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Maitreyi Ramakrishnan discusses NHIE’s uncommonly mature new season

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan discusses healthy sex and intimacy in Never Have I Ever
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Darren Barnet depict healthy sex and intimacy inNever Have I Ever
Lara Solanki / Netflix

Never Have I Ever season three has an uncommonly healthy depiction of teen sex; where safe spaces and enthusiasm come out on top.

“I would have killed to see something like this way back when,” says Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, the series star whose headstrong but vulnerable character Devi Vishwakumar was introduced to us in season one trying to bag the most popular guy in school.

Season three begins with that guy, Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet), as Devi’s boyfriend. And in the very first episode, there’s some bedroom canoodling, where Devi gives into an idea that she must put up to keep the hottest guy in school. She says yes, but her body is clenched. And Paxton backs off. The scene is played lightheartedly and tenderly, its maturity almost goes by undetected.

We’re used to seeing guys have issues heeding verbal cues, never mind body cues. So having a moment like this in a sitcom for teens feels huge.

“It’s a good example of what should happen in that situation,” says Ramakrishnan. “We never want to depict it as Paxton’s forcing her, putting her into this position, having this expectation. The entirety of the episode, that expectation [to have sex] is completely fabricated in Devi’s head. It’s never given from Paxton. From the top of the scene, when they’re making out, Devi is definitely in charge. It’s still fun. It’s what they’re both comfortable. Until she’s clenched and he notices. And he’s like, ‘Alright, it’s cool.’ She’s not made to feel bad. And she doesn’t feel bad. At the end, she’s like, ‘Yeah, like, we’re better than ever.’”

Never Have I Ever is closing in on its finale. Ramakrishnan just wrapped on the fourth and final season of the series where her character scrambles for common ground with her tough and loving Indian mother Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan) and dangles between paramours Paxton and Ben (Jaren Lewison). The third season complicates things with a new Indian romantic interest for Devi (Anirudh Pisharody).

Ramakrishnan spoke to NOW about the new season, coping with online comments and pressure, and how the show’s mother-daughter relationship nicely complements and contrasts the dynamics in Turning Red, Ms. Marvel and Everything Everywhere All At Once, which she watched four times. Watch the whole conversation in the video below.

Read More:

Video: Turning Red makes Maitreyi Ramakrishnan the first brown lady of Pixar

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is coping with fame, pressure, pride and prejudice

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan shows grace under pressure

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