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Sep 30, 2023

Sunday Funday: Jaren Lewison of Netflix’s 'Never Have I Ever'

In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday

In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

Many know Jaren Lewison as nerdy high-schooler Ben, whose relationship with classmate Devi went from frenemies to lovers on Netflix's "Never Have I Ever." But off-screen, Lewison is a recent graduate of USC who loves to bake, play video games, hit the gym, eat like a king and wander around nostalgic places.

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"Sometimes you become slightly desensitized to how magical [L.A.] can feel," said Lewison, who still lives in South Central near the USC campus after finishing school a year early.

With "Never Have I Ever" returning for its fourth and final season this week, Lewison takes us through some of the spots he's enjoyed with his friends and the show's cast and crew. Here's how he’d spend a perfect Sunday in L.A.

9:30 a.m.: Pop out of bed

My alarm is at 9:30 a.m. every day. My family says we have the Lewison curse, which means you just never sleep. I’m also the type of person where my alarm goes off and I’m out of bed 30 seconds later, brushing my teeth.

9:45 a.m.: Head to the gym

I grab a protein bar and walk to the USC Lyon Recreation Center, which is where I work out. I’m about to move, but for the last four years — my entire time being out in L.A. — I’ve lived and gone to school at USC. I graduated a year ago, but I’m still sort of living the college life. All my friends are still here and a lot of them are from out of state, so I was like, you know what? I’ll spend one more year with my friends.

12 p.m.: Snack time

Then I’ll come home, shower and I’ll make the best protein shake of all time. I use this protein powder that's chocolate-flavored, the brand is Dymatize. I get two scoops of peanut butter in there and then some oat milk. I’m telling you, it tastes like a chocolate milkshake. Then, in a perfect world, I’m gonna make some Oreo cookie brownie bars to enjoy after dinner. I’m a big baker. I have a massive sweet tooth.

1 p.m.: Get lunch at the Original Farmers Market

I’m going to the farmers market at the Grove. When I was a kid, I would come to L.A. for pilot season and I would eat at the farmers market with my mom and then drive to an audition.

Lunch is gonna be with my roommates, who are my best friends. I might have a corned beef sandwich at one of the deli spots. I might do the kebab stand. I might do the fried chicken place. I like to eat, so it could be that I go get a pickle from the little pickle guy stand, or at least a sample. I’d probably get a fresh squeezed lemonade. I would like to say I can control myself, but I probably can't.

2 p.m.: Pick out a new book

Then I’m probably walking around Barnes & Noble. I was never a reader growing up but after college, I was like, I want to read. I really like realistic fiction or sci-fi. Growing up, "Ender's Game" was like the only thing I ever read besides Percy Jackson and like "The Hunger Games" and "Divergent" — whatever was popular. But recently, I read all of Sally Rooney's books. And I really liked those — I’m a huge fan of "Normal People." Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal, their performances [in "Daisy Jones & the Six"] are mind-boggling to me and that's one of my favorite limited series. So right now, I’m reading "Daisy Jones & the Six." I guess if it gets adapted into a TV show, I’m like, oh, I should do it.

2:30 p.m.: Wander around a museum

It might be the Broad. It might be the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. I’ve been wanting to go to the Petersen Automotive Museum, so I’m probably gonna go there with my friends. I have a dream of owning a raven black Thunderbird, like a 1957 with chrome, red interior, and it's a convertible.

It's a very silly vision, but in my mind, when I’ve made it, I’ve got that car, I’m in a black suit with a black dress shirt with Ray-Ban sunglasses. The top is down and I’m driving down PCH to "The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie." So I think that the Petersen Automotive Museum might be the closest I ever get to sitting in that car and driving on PCH while that song plays, but we’ll see, you never know.

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4:30 p.m.: Get an afternoon cone

My family has a tradition: we used to do 3 o’clock ice cream on vacations. I’m going to McConnell's Fine Ice Creams and as dark chocolate as it can get, that's what I want. My family is in Dallas, but I’ll send them a picture in our family group chat.

5 p.m.: Head home to play Rocket League

My little group of seven will probably have a couple of drinks and we like to play Rocket League. That's a big one in my house, we do some tournaments. My Rocket League partner, Dan, is one of my best friends. We’ve definitely figured out how to get some chemistry going on the Rocket League field.

7:15 p.m.: Eat as much meat as humanly possible

We’re going to K-Town. I love Korean barbecue, I’m probably eating my face off. We’re gonna have some beer, we’re gonna have all the meat, maybe some of the fixings, but definitely a lot of meat. I’ll probably be the grill master.

The first [Korean barbecue joint] that I was ever exposed to was Gyu-Kaku, which is really solid. But there are a couple of gems in K-town. Every time I go, I try a new place. Quarters Korean BBQ is really, really good. I actually went there with the "Never Have I Ever" crew and cast.

9:30 p.m.: Choose an adventure

There are a few options now. We could do karaoke in K-town. I’m a Texas boy. I am not a singer, but I think I can sing a country song and be all right. I think it's gonna be "Wagon Wheel" by Darius Rucker. One time, my roommate and I went up for karaoke and sang "My Way" by Frank Sinatra, and I do think that brought the house down.

Or perhaps an escape room. Or we’re going back to my house, and it's a game night. My house is a Settlers of Catan house. We actually have a chalkboard wall and we have a winner's standings column that gets updated after every game.

12 a.m.: Grab a midnight snack at Canter's

At this point, it might be time to go to Canter's Deli. I’m a huge Jewish deli person and Canter's is open 24 hours, so I’m gonna milk the hell out of that.