Okay I've been thinking about this ever since Julie and the Phantoms started getting all the hype on here and the rest of the internet.
Back in, like, early May, I binged the Netflix show Never Have I Ever in a single night. It was like a week old at the time, so I just assumed there was no hype because it was so new. But it's been out for over 6 months by now and there are still CRICKETS. It's such an amazing and funny show that I was certain it would be taking over the internet soon.
For those of you who don't know, the show is about teenager Devi Vishwakumar, whose father had passed away during the previous school year. The shock and grief was so intense that she was paralyzed from the waist down for a few months until she was eventually able to get the feeling back in her legs. As the new school year approaches, she is determined not to be known as "the girl who was paralyzed and now suddenly isn't".
Since Devi is Indian-American, I learned so much about Indian culture and the Hindu religion. The show also details Devi's struggles with her identity. She gets embarrassed when she's in public and dressed for Ganesh Puja, asserts that her mother doesn't understand things the American way, etc. It was also created by Mindy Kaling and is based on her own struggles with her identity growing up.
The show has so much diversity— Devi's two best friends are both women of color, there's LGBT rep, one of the love interests is half-Japanese and speaks it in the show, a character has a sister with Down Syndrome and she isn't stereotyped, and mental health is also touched on. Also one of the episodes is narrated by Andy Samberg so that's a plus.
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I don't mean to put down shows like Julie and the Phantoms and Outer Banks, but I have noticed two glaringly obvious similarities in the hype surrounding them: pretty much all of the hype is around the white characters. See: John B, JJ, the ghost band members in JATP (idk what they're called sorry). I've seen tons of JATP edits on Tumblr and like.... none of them are about the Puerto-Rican female lead. They're all about the dudes.
Again, I'm not putting those shows down, nor am I putting down anyone who enjoys them! I've been meaning to watch both for a while but haven't had the time. I'm just pointing out some common themes.
Please please please give Never Have I Ever the same hype that you give these shows!! It's renewed for a second season so we're getting more content!!
