Never Have I Ever star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan to lead Netflix rom-com The Netherfield Girls

Canadian actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, who delivered a breakout performance in Netflix’s coming-of-age streaming show Never Have I Ever (2020), will lead the streaming giant’s upcoming romantic comedy The Netherfield Girls as Lizzie Bennett, a reimagined version of Jane Austen's popular character at the center of her classic novel Pride & Prejudice.

Writer-director Becca Gleason will direct the film from an original script she wrote. She aims to create “a fresh and funny contemporary adaptation of Pride & Prejudice in the spirit of Easy A and 10 Things I Hate About You,” says Netflix. Gleason is also a consulting producer on an upcoming Amazon Prime Video show, The Summer I Turned Pretty.

Temple Hill Entertainment is set to bankroll The Netherfield Girls. The makers are yet to lock an official release date for the film.

Meanwhile, Ramakrishnan’s high school comedy series Never Have I Ever returns for season 2 this July. The new season focuses on how the central characters finally deal with the death of their family patriarch head-on.

“Season 1 was about saying goodbye,” showrunner Lang Fisher previously told a publication in a season 2 preview. “Both Nalini and Devi had pushed it off and not dealt with their feelings about Mohan dying. And this season, it is about moving on. It is about life without him and how to bounce back.”

Created by Mindy Kaling, Never Have I Ever prides itself on being one of the most successful streaming shows of 2020. According to reports, 15,000 candidates had applied for the lead role in the show, which finally went to Ramakrishnan and made her an overnight star. Her performance as Devi Vishwakumar earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for best actress. The Netherfield Girls marks her feature film debut.

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