‘NEVER HAVE I EVER' BRINGS RARE VOICE, AND A NEWCOMER, TO TV

When Mindy Kaling was growing up in the Boston area, few classmates looked like her, and her television choices ranged from angsty white teenagers to funny white teenagers.

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It helps explain her latest project, the hit Netflix comedy “Never Have I Ever,” which follows Devi Vishwakumar, a first-generation Indian American teen navigating not only her culture and Hindu faith, but also raging hormones, commitment to excellence and explosive temper.

“Some old loser was telling me that I was too Indian,” Devi says in the show’s fourth episode. “And some other people think I’m not Indian enough, and honestly all I want to do is eat a donut.”

It’s a rarity on Western television.

Though “Never Have I Ever” has received mixed reviews, it has drawn wide praise for its representation of South Asians. Netflix says it’s the No. 1 most-viewed show in several countries.

“It’s about time we had a show like this,” author Jeetendr Sehdev wrote for Forbes. “For years, South Asians have been raised with next to no positive representation on U.S. television — we’ve mainly been represented as terrorists.”