‘Never Have I Ever’ Season 4 Needed More Manish (2024)

After four seasons on Netflix, Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s coming-of-age dramedy Never Have I Ever went out on an incredibly high note. Devi graduated high school and landed the college and boy of her dreams. So as far as farewell seasons go, Never Have I Ever‘s last 10 episodes were super satisfying and heartwarming. The series came full circle in more ways than one, and while there was so much to love, there is one thing I wish Never Have I Ever gave fans in its final hours: more Manish.

In addition to a questionable casting decision, one of my biggest Never Have I Ever Season 4 gripes was that fan-favorite recurring character Manish Kulkarni (Utkarsh Ambudkar), aka Mr. K, was nowhere to be found until the last few minutes of the series finale. He was mentioned several times throughout the season — like when he couldn’t make a family dinner and sent chocolates in his absence — but I can’t be the only one wondering where the heck he was or why Never Have I Ever felt fans wouldn’t want him in the final season.

Mr. K was Sherman Oaks High School’s coolest teacher, not to mention, Devi’s favorite. They had their own handshake! They constantly engaged in effortless banter! He made learning fun! And he taught her a fair share of invaluable life lessons over the years! It didn’t feel right to watch Devi’s senior year without him, nor did it feel right to write Kamala’s final chapter unfold with an MIA boyfriend.

In Season 3, after Kamala called off her engagement and started dating Manish, we watched their romance survive intense familial scrutiny from Nirmala (Ranjita Chakravarty). Initially, Patti didn’t approve of Manish because he was a teacher from Arkansas who had divorced parents, had never visited India, and didn’t speak any Indian languages. She nicknamed him “WikiFeet” and all but banished him from the Vishwakumar household after he accidentally embarrassed her in front of her friends. But despite Nirmala’s early disapproval, a smitten Manish and Kamala continued to date. Once Manish brought Devi home, revealing that she cheated in the debate tournament, but he didn’t inform the principal for fear it would ruin her future, Nirmala had a change of heart.

She apologized for doubting Manish, thanked him for being tough on Devi and protective of her, and said she was happy for Kamala to be with him…on one condition. She wanted to tutor him so he could learn more about his culture. I was looking forward to seeing more of Manish and Nirmala’s hilarious dynamic in Season 4, as well as his romance with Kamala and his special student-teacher bond with Devi, but instead, he was missing for nearly all 10 episodes. And it’s not just that he was missing, but Never Have I Ever‘s writers failed to properly write him out of the story.

Perhaps Utkarsh Ambudkar was unavailable to film in 2022 or was busy playing Jay Arodenkar on CBS’s Ghosts, which, understandable! But if a man as reliable as Manish was going to miss Devi’s senior year, Kamala’s Lasik surgery, Patti potentially dating a conman, and then HER WEDDING (?!) I needed a damn good excuse as to why. You don’t pursue someone, finally get into the family’s good graces, and introduce them to TikTok pasta chips just to ditch. And if Ambudkar wasn’t available to physically be on camera, couldn’t Manish have come in clutch and written Devi a letter of recommendation during her crisis? Or, at the bare minimum, had a phone call with Kamala to discuss her big career opportunity in Baltimore, Maryland? No! All we got was a box of chocolates and a passing name-drop until the very end of the series, when a finale flash-forward showed a few seconds of him and Kamala walking out of a Baltimore creamery, still in love.

“Mmm so good,” Manish says after trying Kamala’s frozen treat. “You always pick so much better than me.”

Two lines about ice cream. That’s what Manish, the charming man who once printed out a label that read “SEXY” and stuck it to his shirt, said in Never Have I Ever‘s final season. The scene was so short it felt like a snippet of pre-recorded footage slipped in simply to assure viewers he and Kamala were endgame, even if they were never ready to get married.

I appreciate the closure, but I still wanted more. And it’s sad to think that Manish, who played a crucial role in the series over the years, got less screen time in Never Have I Ever‘s final hours than new characters like Ethan, Len, or Andres. Team Paxton and Team Ben got more than enough scenes to hold them over, but Team Manish deserved more.

Never Have I Ever is now streaming on Netflix.