[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Season 3 of Never Have I Ever.]From co-creators Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, the Netflix half-hour dramedy series Never Have I Ever continues to follow Indian American teenager Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) and the trials and tribulations of her high school and home life, neither of which are ever short of drama. Friendships, romantic relationships, and family are all important to Devi, who’s still trying to figure out who she is and what she wants, with the humor, heart and hormones of a young woman forging her path in life.

During this interview with Collider, co-stars Ramakrishnan, Darren Barnet (who plays Devi’s dream guy, Paxton Hall-Yoshida) and Jaren Lewison (who plays Ben Gross, the guy that always challenges Devi but has also proven to be a friend) talked about how much they learn about each season prior to filming, the fun of learning about the unexpected twists, the craziest thing they never saw coming on the show, the magic of the friendship between Paxton and Trent (Ben Norris), the scenes with Devi and her therapist (Niecy Nash), balancing Ben’s banter with his sweetness, and how this show has changed their lives.

Collider: I had so much fun with this season, as I do with every season. It’s always nice when a show can still surprise you with some unexpected twists, and you’re never quite sure what to expect from the characters. When you went into this season, were you told where Season 3 would end up and what the status of your relationships would be, or did you find that out, along the way?

MAITREYI RAMAKRISHNAN: It’s an along-the-way situation. Weeks before we start filming a season, we get the first script of that season. And then, as we go on, the scripts slowly come, which I enjoy. I like that.

DARREN BARNET: I do, too.

JAREN LEWISON: It’s very unpredictable.

Have you guys ever predicted something for yourselves that just was nowhere near what you thought it would be?

LEWISON: [Maitreyi] is so good. She’ll be like, “This and this is gonna happen.” And I’m like, “I don’t know.” And then, it happens.

RAMAKRISHNAN: I’m very good. I like trying to get into the writers’ brains.

LEWISON: And you’re really good at it. I try that too, but I’m just not good at it. It’s always fun to read those unexpected twists, and then be excited and surprised. We get to read them as fans. We’re predicting things, and we’re excited, and then we read them, and we’re like, “Oh, my God!”

BARNET: It’s always cool.

RAMAKRISHNAN: It’s a little bit of an audience moment for us to just enjoy the writing and see what the story goes.

What is the craziest thing that you never saw coming?

RAMAKRISHNAN: I think I actually tweeted about it because I was like, “I wanna reference it back when the season drops,” but I actually got really emotional and cried, not where you think I might have cried, but actually when I read that Devi rips out of her journal, “I’m gonna have sex with Paxton Hall-Yoshida.” She writes, “I have a crush on Des.” Something about that made me really sad. I was like, “No. Wait. I still need scenes with Darren. No way. Things are changing. I’m feeling overwhelmed.” So, that was a moment for me where I was shocked.

BARNET: Freaking Des, man. I was warned it was coming, but when I got a whole episode, I did not really think that was gonna be a thing. And then, having it really highlight my Japanese heritage, that wasn’t originally what Paxton was, so seeing that all come together was really rewarding and it was a lot of fun. It was not something I thought would happen. It was not a direction I thought the show was gonna go in.

LEWISON: The ending of Season 3 just shocked me to my core. I was like, “Oh, my gosh. The possibility of this happening is insane.” We know what happens, obviously, since we’ve filmed Season 4, but viewers are like, “Did they? Didn’t they?” You’ll have to wait to find out.

When you got to that moment, were you reading that script by yourself? Were you texting anyone else?

LEWISON: Every time that I would get the scripts, for the most part, it would be later at night and [Maitreyi] is a night owl. I was always like, “Yo, are you reading this right now?”

RAMAKRISHNAN: He’s a faster reader than I am. I’ll honestly take double the time. I’ll clown myself, I’m not a great fast reader. I like to really take my time reading, so he’d have to wait, and he’d get really impatient and send me a spam of texts. Personally, for me, after I read the scripts, the first person I liked to text was my mom because my mom also got them, and I was always like, “Okay, what’d you think?” I like to know her opinion.

BARNET: I didn’t read them until the table read.

RAMAKRISHNAN: That’s such a lie!

BARNET: I swear, I didn’t.

RAMAKRISHNAN: That is such a lie!

BARNET: I swear to you, I didn’t. Maybe for my episode.

RAMAKRISHNAN: He’s trying to act cool.

BARNET: No, I’m not. I didn’t. I wanted it to be fresh at the table read. It’s fun that way. I don’t know. The reactions are more. I didn’t usually read it until the table read.

Darren, one of the things that I really enjoy about your character is his friendship with Trent. It’s really become such a sweet part of the show. What have you most enjoyed about that dynamic? Did you ever expect it to become what it was?

BARNET: No. I remember the first time we shot together, me and him became just very quick friends. We have a very similar sense of humor. He also is hysterical on his Instagram. He makes sketches. He’s a brilliant writer, as well. I’m looking forward to seeing where he goes in his career. Ben Norris is my dude. I love him. He’s become a fan favorite. All my friends are like, “Yo, you’re great, but Trent is my favorite character.”

LEWISON: Yes, mine too!

RAMAKRISHNAN: Oh, yeah. Unanimously, he’s the best character on the show. I think it’s been really nice to see you guys just be homies. I love seeing you guys together, off-screen and on screen. You guys are just magic.

