Never Have I Ever co-creator addresses 'creepy' age gap between two stars

Netflix users took to social media to brand the age gap of stars in Never Have I Ever as 'creepy' and co-creator Lang Fisher has responded.

If you didn't catch the widely applauded comedy-drama Never Have I Ever when it first landed on Netflix in 2020, then prepare for a treat.

Saying that, the show also faced some backlash online and it was mostly surrounded two of its actors.

In the coming-of-age comedy, a modern-day first-generation Indian American teenage girl named Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) ends up getting romantically entangled with another teen named Paxton (Darron Barnet).

While the actors both portray teenagers in the show, in real life, there's actually an 11-year age gap between the pair.

When the first season of the show began filming in 2019, Ramakrishnan was 17 years old and Barnet was 28 years of age.

And it all left viewers feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Fans have made their thoughts on this fact known, with one writing on Twitter in 2021: "It's v creepy that everyone in Never Have I Ever thought it was okay to put 19 year old Maitreyi with a 30 year old dude Darren??? Does no one else see how thats just not a right age gap?"

Upon the release of season three, another said: "Time to watch the new season of Never Have I Ever and complain ab how creepy the age gap between Paxton and Devis actors are."

Some fans have questioned the age gap between Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Darren Barnet (Netflix)

A third added: "Am I the only one a little weirded out by the age gap between Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Darren Barnet in Never Have I Ever?"

Since the same sentiment has been shared every time a new season drops, Newsweek took the opportunity to question co-creator Fisher about the age gap in a Q&A about the show.

Fisher explained: "From the get-go we wanted these kids to feel like authentic teens. In Riverdale, sometimes they wear what you would wear if you were a lawyer going to work, or they're dressed like PR executives.

"They all seem so mature. We wanted [our cast] to feel like real teens. Our one outlier is Darren, who is in his late 20s.

"You can't ask someone how old they are when they audition. You just have to assume that they're a reasonable age.

Co-creator Lang Fisher said they didn't know how old Barnet was when they cast him (Netflix)

"I don't think we found out what his age was until we were deep in the season and then we were like, 'Oh, OK.' I assumed he was, like, 20.

"And the other thing I will say, when you see an actual 15-year-old boy, they're just not going to be a heartthrob. They look like a tiny baby."