The sitcom world is now in the palm of your hands with streaming giants like Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ making all shows available for fans to watch at their leisure. Never Have I Ever, one such Netflix Original released in 2020, narrates the story of an Indian teenage girl who was brought up in the United States.
Devi Vishwakumar is a 15-year-old High School student who starts off by processing the trauma of losing her father. As the seasons of the show progress, Devi learns to deal with her issues as she blossoms into adulthood.
With the sitcom coming to an end after four years, fans of the show may be wondering what they could watch after the show released its fourth and final season. Well, wonder no more! Here’s a list of 10 alternatives that you can watch after you have finished watching Never Have I Ever.
The Mindy Project
Similarities: Indian main lead, Sitcom
American romantic comedy, The Mindy Project, aired from 2012 to 2017 and stars Mindy Kaling, the maker of Never Have I Ever. The Mindy Project follows the story of an obstetrician/gynaecologist, Mindy Lahiri (played by Mindy Kaling) as she tries to balance her personal and professional life surrounded by quirky co-workers in a small medical practice in New York City.
XO, Kitty
Similarities: Teen romance, Sitcom
Another teen sitcom based on an Asian character is Netflix’s romantic comedy XO, Kitty, which follows the story of a high school student, Catherine ‘Kitty’ Song-Covey, who finds herself in Seoul, South Korea. Kitty, who has never known her mother, has felt left out when her sisters spoke about what their mother was like.
In an attempt to learn more about her mother, Kitty transfers to her mother’s high school, the Korean Independent School of Seoul, in order to see what her life really was about. Kitty’s life couldn’t be any better when she finds out that her long-distance boyfriend of four years also studies at the school.
Sex Education
Similarities: Teen romance, Sex comedy
Another Netflix teen rom-com is British TV show Sex Education, which follows the story of a high schooler named Otis Milburn who studies at Moordale Secondary School. Otis grew up with his single mother who works as a sex therapist. After he’s found giving out free sex therapy to a fellow student, Otis’ classmate, Maeve Wiley, decides to set up a business at high school.
This business involves the two high schoolers working together where Maeve schedules appointments with students in need of sexual advice and Otis uses his knowledge of sex (what he’s learned from his mother’s practice) in order to help other students at the school gain more knowledge about sex health.
Awkward
Similarities: Teen romance, Dating life
The 2011 teen comedy, Awkward, follows the story of a social outcast called Jenna Hamilton, who has a freak accident. This accident is mistaken for a suicide attempt because she had received a harsh “care-frontation” letter suggesting ways on how she could be less unpopular.
Jenna begins a blog that helps her deal with different high school issues such as boy troubles, peer pressure and maintaining friendships. By making changes and embracing her misfortune, she grows up and becomes well-known among her peers.
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Similarities: Teen romance, Love Triangle
The teen romantic drama, The Summer I Turned Pretty tells the story of a teen girl named Belly who measures her life by summer. Everything good and everything magical happens between the months of June to August. Summer for Belly is the time she spends at a beach house with Susannah, and most importantly, with Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer and they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between.
Heartstopper
Similarities: Teen romance, Queer, Romantic Comedy
This coming-of-age, British comedy-drama, follows the story of high school students Charlie and Nick who study at an all-boys grammar school. While Charlie is a high-strung student who is openly gay, Nick is the closeted jock rugby player. After the two boys are made to sit together in one class, their friendship grows and eventually turns into something more.
Jane The Virgin
Similarities: Sitcom, Love Triangle
This popular sitcom follows the format of a Spanish telenovella (soap opera) and revolves around the life of a girl named Jane, who is happily dating her boyfriend of many years, Michael. One day, after a gynaecologist appointment, Jane learns that she is pregnant which is shocking to her because she is a virgin. Things turn chaotic because Jana is religious and had promised her grandmother that she would wait until marriage before having sex.
That ‘90s Show
Similarities: Friendship, Teen Romance
Set in the 90s, this spin-off series follows the story of Leia Forman, daughter of Eric and Donna from the original sitcom – That ‘70s Show. That ‘90s Show sees Leia go back to her grandparent’s house during the summer of 1995 where she bonds with other teenagers from the neighbourhood who are of the same age.
At Point Place, Leia experiences her best teenage years while reliving some of the memories of her parents’ teenage years.
The Sex Lives of College Girls
Similarities: Teen romance, Sex comedy
This 2021 teen comedy follows the lives of four 18-year-old college roommates who meet at Essex College in Vermont during their freshman year. The show, over its two seasons, covers the sexually active lifestyle of these college girls as they struggle through hardships of life, college and adulthood.
Ginny and Georgia
Similarities: Teen Romance, Comedy
This Netflix original is a dramedy that centres on the Miller family. Georgia Miller is a 30-year-old single mother of two – Ginny (15) and Austin (9). Together, the Miller family moves to Wellsbury, Massachusetts to get a fresh start after Georgia’s husband dies. While Georgia tries to live her teenage life as a person of colour living with her white mother and step-brother, things from the past soon start catching up to the family.
There we have it, our list of the 10 TV show alternatives to the teen sitcom, Never Have I Ever!
What do you think about our picks? Did your favourite make the list? Were there any honourable omissions? Let us know in the comments below.