Television series

Never Have I Ever

A grieving, hyper-competitive teenager tries to reboot her social life through sheer force of will, chaos, and a truly unhinged tennis-legend narrator. It's fast, funny, and unexpectedly tender about loss, culture, and the specific humiliations of being fifteen. Great for anyone who wants their coming-of-age comedy with real heartbreak underneath the jokes.

TVMaze rating7.7

If you liked this

Sex Education2019

Same blend of raunchy comedy and genuine emotional intelligence about teenagers figuring themselves out, with an ensemble that gets richer every season.

But More explicit about sex than Devi's world, and the British setting shifts the cultural specifics considerably.

Sex Education poster

On My Block2018

Another Netflix teen dramedy juggling humor, first love, and heavier real-world stakes with a tight, loyal friend group at its center.

But Leans harder into crime-adjacent plotlines that feel tonally darker than anything Devi faces.

On My Block poster

The Edge of Seventeen2016

A sharp, funny film about a prickly, grieving teen girl who is often her own worst enemy — Devi's cinematic older cousin in tone and bite.

But It's a single film, so you lose the multi-season slow-burn relationships the show builds.

The Edge of Seventeen poster

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Turning Red2022

Same engine — a girl caught between duty and desire, mortified by herself, loved fiercely by an overbearing mother — just recostumed as a giant red panda.

A Pixar film about a hyper-driven, embarrassment-prone teen girl clashing with immigrant-family expectations while her body literally betrays her.

But It's animated and aimed at a younger audience, so the humor and stakes are gentler throughout.

Turning Red poster
More like this (8)

PEN152019

Excruciatingly accurate middle-school embarrassment played completely straight-faced, with the two leads (adults) acting alongside actual kids.

But The gimmick of adults playing thirteen-year-olds is either hilarious or distracting depending on your tolerance.

PEN15 poster

Everything Sucks!2018

A one-season gem about awkward 90s teens navigating identity and first crushes with real sweetness and a killer soundtrack.

But It was canceled after one season, so you're signing up for an unresolved story.

Everything Sucks! poster

Freaks and Geeks1999

The gold standard of grounded, funny teen ensemble writing — cringe and heartbreak handled with total honesty and zero cynicism.

But Slower pacing and a very different, less internet-native sense of teenage life.

Freaks and Geeks poster

Ginny & Georgia2021no page yet

Another whip-smart teen girl narrator wrestling with grief, identity, and a complicated mother-daughter relationship at the show's core.

But The tonal whiplash between soapy melodrama and comedy is more extreme and divisive than Devi's show.

My Mad Fat Diary2013

British, diary-narrated, and unafraid to sit with mental health struggles while still being genuinely funny and full of teenage longing.

But Considerably heavier and sadder in its handling of self-image and depression.

My Mad Fat Diary poster

Jane the Virgin2014

If you loved the eccentric narrator gimmick, this telenovela-satire runs the device even further with wit, warmth, and soap-opera absurdity.

But It's a much longer commitment with a sprawling, increasingly bonkers plot far removed from high school.

Jane the Virgin poster

My So-Called Life1994

Devi's narrated inner monologue and messy romantic triangles descend directly from this show's DNA — same confessional intimacy, decades earlier.

The originator of the introspective teen voiceover, unpacking first love and identity with an emotional seriousness far ahead of its time.

But Only one season exists, and its pacing and 90s style feel distinctly unhurried by today's standards.

My So-Called Life poster

The Namesake2006

Takes the exact same grief-and-identity questions Devi jokes her way through and plays them with total, unflinching sincerity.

A quietly devastating drama about an Indian-American family across generations, grief, and the pull between two cultures and two selves.

But It's slow, melancholic, and adult in register — nothing like the show's comic energy or teenage pace.

The Namesake poster

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Recommended by

Sex Education, Big Mouth, Fresh Off the Boat, grown-ish, Off Campus, The Summer I Turned Pretty, To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Love, Victor, On My Block