Oscar-winning rapper-actor Common (Selma) has officially signed on for a recurring role in the upcoming second season of Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s coming-of-age dramedy Never Have I Ever, which is scheduled to make its return this summer. According to EW, Common is set to portray the role of Dr. Chris Jackson, who will be the love interest to Poorna Jagannathan’s Nalini, and is being described as a suave and debonair dermatologist who works in Nalini’s building. His high-end practice and celebrity clients are impressive to everyone — except Nalini.
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Common’s casting comes after the 49-year-old actor previously mentioned at the 2021 SAG Awards that he is a fan of the Netflix series, with Fisher also revealing that his casting actually started with Andy Samberg, who suggested that they should reached out to The Chi star/executive producer.
“[Andy] was like, ‘Do you know who likes your show is Common,'” Fisher said. “So we reached out and had this Zoom with him, and he was so kind and sweet and effusive about how much he loved Never Have I Ever.“
Inspired by Kaling’s own childhood, Never Have I Ever is a coming-of-age series that follows the complicated life of a modern-day first-generation Indian American teenage girl. The series stars Canadian newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi, an overachieving high school sophomore who has a short fuse that gets her into difficult situations.
The series also stars Poorna Jagannathan as Devi’s mom named Nalini, Richa Moorjani as Kamala, Benjamin Norris as Trent Harrison, Adam Shapiro as Mr. Shapiro, Ramona Young as Eleanor, Martin Martinez as Oliver, Jaren Lewison as Ben, Christina Kartchner as Eve and Jack Seavor McDonald as Erick Perkins.
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Never Have I Ever is co-created and co-written by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher (Brooklyn Nine-Nine). 3 Arts’ Howard Klein and David Miner will be executive producing along with Kaling and Fisher, who are also set to be the series’ showrunners. The project marks the second collaboration between Kaling and Fisher, who have both worked on the romantic-comedy series The Mindy Project.
Since its debut, the first season had received positive reviews from critics and fans. According to Netflix, the series was viewed by more than 40 million household last year.
(Photo Credit: Jason Mendez/Getty Images for The Town Hall)
