Mindy Kaling Low-Key Shaded The Emmys After 'Never Have I Ever' Was Snubbed
One of 2020's most exciting new shows has been Never Have I Ever, a fresh coming-of-age Netflix series that blends quick wit with specific, emotional discussions of culture, race, and sexuality in modern America. The teen series was so instantly beloved when it came out in April that fans were pretty shocked to hear the 2020 Emmy nominations announced on Tuesday, July 28. Unfortunately, the series didn't get any love from the awards show, and Mindy Kaling's response to Never Have I Ever's 2020 Emmys snub emphasized her thoughts on why the show didn't get any Television Academy love.
A bunch of new shows that premiered in late 2019 and early 2020 got a lot of love from the Emmys this year: Watchmen earned the most nominations of any series of the year, and other new shows like Mrs. America, The Morning Show, Hollywood, Unorthodox, and Normal People scored multiple nominations as well. However, Never Have I Ever was not on this list of new series that received Emmys recognition this year.
Co-creator Mindy Kaling responded to online complaints by saying how proud she is of the cast and the show's success among critics and fans. The debut season holds an impressive 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and Netflix reported over 40 million viewers watched the series in its first month of availability. Kaling did get in a quick dig at the Television Academy, though, writing "a show like ours will always seem ethnic or niche to a certain group of people."
It's no secret the Emmys has a rocky history with diversity in the shows and actors it honors, although the 2020 nominations did see a marked increase in non-white actors being put up for awards.
The first season of Never Have I Ever received widespread praise both as a smartly written teen dramedy series and also for its barrier-breaking representation of South Asian actors and culture. Thankfully, the Emmys snub this doesn't mean Never Have I Ever won't ever win one of the awards; Netflix renewed the series for a second season at the beginning of July, so there's always hope for Season 2. Due to production shutdowns amid the coronavirus pandemic, it's not clear when fans can expect Season 2 of Never Have I Ever, but hopefully it will drop on Netflix sometime in 2021.
