When writer/actress/producer Mindy Kaling left her famed role on The Office, fans of her character Kelly Kapoor held high expectations for the release of her own sitcom. The Mindy Project, which airs Tuesdays at 9:30 proves Kaling has the skills to take this show in a direction entirely her own, but has some major weaknesses that could cost it a second season.
The show stars Mindy Lahiri (Mindy Kaling), a 31-year-old doctor and character inspired by Kaling’s mother who was a doctor herself. Since drunkenly crashing her ex-boyfriend’s wedding in the pilot episode, Lahiri has completely changed her goals and mindset in life in order to find her soulmate reminiscent of a Meg Ryan fairytale movie. Adding to Lahiri’s relationship struggles is that her best friend, Gwen Grandy (Anna Camp) has already settled down and has a daughter, too. In the office, Mindy Lahiri is accompanied by her doctor colleagues, Danny Castellano (Chris Messina) and Jeremy Reed (Ed Weeks). Castellano comes off as an “all-business” type of guy, seeming to have a rivalry with Mindy, even though the two really are good friends (although neither of them would admit it). Reed is the witty, British doctor who unlike Castellano explicitly shows his feelings for Mindy throughout the show.
The Mindy Project well achieves its purpose of showcasing Kaling as she struggles through what she thinks is her mid-life crisis in the world of love in and out of her professional life. Her witty, dramatic, personality contrasts the stereotypical thoughts of who doctors are supposed to be. It is certainly admirable that Kaling has the ambition to transition away from a widely popular show and create her own that is somewhat based on her life experiences today and her mother’s experiences as a doctor. Even more impressive is that Kaling is the first South Asian to star in a sitcom on television — a feat inspiring to many of her Indian viewers.
Though her clever writing and acting is the main success for this show, the show has many flaws, primarily the casting. The supporting characters of the show do not shine as Kaling does on screen. Few have personalities that viewers can enjoy and watch progress throughout the season. For example, Shauna Dicanio (Amanda Setton), the secretary at the hospital, has an obnoxious Jersey Girl accent – and an annoying personality to go with it. Another pointless character is Morgan Tookers (Ike Barinholtz), who was introduced in the episode “Hiring and Firing” as a replacement nurse. He is eccentric, childish and when he is in an episode – which is always brief appearance – it doesn’t add much to the show. It is rumored that the writers may (hopefully) cut Barinholtz from the show altogether. Also, Mindy’s relationships with Castellano (Messina) and Reed (Weeks) seem very unclear as to which purpose each of them serve in the show, though it seems predictable enough that Castellano will eventually end up with Mindy.
In the “Halloween” episode of The Mindy Project, Mindy wreaks havoc in the office in an attempt to find the perfect Halloween costume to wear to Josh’s party. Josh is a sports agent and new friend of hers whom she met in the previous episode. As in other episodes that are set in her workplace, not much of Kaling actually working is seen. The idea of her colleagues running around and purchasing costumes for her in an up-and-running hospital is simply unrealistic and wasn’t too entertaining either. Having been three episodes into the season, this sitcom had started to seem like more of a dud than many had hoped for her.
The fate of this new series now rests in the hands of the viewers and producers. Does this sitcom have the potential to remain on air and be given a second season? The amount of viewers has dropped increasingly from the pilot to now – yet many still return to watch their favorite funny girl headlight her new show each Tuesday night. While casting errors have been made by producers, it is their responsibility to cut the unneeded characters or simply have the writers produce better material for them to act. As of now, the sitcom has been deemed a “toss up” as to whether it will return for season two. Only time will tell if The Mindy Project can truly quiet the critics and please its fans by returning with more episodes soon.
