‘Never Have I Ever’ star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has been cast in the second season of ‘Elle,’ Prime Video’s ‘Legally Blonde’ prequel series that explores Elle Woods’ teenage years. The show is scheduled to debut in July, and the Amazon-owned streamer renewed it for a second season early, granting the pickup last month.

In the upcoming season, Ramakrishnan will play Sam, a high school rival to ‘Elle’ (played by Lexi Minetree). The character is described as Elle’s opposite — sharing her ambition but lacking her optimism. Sam runs the school newspaper as its founder and editor-in-chief, takes grammar rules very seriously, and has little patience for fun. The description adds that while Elle treats Cosmo as her guide, Sam considers the AP Stylebook her “holy grail.”

Set in the 1990s, ‘Elle’ follows the young Elle Woods through high school and the formative experiences that shape her into the character first seen in ‘Legally Blonde.’ The series was created by Laura Kittrell (‘High School,’ ‘Insecure’), with Reese Witherspoon — who originally portrayed Elle in the films — serving as an executive producer.

Season one stars Lexi Minetree alongside June Diane Raphael and Tom Everett Scott as Elle’s parents, as well as Gabrielle Policano, Jacob Moskovitz, Chandler Kinney, and Zac Looker. Recurring cast members include Jessica Belkin, Logan Shroyer, Amy Pietz, Matt Oberg, Chloe Wepper, David Burtka, Brad Harder, Kayla Maisonet, Lisa Yamada, and the late James Van Der Beek.

For season two, Kittrell will serve as co-showrunner with Caroline Dries. Both will executive produce alongside Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter for Hello Sunshine, as well as Marc Platt and Amanda Brown. The series is produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Hello Sunshine.

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