Maitreyi Ramakrishnan joins Amazon’s ‘Elle’ season 2 as high school rival

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, star of Netflix’s hit series Never Have I Ever, is set to join the cast of Amazon Prime Video’s Elle for its second season. 

The series, a prequel to Legally Blonde, follows a young Elle Woods during her high school years. Production on Season 2 is scheduled to begin this spring, following the show’s renewal announcement in January. The first season of Elle is set to debut on July 1.

Ramakrishnan will play Sam, described as “Elle’s foil – possessing all our hero’s ambition and none of her optimism.” Sam serves as the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, commissioner of the grammar police, and is characterized as the enemy of joy. While Cosmo is Elle’s guide, the AP Stylebook is Sam’s holy grail.

Lexi Minetree stars as the young Elle Woods, with June Diane Raphael and Tom Everett Scott playing Elle’s parents, Eva and Wyatt. The ensemble cast also includes Gabrielle Policano, Jacob Moskovitz, Chandler Kinney, and Zac Looker, with recurring roles filled by Jessica Belkin, Logan Shroyer, Amy Pietz, Matt Ober, Chloe Wepper, David Burtka, Brad Harder, Kayla Maisonet, and Lisa Yamada. The late James Van Der Beek appears in a recurring guest role in one of his final onscreen appearances.

Elle was created by Laura Kittrell, who serves as co-showrunner and executive producer alongside Caroline Dries. Reese Witherspoon, Lauren Neustadter, Marc Platt, and Amanda Brown also serve as executive producers. Jason Moore directed the first two episodes and is an executive producer on the series.

Ramakrishnan, represented by CAA, Premier Artists Management, and Felker Toczek Suddleson, is known for her critically acclaimed role in Never Have I Ever and voice work in Pixar’s Turning Red and the My Little Pony franchise. She recently appeared in Freakier Friday alongside Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan.