Never Have I Ever’s Devi Vishwakumar (played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) has tennis champion John McEnroe as her celebrity narrator, detailing the ups and downs of being a teenager in a classic love triangle. Even her boyfriends (or maybe, ex-boyfriends?!) have narrators: Hottie Paxton Hall-Yoshida (played by Darren Barnet) has supermodel Gigi Hadid, and nerdy and competitive Ben Gross (played by Jaren Lewison) has comedian Andy Samberg. But what about the rest of Sherman Oaks High? The cast, who experienced their first Never Have I Ever premiere together on August 11 with their fans, pitched their own celebrity narrators for their respective characters’ episodes to Vulture at the Fox Theatre in Los Angeles.
Lee Rodriguez chose “Tessa Thompson, because she’s a queer icon†to accompany the nerdy, queer best friend to Devi, Fabiola Torres. Ramona Young, who plays Devi’s other best friend and theater nerd Eleanor Wong, had a different vision for her character. “Probably Aubrey Plaza,†she said. The newest addition to the Sherman Oaks High trio is Megan Suri as Aneesa Qureshi, who wants to go the supermodel route, à la Paxton. “I’ve thought about this more, and I used to say Pedro Pascal just because I’m maybe, a little bit, obsessed with him. I just wanted him to know I exist,†she said. “But I feel like, because we’ve already had Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid would be cool. She’s got that cool vibe and I think she’s an equestrian; she’s got that sporty element to her. She’s sweet. Maybe Billie Eilish too; I wouldn’t be mad about that.†New love interest Des, a popular Indian boy who goes to a private school that competes with Sherman Oaks High, is played by Anirudh Pisharody, who chose Seth Rogen as his dream narrator.
While Ben and Paxton both have their celebrity narrators on lock, Lewison and Barnet were both in agreement: Trent, played by Benjamin Norris, needs his own episode. “I’d love to see a Trent episode. I would love for his narrator to be Tony Hawk. I think that’d be so fun,†shared Lewison. “I think I would pick Keanu Reeves in Bill and Ted to narrate Benjamin Norris’s episode as Trent,†said Barnet. The people have spoken: We want more Trent!