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Warning: This story contains spoilers from Never Have I Ever Season 3.
Just in case you were wondering: Jaren Lewison does call Maitreyi Ramakrishnan “David,” just like his character Ben calls Devi on Never Have I Ever – especially when he speeds through reading a script.
When Lewison read the finale scene where Devi goes over to Ben’s house to cash in her “One Free Boink” card, Ramakrishnan got a “flurry of texts” being like, “David, David, David, did you read it yet? David, we need to talk. Oh my god. Wild. Absolutely wild.”
The two Never Have I Ever stars took fans inside their friendship and spilled even more behind-the-scenes stories from making the comedy series in Tudum’s virtual Q&A fan event on Friday, Aug. 26, moderated by Tudum news editor Tara Abell.
Here are five things we learned from Sherman Oaks High’s favorite enemies-turned-lovers:
1. Ramakrishnan and Lewison went to the Universal Studios theme park together — but not while filming Never Have I Ever.
Never Have I Ever filmed scenes on the Universal Studios lot, right next to the theme park and rollercoasters. “Maybe we’re filming walking down the sidewalk,” Ramakrishnan said, “and I can hear the Harry Potter theme playing and see fireworks in the distance.” One strict rule, though, was that they were never allowed to trespass onto the theme park from set. That is, until filming wrapped — which meant Ramakrishnan, Lewison and Lewison’s roommates all headed to Universal Studios last Saturday. “I got to witness Jaren get absolutely sick on roller coasters,” Ramakrishnan joked. Lewison admitted that he got scared on 50% of them because he doesn’t like heights. But he aced the Secret Life of Pets ride: “I was by myself on that one. I was chillin’.”
2. Ramakrishnan and Lewison have their own handshake.
The duo first met after Lewison, in Ramakrishnan’s words, “slid into my DMs” on Instagram, but it was a very sincere, professional message. “We both just recently had graduated from high school because we were in the same grade,” Lewison recalled. “And I was like, ‘Hey, I know that you're coming to LA. I also just recently moved to LA. I know that this is the first kind of big thing for you. And this is also kind of my first big thing. And I just wanted to reach out and say, ‘Hi, I'm playing Ben Gross, and I'm looking forward to getting to work with you.'” They officially met in-person at the table read for the series, and, on the first day of filming, they made a handshake that they never changed (and always ends with flipping the bird). After filming a solid Devi-Ben scene, Lewison noted that “we always come away and have a handshake.” They’ve become so tight that Ramakrishnan — who is “an unbelievable artist,” per Lewison — drew a photo of both of them in the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe for his birthday. “It’s one of my favorite shows,” he said.
3. Both Lewison and Ramakrishnan have the same favorite character (aside from their own, of course)
“Trent [Benjamin Norris]. 100%,” Ramkrishnan said. Lewison can’t put his finger on what makes Benjamin Norris’ “beautiful, nuanced portrayal of this incredible, enigmatic mystery of a man” so lovable but knows that “I want to be around him. I feel like he’s electric. You never know what he’s gonna do.” In particular, Lewison cites how he can be very deep and poignant and then turn on a dime and be an “absolute goon.” Ramakrishnan also admired how loyal Trent is to his best friend Paxton (Darren Barnet). “We know why Trent was actually upset that Paxton and Devi got together, all right? We know why,” she said. “He wants to be Paxton’s number one boy.”
4. Ramakrishnan and Lewison took home their own special keepsakes from set after wrapping on the series
Every season, Lewison would take home the back of his chair from the set, even though, while filming Season 4, he learned that it just might be bad luck to do so as it’s apparently a bad omen for your show being canceled. “I was like, ‘Well, it wasn’t! So, whatever,’” said a relieved Lewison, who is actually superstitious in real life. How superstitious, you might ask? He won’t walk under a ladder and holds his breath while driving past a cemetery. “When I played football in high school, I would wear — this is gross — but I would wear the same pair of socks if we were in the playoffs until we lost,” he added. The item Ramakrishnan kept from the Never Have I Ever set, meanwhile, was more symbolic. “I’m a go-big-or-go-home kind of person, so I did buy the harp off production,” she revealed. That would be the harp Devi played as a member of the school orchestra, including at the concert where Devi’s dad tragically dies of a heart attack. “It was just something that I feel, like, really shows Devi’s growth and is a symbol of her character in the show,” she said of the instrument, which she shipped home to Canada. “But, also, it's a big part of my actor growth as someone who has never done this before to, then, a full 40 episodes.”
5. There is, in fact, an Easter egg from The Mindy Project in Never Have I Ever.
Never Have I Ever co-creator Mindy Kaling has yet to make a Stan Lee-esque cameo in the series (“I had to explain to Mindy what a Stan Lee cameo is,” said Ramakrishnan). But fans of the show may be aware that Kaling also starred in and created another beloved comedy prior to Never Have I Ever:The Mindy Project. Lewison and Ramakrishnan see shades of The Mindy Project’s central couple, Danny Castellano (Chris Messina) and Mindy Lahiri (played by Kaling herself), in Ben and Devi’s dynamic. But what you might not know is that there is yet another connection between the two series. In the Sherman Oaks High School corridor, there’s a trophy case near the gym, and there are two trophies with the name “Danny Castellano” engraved on them. “I can’t remember for what sport,” Ramakrishnan said, “but it says his last name and everything. I never knew if that was on purpose.” In perfect Ben-and-Devi-banter form, Lewison chimed in to say, “No, for sure it was on purpose.”
While Season 3 only dropped two weeks ago, Season 4 is right around the corner, as the cast filmed both seasons back to back. And according to Lewison, “it just keeps getting better and better.”
Watch the whole Q&A chock-full of questions from Never Have I Ever fans far and wide below. And remember, all three seasons of Never Have I Ever are currently streaming on Netflix if you’re in need of some more #TeamBevi.