpet.
In this third and penultimate season (the series has been renewed for a fourth and final season), Devi’s (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) love life remains complicated. She and Paxton (Darren Barnet) are officially a couple, but that proves to be more complicated than she ever expected. Not only does it change her dynamic with the rest of her class, it forces her to make some hard realizations about herself. Also, a new potential romance enters the equation, making the love triangle between Devi, Paxton, and Ben (Jaren Lewison) a love square. That complication? Des (Anirudh Pisharody).
Sound dramatic? Well, add romances for our queer characters Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez) and Jonah (Dino Petrera), and yeah, this is going to be a wild and chaotic ride. We love to see it. And we aren’t the only ones. The cast of the series hit the red carpet, glammed out and ready to tease what awaits in the new season.
Season three is going to be a real rollercoaster for its lead, teases Ramakrishnan, who adds that Devi has to do a lot of self-reflection and growing. “She’s the biggest obstacle in her own way of what she wants, and I think a lot of fans are going to be able to relate to that. And I think it’s going to be one hell of a season and there’s gonna be a lot of sad moments. So get ready,” Ramakrishnan tells PRIDE.
Fabiola, on the other hand, is in a great place this season, Rodriguez tells PRIDE. “You see her in her element,” she says. “[In] season one, season two, she’s struggling with her identity and where she fits in and I feel like this season, it’s more so relationship-wise. She’s just going around feeling some stuff out.”
What makes Never Have I Ever so amazing is not just the story it tells on screen, but the ones it represents with its inclusive casting, something that means a lot to Petrera. “It feels so amazing and so rewarding and cathartic in so many ways,” he tells PRIDE. “I remember when I first walked in for day one of shooting the pilot, I felt unworthy to be there. Because I was like, ‘yeah, I’m the gay guy. But I’m the white gay guy and like, what am I offering this table?’ And then when they decided they were going to embrace the fact that I wear hearing aids, I was like, ‘Oh, I guess I do bring something to the table.’ And so it was something that made me have even more self-love for myself.
That rings true for Terry Hu, who plays the nonbinary character Addison on the show. But for them, it’s all about what it means for the audience seeing themselves reflected in their character. “On a personal level, it is kind of like, it’s just me like,” Hu tells PRIDE. “But obviously, I understand that it means more for a bigger crowd, and I’m just really privileged to be in this position, and excited to see what it means for people.
If that sounds like a lot of drama, and a lot of serious, important subject matter, that’s because it is. However, creator Mindy Kaling wants to make it clear there are plenty of laughs to be had on this “joyous” show this time around. “This season is very, very funny. The reason I bring that up is that I just feel like on comedies now, we go home and want to watch a comedy and so many of them are so serious and this one is just funny,” says Kailing. “I love Euphoria... that cast is amazing and I often think, ‘Wow, I can’t believe there are two shows that are technically about high school that are this different.’ But I really admire what they are doing.”
Never Have I Ever season three is streaming now on Netflix. Watch our interview with the cast on the red carpet below.
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