Earlier today, Fox announced the lineup for their fall 2012 schedule. Glee will now air on Thursday nights, and the network has created an all-comedy block on Tuesday nights with New Girl, Raising Hope, and two new comedy series. The network has now unveiled full trailers for said comedy series (and one that debuts midseason), so we now have a better idea of what to expect from the networkâs new offerings. Despite having a terrible title, The Mindy Project actually looks really promising. Kaling, who also created the series, stars as a young physician whoâs trying to break some bad habits in her personal life. Kaling is likeable and funny as the lead, and sheâs buoyed by a strong supporting cast that includes Chris Messina (Damages) and Richard Schiff (The West Wing). The Bill Hader and Ed Helms cameos don't hurt either. I like what Iâve seen, and it looks like The Mindy Project should make for a fine companion to New Girl on Tuesday nights.Hit the jump to watch the trailers for all the new Fox comedies, including two other promising additions: Midseason series The Goodwin Games from How I Met Your Mother creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas and the sibling comedy Ben and Kate.Hereâs the synopsis for The Mindy Project:
THE MINDY PROJECT is a new single-camera comedy from Emmy Award-nominated writer/producer and New York Times best-selling author Mindy Kaling (âThe Officeâ) that follows a woman who, despite having a successful career, desperately needs to break bad habits in her personal life. After all, how many doctors make inappropriate toasts at their ex-boyfriendâs wedding, nearly drown at the bottom of a strangerâs pool and get arrested for disorderly conduct just moments before having to deliver a baby? Funny, impatient and politically incorrect, MINDY LAHIRI (Kaling) can quote every romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan that exists. She loves the good ones and the bad ones, because the girl always gets the guy. Mindy is determined to be more punctual, spend less money, lose weight and read more books â all in pursuit of becoming a well-rounded perfect womanâ¦who can meet and date the perfect guy. Mindy is a skilled OB/GYN and shares a practice with a few other doctors, none of whom make life any easier for her. JEREMY REED (British writer/comedian Ed Weeks) is the walking definition of total bad news. He not only shares a practice with Mindy, but sometimes her bed as well â despite her best efforts to resist. He is funny, self-absorbed and super sexy. In contrast, DANNY CASTELLANO (Chris Messina, âDamagesâ) is a hothead and guysâ guy who has a habit of stealing Mindyâs patients. Danny criticizes her for everything, including her struggling love life and her lack of professionalism â even though itâs obvious to everyone except Mindy that he secretly admires her work. His blue-collar childhood gives him a big chip on his shoulder, but he is a dedicated physician, which Mindy canât stand to admit because heâs always getting on her case. Rounding out the office staff are the receptionists â BETSY PUTCH (Zoe Jarman, âHugeâ), young, earnest and easily excitable, who thinks the world of Mindy and is always trying to impress her; and SHAUNA DICANIO (newcomer Dana DeLorenzo), a self-assured Jersey Girl who is indifferent to Mindy, always knows where the cool party is and carries a poorly concealed torch for Danny. Mindy is in constant communication with her beloved best friend from college, GWEN GRANDY (Anna Camp, âThe Good Wifeâ), who also happens to be the governorâs daughter. Gwen is a hilarious, sometimes too-blunt friend, and secretly a former carefree party girl (which only Mindy seems to remember). Although Gwen is now happily married to a financial analyst, with a six-year-old daughter, this lawyer-turned-Pilates mom remains squarely in Mindyâs corner. As Mindy attempts to get her career off the ground and meet a guy who passes her red flag test (no drug habits, no skinny jeans and no secret families, among others), only time will tell if she gets her romantic comedy ending.
