Never Have I Ever: Why John McEnroe Narrates The Series

One of the most amusing aspects of Mindy Kaling’s Never Have I Ever is that John McEnroe serves as the narrator. This may not seem out of the ordinary if the series didn’t follow an Indian American teenage girl named Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan). The series is based on Kaling’s upbringing and was co-written by Lang Fisher (The Mindy Project). Here’s how McEnroe got involved in the project and why it makes sense based on the story.

McEnroe was a professional tennis player who finished his career with a record-setting 77 singles and 78 doubles titles. He was known for his confrontational demeanor and on-court tantrums, making him the target of parodies in pop culture. McEnroe also appeared as himself in a number of popular films and TV shows, including Mr. Deeds, 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Saturday Night Live. In 2017, Shia LaBeouf portrayed McEnroe in the sports biopic Borg vs McEnroe, which focused on the player’s rivalry with Björn Borg during the 1980 Wimbledon final.

McEnroe narration steers the first season of Never Have I Ever by providing background info and Devi’s decision-making. The tennis player’s involvement may seem extremely random at first, but it ends up making sense. Devi is dealing with the loss of her dad, Mohan (Sendhil Ramamurthy), who died from a heart attack prior to the events of the series. In the very first episode, Devi has a dream that Mohan was still alive. She envisions him watching tennis in the living room, and it’s not just any player; it’s his favorite: John McEnroe. Mohan feels that McEnroe and Devi have a lot in common like their firecracker personality. He also tells her that she needs to fight with her spirit just like McEnroe did on the court. McEnroe’s involvement in the series would go on to grow even deeper by the season’s end.

John McEnroe Served As A Connection To Mohan

According to McEnroe, Kaling always had him in mind to be the narrator. In an interview with EW, McEnroe shared that he coincidentally ran into Mindy Kaling at an Oscars after-party and she wanted him to be a part of a new show she was writing. That narrator evolved when she asked McEnroe to appear in an on-screen cameo in the Never Have I Ever season 1 finale. McEnroe ends up meeting Devi at the Malibu beach when she goes there to spread her father’s ashes. Her mother and cousin almost start without her, but McEnroe’s experience in yelling loudly gets them to hold off until Devi meets them down by the water. He tells Devi that she needs to give her father a proper sendoff, cementing his connection to Mohan’s character.

Though McEnroe acts as the primary narrator for Never Have I Ever, there was one more special guest in the episode focused on Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison). Rather than the tennis star, actor Andy Samberg narrates Ben’s thoughts for episode 6. He claims that Ben’s father is his lawyer so he agreed to do the narration in a meta explanation. Seeing as the series is getting rave reviews, it’s likely that it will be renewed for a season 2. If so, there’s a good chance that McEnroe will return to narrate the next chapter of Devi’s life.

About The Author

Kara Hedash
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Kara Hedash is a features editor and writer for Screen Rant. From time to time, she dives into the world’s most popular franchises but Kara primarily focuses on evergreen topics. The fact that she gets to write about The Office regularly is like a dream come true. Before joining Screen Rant, Kara served as a contributor for Movie Pilot and had work published on The Mary Sue and Reel Honey. After graduating college, writing began as a part-time hobby for Kara but it quickly turned into a career. She loves binging a new series and watching movies ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to hidden indie gems. She also has a soft spot for horror ever since she started watching it at too young of an age. Her favorite Avenger is Thor and her favorite Disney princess is Leia Organa. When Kara’s not busy writing, you can find her doing yoga or hanging out with Gritty.

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