Never Have I Ever season 4 may mark the end of the popular Netflix series, but it serves as a new beginning for Devi Vishwakumar (played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) and her loved ones. Created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, the show began with Devi's impossible crush on the hunk of Sherman Oaks High School, Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet), before teasing an enemies-to-lovers romance with classmate Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison).
But the heart of Never Have I Ever is family, and Devi's journey from mourning the loss of her father to moving forward with her mother, cousin, and grandmother is much more important than which guy she ends up with. In season 4, her mother Nalini (played by Poorna Jagannathan) is finally in the right mindset to pursue a potential partner with her daughter's blessing. Meanwhile, her cousin Kamala (Richa Moorjani) is faced with a job opportunity that could take her away from the family she loves in the San Fernando Valley.
Screen Rant spoke to Jagannathan and Moorjani about how the tables turn in Nalini's love life and Kamala's career respectively, as well as how Never Have I Ever season 4 more firmly establishes the importance of the Vishwakumar family unit.
Poorna Jagannathan & Richa Moorjani Talk Never Have I Ever Season 4
Screen Rant: We've gone through many ups and downs with your character, Poorna. We've had to grieve the loss of Devi's father and adjust to life without him. Now in Season 4, it seems she will find new love. What can you say about this new man in her life?
Poorna Jagannathan: Indeed. She has a new man, but the overarching thing is why she's allowing herself to be loved again. She's able to let go of a bit of that grief – and also the fact that her daughter is helping her find this new love and making it possible gives her the permission that she probably can't give herself. It's a really beautiful turntable and shows that everyone has come a huge, long way.
Richa Moorjani: I just wanted to add one thing. It's something that is so incredibly groundbreaking, the storyline. Because in our culture, when a woman loses her husband, even if she's really young, they're told that, "That's it. You're never going to marry again." It is forbidden to even fall in love again; have love in your life again. I think it's just so beautiful that the show has done it and made it so normal; it's nothing weird. I think that's going to have a huge impact.
On the other hand, we don't get as much of Kamala and Manish this season.
Richa Moorjani: Yes. He was too busy shooting other things, that's the real answer. He was a little busy.
But we do see the doors of opportunity open career-wise. What can you say about Kamala's journey into new medicinal frontiers?
Richa Moorjani: I love that. I think that we see Kamala in this season really obsessing over her grandmother's new relationship, and the tables have turned. In the last season, she was desperately trying to get her grandmother's approval, and in this season, it's quite the opposite.
But all of that really is a distraction because she does come across this opportunity that will be life-changing and so exciting for her. But at the same time, it's terrifying. It means that she has to leave this family and leave everything that's comfortable and everything that's familiar to her.
She's been dealing with this journey throughout the whole show of how to learn to truly stand on her own two feet and put herself first and not feel like she has to just make everyone around her happy all the time. I think that in this season, we come full circle with her character, and it's so inspiring.
Poorna Jagannathan: It just occurred to me that Kamala's journey just shows how difficult [it is]. Nalini came to this country as an immigrant, but it just shows the beginning where it's so scary to be on your own. It’s such a sense of security to be with family, and to leave that as an immigrant? To leave your home behind, leave your family, is terrifying.
Richa Moorjani: Especially as a woman, yeah.
Poorna Jagannathan: It's terrifying, but that’s just the beauty of coming into your own.
Your relationships with Devi, played by Maitreyi, are the heart of the series. What have been some of your favorite moments as a family on or off screen?
Richa Moorjani: Oh, that's a great question.
Poorna Jagannathan: I mean, the wedding was so beautiful. The dance.
Richa Moorjani: Oh, my God. We loved getting to do the dance with Kamala and Devi. It was something that Maitreyi and I were manifesting since Season 1. I dropped a lot of hints about that.
But I think most of my scenes anyways are with the family, so I would say every family scene is my favorite scene. Even going all the way back, I think both me and Poorna's favorite scene to date is the end of Season 1 on the beach.
About Never Have I Ever Season 4
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. Never Have I Ever is created by executive producers Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, with Fisher serving as the showrunner.
Check out our other Never Have I Ever interviews here:
Never Have I Ever season 4 premieres June 8 on Netflix.