McEnroe narrates Netflix series "Never Have I Ever"

The Netflix comedy series Never Have I Ever was released on Monday, and you'll be surprised by a familiar voice. The coming-of-age story is 10 episodes centered on grief, high school drama and the challenges of immigrant families in America—yet still very much a comedy.

The narrator for nine of the episodes is none other than John McEnroe (one episode is narrated by Andy Samberg).

"You may be asking yourself why is sports icon John McEnroe narrating this tale?" McEnroe says at the start of Episode 1. "It’ll make sense later, I promise."

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Here’s some more about the wonderful John McEnroe, who is the narrator for #NeverHaveIEver! ⁦@loulielang⁩ https://t.co/2SvtzyCauK — Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) April 27, 2020

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McEnroe narrates the life of the main character, 15-year-old Devi Vishwakumar, an angsty, book-smart sophomore whose parents immigrated from Indian to America in 2001. He chimes in with commentary on her inner thoughts and bad decisions, even when it gets awkward, like during her scenes with her crush Paxton Hall-Yoshida.

Show creator Mindy Kaling sought out McEnroe for the role, and the 61-year-old former No. 1 accepted, saying the concept was "cool" and the role could work since his voice "is sort of unique." The seven-time Grand Slam champion doesn't just narrate, though, he makes a cameo playing himself in the season finale.

"When we decided that the character of Devi would have a temper, the McEnroe thing just kept coming back: you know, someone who's high-achieving but is undermined by their own temper," Kaling toldUSA Today. "We kept talking about him and were like, 'Wait, should he be doing the narration?' Devi's dad loved tennis, and it timed out that he would have grown up watching McEnroe."

In the show, Devi's father Mohan is a big fan of McEnroe's, watching old matches late at night (complete with one of his most famous outbursts) and comparing his daughter's fiery spirit to McEnroe's—in a good way.

"He doesn’t let anyone push him around," Mohan tells Devi. "Look at him yelling at that umpire. He’s a firecracker just like you."

McEnroe has dabbled in acting well before his Netflix narrating debut. He's appeared in Anger Management, Mr. Deeds, 30 Rock, 7 Days in Hell and Ocean's Eight, to name a few.