Hereâs the synopsis for Ben & Kate:
What happens when an exuberant, irresponsible dreamer who always says âyesâ moves in with his overly responsible little sister to help raise her five-year-old daughter? BEN AND KATE, a new single-camera young ensemble comedy, follows these odd-couple siblings as they push each other out of their comfort zones and into real life. KATE FOX (Dakota Johnson, âThe Social Networkâ) followed the rules all her lifeâ¦until she got pregnant in college and dropped out just shy of graduation. After the birth of her daughter, MADDIE (Maggie Jones, âWe Bought a Zoo,â âFootlooseâ), Kate put her twenties on hold. Now working as a bar manager to make ends meet and maximize her time with five-year-old Maddie, sheâs uber-prepared for every possible catastrophe â except for the arrival of her older brother, BEN FOX (Nat Faxon, âBad Teacherâ). Ben likes trouble a lot more than his sister does. His infectious energy makes you want to follow him into any number of bad ideas. Heâll totally screw up your life, but somehow, youâll feel good about it. Where Kate is all about planning and preparing, Ben is big on spontaneity and out-of-the-box ideas. But donât let the Velcro wallet fool you â heâll probably be a millionaire someday. When Ben comes to crash on Kateâs couch for a few days, he finds a sad state of affairs. Kateâs surviving, but not living. Ben realizes that for the first time in their lives, Kate needs his help and heâs determined to bring some much-needed chaos into her overly stable world. He starts by offering to help look after Maddie so Kate can get back to experiencing her mid-twenties and making mistakes, since the one real âmistakeâ sheâs made turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to her. Always there to help with Benâs crazy schemes is his partner-in-crime, TOMMY (newcomer Echo Kellum), who worships Ben like a hero and nurses a serious crush on Kate. Kateâs British best friend, BJ (Lucy Punch, âBad Teacherâ), is a cocktail waitress at the bar that Kate manages and an all-around hot mess who would do anything for Kate, even if her advice is often questionable and occasionally illegal. From writer/executive producer Dana Fox (NEW GIRL, âWhat Happens in Vegasâ) and executive producer/director Jake Kasdan (NEW GIRL, âBad Teacherâ), BEN AND KATE is a heartwarming story of deeply mismatched siblings: a sister who needs to go for her dreams and a brother who needs to get his head out of the clouds.
Hereâs the synopsis for The Goodwin Games:
Where thereâs a will, thereâs a way. And when that willâs worth more than 20 million dollars, you can bet someoneâs going to find a way to get the cash. From the executive producers of âHow I Met Your Mother,â THE GOODWIN GAMES is a single-camera comedy that tells the story of three grown siblings who return home after their fatherâs death, and unexpectedly find themselves poised to inherit a vast fortune â if they adhere to their late fatherâs wishes. If any of the Goodwin kids feel like they deserve the money, then itâs HENRY (Scott Foley, âGreyâs Anatomy,â âFelicityâ), the eldest child and an overachieving surgeon. He sees himself as a role model for his less successful siblings â and reminds them every chance he gets. Returning home will force Henry to question the choices heâs made, especially as he reconnects with his first love and true soulmate, LUCINDA (Felisha Terrell, âDays of Our Livesâ). Middle sibling CHLOE (Becki Newton, âUgly Bettyâ) was a child prodigy in math, and her unofficial role as âthe smart oneâ of the family still sends Henry into fits of jealousy. But long ago, Chloe gave up academics in favor of being the popular girl. Now, through a series of hidden messages, her late father will lead Chloe back to her old love of numbers â and back to the person sheâs meant to be. Of the three siblings, the youngest, JIMMY (Jake Lacy, âBetter With Youâ), could use the inheritance the most. A small-time ex-con and dull-witted guitarist whoâs deep in debt to a loan shark, Jimmy may be the family screw-up, but he has more heart than anyone. Like his siblings, Jimmyâs also returning to something in this town: his eight-year-old daughter. Pulling the strings from beyond the grave is the childrenâs late father, BENJAMIN (guest star Beau Bridges, âThe Descendantsâ), a college math professor. Guilty over not parenting his kids better, Benjamin has left behind a series of unique challenges â administered by his estate attorney APRIL (newcomer Melissa Tang). Through these tasks, Benjamin hopes he can get his children to rediscover their true selves and learn the lessons he failed to instill in them while he was alive. Their potential reward? More than 20 million dollars â a fortune that they never knew their father had â and the chance to become the people their father wanted them to be. So let THE GOODWIN GAMES begin!