BARNET: It shows in the work. We ad-lib a lot of the time, and they keep it. In Season 1, he was like, “Oh, I didn’t know you were Asian, bruh.” And I’m like, “You’ve met my dad like 50 times, dude.” He’s like, “Oh, I thought that was your neighbor.” That was us just riffing off of each other. Being friends helped us do that, which was a lot of fun.

RAMAKRISHNAN: It’s a testament to why his character is so prevalent now. He works super hard. This is me just on team Ben Norris. I love him to death. We all do. He worked hella hard and proved himself on the show. He’s very deserving of all the greatness that comes his way.

LEWISON: He’s seriously such a huge part of it. He’s got such an awesome storyline, and it’s just such a testament to who he is, as a person and as an actor.

I also really love the dynamic that Devi has with her therapist. There’s so much comedy and so much heart in those moments. What have you enjoyed about working with Niecy Nash?

RAMAKRISHNAN: Honestly, taking away the main characters of the show, I think my favorite person to just be in a scene with is Niecy. I love her so much. I remember the first therapy scenes, way back when, she was always so supportive. It was like a lot to carry, in terms of a scene for young 17-year-old me, because they were a little bit more serious. They were talking about grief, which carried a lot throughout the show. It was just such a joy. It’s the best. We would cross-shoot, meaning the camera was on me, at the same time it was on her. We’d just go in, tighter and tighter and tighter, and then do the next therapy scene. We tended to do all of them in one day. It was the big therapy day, which was really great. We would also ad-lib a lot, at the end of our therapy sessions. We’d add a lot of different tones to it. She’s just brilliant. I could talk about her forever. I love Niecy so much.

Jaren, we’re so used to Ben bantering with Devi, so I love the moments that they share when he’s just really sweet. They both tend to seem surprised by those moments. Do you enjoy doing both, and balancing the banter with the moments of sweetness?

LEWISON: As an actor, you have to enjoy both. I think Ben is so multi-dimensional. I give so much credit to Mindy [Kaling] and Lang [Fisher] and the rest of the writing team because they gave him so many layers. He truly is like an onion. You peel one back, and there’s more to dive into and to be able to explore. That’s all you can really ask, as an actor. It’s really fun to sometimes be a bit of an asshole, which Ben can be. He’s very name-droppy, and sometimes those insults are mean, but at the same time, it’s really fun, getting to do scenes that show a very vulnerable moment that showcases a lot of Ben and who he is at his core. The scene with his dad or scenes with Devi are really special to be able to do.

These days, making four seasons of the same show is a big accomplishment that you should all be very proud of. How does it feel to know you’ve gotten the opportunity to tell the story from start to finish? What has that experience meant?

BARNET: It’s an absolute honor and it’s changed all of our lives. We can all admit that. With Season 1, I don’t think any of us understood how important the show was, in terms of the content that it was discussing and the people it was portraying, and it still is. It just really sets the bar super high for me, personally, for when I go onto my next production. I can say that.

RAMAKRISHNAN: Yeah, it’s been a wild ride. It’s definitely something where I’m just so overwhelmed with gratitude. I don’t think I’ve ever felt gratitude in such a way that I did on set. It’s so amazing that we get to have the jobs that we do, living the dream. We get to go dress up and play, and work with people that we like. I do like these guys a lot. I’m just so thankful. I wish I had more words to describe how that feeling is.

Darren, you’ve branched out a bit and have also produced a film (called Apophenia). Is that something you’re looking to do more of? Are all three of you looking to get more involved behind-the-scenes?

BARNET: I don’t know if I’d produce while starring in a movie again because that was very daunting. I can’t say I’ll never do it because you never know what can come your way. But I love acting, and I love being able to tell stories that I think are important. Directing, writing and music are all within my interests. I’m open to all of that. I don’t just intend to strictly be an actor. I wanna spread my way into other things when the time is appropriate.

LEWISON: I feel like I came into Never Have I Ever being like, “Oh, maybe I’ll direct one day,” and I realized how hard it is, especially getting to know a lot of the guest directors, who were really incredible. Their journeys were all so unique and different. The director of photography, Rhet Bear, was with us for four seasons, and I asked him an unbelievable amount of questions. He was so kind to help me learn a lot more about setting up shots, the way things can be shot, and stylistically, how you have to choose certain ways to shoot things. It’s just really difficult. I love working with actors. I like was a bit of an acting coach, when I was in high school, at an acting studio, and I love that part. But I definitely know that I have a long way to go, before I’m directing, in terms of setting up shots and editing, and things like that. I wouldn’t say that it won’t happen because it’s definitely a possibility, later down the road, when I get to learn a little bit more, and have more of that knowledge and foundation to grow and build on.

RAMAKRISHNAN: Yeah. For me, I tend to be someone who has really big dreams, and totally like to manifest working with certain people and working on different projects. One day, I do wanna direct and I do wanna produce films, but with Never Have I Ever ending, I’m also trying to recognize that I don’t need to rush to do that. I can take a moment to just chill because I’ve worked really hard these past couple of years, and it’s okay to just take a break and let those things come in when they come. You never know what’s gonna happen. I also wanna take the time to say that these two guys are gonna definitely be fine. Don’t laugh. None of that. These guys truly are such amazing talents. I know that they’re gonna really just kill it. They’re gonna seriously take over the world, in their own rights.

BARNET: I appreciate that.

LEWISON: You know that we’re gonna be the loudest at your next premiere.

RAMAKRISHNAN: Whatever that project is. I just know the three of us – and I include myself in this – are gonna be damn well okay.

Never Have I Ever is available to stream at Netflix.