The cast of The Mindy Project had reason to be excited last night during their PaleyFest panel. They learned this week that FOX had renewed their show for a second season, which, according to executive producer Matt Warburton, broadens their storyline horizons. Thatâs not to say they know what to do with season two quite yet. âWe had a strong inclination to really entertain and surprise you guysâ with the first season, Warburton said, adding that getting renewed âmade it real for us that we need to start thinking about where we can go from there.â
Aside from a few hints about a future episode shot in Long Beach in which Chris Messinaâs Dr. Danny Castellano wrestles Brendan the midwife (Mark Duplass) while wearing a Speedo, Mindy Kaling & Co. kept upcoming storyline ideas under wraps. Fans of The Mindy Project got a sneak peek at this weekâs episode â Kalingâs OB/GYN character Dr. Mindy Lahiri tackles insecurities about her weight and singledom, and develops an unexpected bond with Bev, the practiceâs former nurse who just signed on to become a series regular.
Itâs a strong episode â Morganâs one-liners are especially on point â but they didnât hold a candle to the gems spewing from Ike Barinholtzâs mouth while riffing with his costars Friday. That leads us to the first and perhaps most crucial element of The Mindy Projectâs success.
1. Chemistry
Granted, these are actors who are paid to pretend they have chemistry, but if we learned anything from the PaleyFest panel, itâs our genuine Bucket List aspiration to hang out with the cast. Barinholtz, Kaling, and Ed Weeks (who plays Dr. Jeremy Reed) took turns doing their best Messina impressions, harassed each other about what constitutes a proper romantic comedy, and exchanged harmless sexual advances. (The verdict on a brief, platonic kiss between Kaling and Barinholtz: goofy in the way macking on a member of your college crew during a night of debauchery might be but not likely to spin off into its own plot line.)
Even secondary characters have proven themselves essential to sustaining the showâs dynamic. Thereâs Barinholtz, who started out on the show as a writer, and Beth Grant, whose character, Bev, saves Mindy from herself in the previewed episode. But Zoe Jarman, who plays secretary Betsy Putch, might have one of the most interesting roles on the show, especially for die-hard fans of The Office. While developing the characters, Kaling said she thought back to the relationship between Dwight and Michael and the way the assistant (to the) regional manager idolized his boss. âWhatâs great about the character here is that (Betsy) just decided a long time ago that I was great and glamorous,â Kaling explained. âI think itâs good for a lead to have someone who thinks that theyâre worth something.â
2. Experience
Unsurprisingly, the TV set where Kaling cut her teeth has informed many of her producing and writing decisions on Mindy Project. After eight years working on The Office as both a writer and actor, Kaling heads back in a few days to shoot the finale. (âThatâs great,â Barinholtz quipped. âOnce you shoot that, I donât want to talk about The Office anymore.â) But taking on her own show meant stretching into joke territory that was never quite right for the NBC tribute to all things awkward and mundane. âI was trained to be a comedy writer from Greg Daniels, but it wasnât necessarily my style,â she said. âWhat was beautiful about the show is how truthful it was and how unglamorous it was. But with my show, I wanted to do something that was a little more my organic interests before the show.â As visual explanation of those interests, Kaling gestured to her PaleyFest outfit â sky-high glittery heels, a stack of bangles on her arm, and a shirt bearing two huge sequined tubes of lipstick.
3. A healthy balance between glam and reality
Since previews of The Mindy Project, Kaling has emphasized how her characterâs (and her own) aesthetic leanings would never outweigh her intellect or her commitment to her career. On the show, Dr. Lahiri skips out on highly anticipated dates to tend to her patients, sacrifices sleep and at times personal hygiene to answer frantic pages from the hospital â what weâve come to expect from working physicians. But she also dresses at a level well above the wardrobe her Office character Kelly Kapoor wore. âOn The Office, my clothes were like, from T.J. Maxx,â Kaling says. âMy character made like, $17,000 a year.â
These more frivolous interests sometimes raise eyebrows among viewers and critics who hold the showâs creator to strict role model standards. âThatâs when I get jealous of the Danny McBrides and the Steve Carells,â Kaling said, âbecause when they play a character, youâre not like, âWhat are you saying about white men with this portrayal of Michael Scott?â When I play this character, and I want to play a fun character with these big flaws, I sometimes think that Iâm speaking for all Indian American women. Iâm like, damn it, why wasnât this 75 years in the future?â
4. Workhorse showrunner
No doubt itâs a tough line to walk, but if her costarsâ endorsements are any clue, their tireless leader (âHurriKaling,â as Barinholtz called her) can handle it. âI can drive off the lot, I can just turn it off,â Messina said. âThese guysâ â gesturing to Kaling and executive producer Warburton â âtheyâre the reason weâre coming back next year. Theyâve just devoted their entire lives to this show. Itâs been beautiful to watch.â On top of wrapping up the final seasons of The Office while launching The Mindy Project, Kaling has also shown up in films like No Strings Attached and The Five-Year Engagement, released her 2011 book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), and started work on her second book, due out sometime in the next two years.
Her curriculum vitae is exhausting to read. When does she find time to sleep? âThe thing is,â Kaling said toward the end of the night, âwhen youâre literally living your lifeâs dream, you donât want to be sleeping. You want to be awake. Iâm like the star of my own show, and Iâm still a little chubby and stuff. How did this happen?â
Facebook Comments