For a game of unknown origins, the laws of Never Have I Ever are spelled out quite clearly. A tipsy, truth-telling game of discovery, it bonds players through a hopefully hilarious haze of sometimes triumphant and often awkward confessions.

Not unlike high school. And not unlike the much anticipated new series from former “The Mindy Project” collaborators Mindy Kaling (“The Office”) and Lang Fisher (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), which sees a first-generation, Indian-American teen on a mission to redefine her nerdy (and Indian) image.

“Never Have I Ever” is a coming-of-age comedy unlike any other. While some of the familiar features of the genre remain intact — the too-cool-for-school crush, the ride-or-die besties and a devastating event that propels our hero on her journey — Kaling and Fisher rewrite the rule book in a lot of ways. Primarily, in presenting a new kind of protagonist in Devi Vishwakumar, who is played by Mississauga-born and raised Maitreyi Ramakrishnan in her first acting job.

Ramakrishnan knows it, too. The character she plays is unapologetically high-achieving and driven, with a short fuse to boot.

“I love the fact that she is confident,” Ramakrishnan says. “She likes being on top. She’s not ashamed of it.”

She’s like a young John McEnroe. She even has her own Jimmy Connors in Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison), a competitive classmate who doesn’t waste an opportunity to cut her down. In fact, the real McEnroe provides Devi’s inner dialogue and narrates the series.

Showrunner Fisher explains that Devi is not great at expressing herself “and because she has a temper, we just thought it would be funny for her thoughts to be voiced by John since he is famous for his outbursts on the court.” It brings her great joy, she adds, to hear that McEnroe became “incredibly invested in the lives of these teens.”

Another trope thrown out the window is the sad loner badge often pinned to bookish types. “For some reason, we are representing nerds as loners. They have friends too. They have their own tribe,” Ramakrishnan enthusiastically muses.

Devi’s tribe includes two best friends who are equally talented and ambitious. Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez) is a polo-wearing engineer in the making, loyal and level-headed. Eleanor (Ramona Young), her whimsical and empathetic friend, is destined for the stage.

After a rough freshman year that saw Devi lose her father to a heart attack and consequently become paralyzed for three months, she is determined for her tribe to be cool. “We are glamorous women of colour who deserve a sexy life,” she proclaims before announcing her plan for each to find a boyfriend to elevate their sophomore status.

Devi doesn’t even consider her first crush as an option, the too handsome and too popular Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet), but decides that a popular enough classmate who is technically not out yet is the perfect place to start.

Her friends are not the only important women in Devi’s life. Her mother, Nalini, who often stands in the way of Devi’s path to being way cooler, is played by the indelible Poorna Jagannathan (“The Night Of,” “Delhi Belly”). Though much of the show’s humour comes from the clashing of cultures between Devi and her mom, their relationship defines a lot of its heart, too.

In Ramakrishnan’s favourite episode of the season, they reach a critical point. “It’s beautiful. You assume one thing; as you watch you realize it’s so much more.”

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Her culture is something that Devi wrestles with. She’s not ashamed of her heritage, but she doesn’t know how she fits in either. That’s something Ramakrishnan connected with as a first-generation Canadian. “I could relate to Devi, especially when she is trying to figure out where she lies within her identity.”

Take the episode entitled “Never Have I Ever … Felt Super Indian.” Devi and her family are on their way to her school to celebrate the Hindu holiday Ganesh Puja. Stopping for coffee on the way, Devi, who’s in traditional dress, is cornered by a young girl who wants to know if she’s friends with Princess Jasmine. “I don’t really feel at home right now in my choice of clothing,” Devi says after she’s pressured by people in the coffee line to take a picture with the girl.

A friend of Devi’s points out in the same episode that he doesn’t want to be an insecure Indian guy who hates doing Indian things, because “that’s its own identity and it’s a sh---y one.”

Ramakrishnan has a supportive family who is thrilled to see her in this show. “I couldn’t be more fortunate,” she says. “Being Tamil, I have family spread over the world.”

When the series lands April 27, you will probably laugh out loud and maybe shed a tear. At the very least you may find yourself relating to a young Indian American woman.

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