TGIF Friday: Netflix releases teaser for Mindy Kaling's coming-of-age series

NETFLIX

'Never Have I Ever' stars newcomer Devi Vishwakumar.

ASAM NEWS

The protagonist of Mindy Kaling’s latest project Never Have I Ever is the gods’ favorite Hindu girl in California's San Fernando Valley, and Netflix is hoping she’ll be your favorite, too.
On Thursday, the streaming service dropped its first-look teaser for the coming-of-age comedy, which follows first-generation Indian American teenager Devi Vishwakumar as she navigates “difficult situations due to her short fuse.”

The trailer shows the high school sophomore praying in front of a Hindu shrine. Devi’s requests are simple: she wants an invite to a party where she can politely decline to do “alcohol and hard drugs,” less arm hair, and a boyfriend that is a “stone-cold hottie” rather than a nerd from one of her AP classes.

Devi is played by 17-year-old actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, who will make her television debut with the show. According to Vulture, executive producer Kaling reviewed over 15,000 submissions in a nationwide open casting call before deciding on Ramakrishnan.

Never Have I Ever is inspired by Kaling’s own upbringing in suburban Massachusetts and is set to be released on April 27 on the streaming network. 

Here's the teaser:

Never Have I Ever is the first product from Kaling's contract with Netflix. The comedic actress, gained her Hollywood foothold for her roles in The Office and starring in The Mindy Project.

Kaling's move into producing projects featuring AAPI characters and themes is in response to Hollywood's apparent bias against products that feature diverse casts and crew. 

Under her creative impetus, she has written and produced Amazon's Late Night starring herself and Emma Thompson and a reimagining of the British romcom hit Four Weddings and a Funeral with a decidedly diverse cast for Hulu.

Views From the Edge contributed to this report.

Mindy Kaling casts newcomer in her desi teen sitcom

Mindy Kaling will be executive producer for a new sries starring newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, right.

Out of 15,000 applicants, Mindy Kaling picked newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan in the lead role in her comedy series, which Netflix has committed to 10 episodes so far.

"We feel so much excitement to be bringing this story to life, and a responsibility, too," as Kaling announced the casting choice on Twitter. "Depicting what it’s like to be a young desi woman right now -- a real girl with real desires, ambitions & problems. Not just Indian American culture presented to us as side characters on a show."

The Toronto-based actress will play Devi, an overachieving high school sophomore who has a short fuse that gets her into difficult situations. The series will follow her life as a modern-day first generation Indian American teenage girl, according to Variety

The as-yet-untitled series, which received a 10-episode order in March, was co-created by Kaling and Lang Fisher, with the latter also set to serve as showrunner. Both Kaling and Fisher will executive produce along with Howard Klein and David Miner.

The series was set up under Kaling’s overall deal at Universal Television, with Universal set to produce the new series. The show will be produced by Warner Bros. Television and streamed on Netflix. Kaling and Lang Fisher, both of who will be executive producers.

Kaling described how the series came to be in an interview with Variety: “Netflix approached me about doing a series on young Mindy,” she said. “I wasn’t as interested in telling a period piece about an Indian girl growing up in the ’80s, but I told them I’d love to do a show about a 15 year old Indian girl now.”

Casting for the rest of the sitcom's characters hasn't been announced.

Kaling currently has a movie, Late Night, costarring with  in the theaters and has the 10-episode romantic comedy, Four Weddings and a Funeral , a remake of the popular movie, premiering on Hulu July 31.

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