‘Never Have I Ever’ star Lee Rodriguez says fans can expect ‘new love triangles’ and ‘juicy’ storylines on season 2

• "Never Have I Ever" star Lee Rodriguez spoke to Insider ahead of the release of season two.
• Rodriguez, who stars as Fabiola, said fans can expect "new love triangles" and "juicy" storylines.
• Season two, comprised of 10 episodes, hits Netflix on Thursday.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

"Never Have I Ever" star Lee Rodriguez said that fans can expect plenty of "juicy" storylines when the hit Netflix show returns for season two this Thursday.

"Everyone's just evolving," Rodriguez, who stars as Fabiola Torres, told Insider of her reaction when she learned where the show was headed. "There's new love interests, new love triangles. And it's so juicy. We have a group chat and we were all messaging each other after reading the first script, we were just like, 'This is so freaking good.'"

"NHIE" was cocreated by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, inspired by Kaling's own childhood in America. It became a breakout hit upon its release in April 2020, as many praised the coming-of-age series for its diversity and representation.

When the show returns for season two, the spotlight will return to Devi Vishwakumar (played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), a first-generation Indian American navigating grief, high school, and a complicated love triangle.

Through it all, Devi's supported by her two best friends, robotics team captain Fabiola and aspiring actress Eleanor Wong (Ramona Young).

Rodriguez told Insider that this time around, she felt more self-assured.

"I felt a lot more comfortable and confident just already knowing the character," the actress said. "Coming to work every day was more so like, 'OK, what scene are we doing?' and not questioning if I'm playing the character right."

Being more familiar with Fabiola also gave Rodriguez the freedom to improvise lines and "make choices of how I say things or saying a line a little differently if I feel like my character wouldn't say it exactly that way."

Joining Rodriguez on season two are several new cast members, including rising actress Megan Suri as a new student named Aneesa and "Atypical" star Tyler Alvarez as a childhood classmate named Malcolm who returns to Sherman Oaks High following a stint as a Disney Channel star.

Rodriguez said that her existing costars were aware of how "intimidating" it can be for newcomers to join an established and close-knit cast.

"We make a point to be very welcoming and talk to the new people and get to know them and support them," she said. "Everybody new who came on had so much energy and were all so friendly and so fun to work with. All the new additions to the show added to our family that we have."

Rodriguez said that representation off-screen is just as important as it is on-screen, and she hopes it becomes normalized in Hollywood beyond "NHIE."

"Being on set, it means a lot to see familiar faces," the actress said. "It means a lot to see other people of color like me get each other, and it just makes you feel more at home."

She continued: "It's this level of comfortableness that you just can't get when there's just no diversity at all. And so I'm so blessed to be on this show and be around such amazing and talented people. And I just hope that the industry continues to evolve in that way."

All 10 episodes of season two of "Never Have I Ever" will be available to stream on Netflix on Thursday.