Mindy Kaling is the undisputed queen of rom-com television. From The Mindy Project to The Sex Lives Of College Girls, Kaling has created some of the most popular sitcoms and dramedies in recent times.
Getting her start on The Office, first as an actress playing the iconic Kelly Kapoor and later as a writer, Kaling went on to star in huge Hollywood productions including A Wrinkle In Time, Ocean's 8, and Late Night. These days, however, Kaling seems to be focusing most of her attention behind the scenes, creating, writing, and producing and viewers are reaping the benefits because no one does a meet-cute or a happy ending quite like Mindy Kaling.
Four Weddings And A Funeral
Created for television by Mindy Kaling, Four Weddings And A Funeral is a remake of the 1994 Richard Curtis film by the same name, and if you are a big fan of the original then this may not be the show for you. While it is most definitely an easy and enjoyable watch, it does not have an ounce of the film's magic. The series follows four friends who met in college as they reunite in London for a wedding and try to work out where they belong in each other's lives all the while navigating their respective relationships and careers. While there are interesting plot lines about secret children, chasing crazy career endeavors, and of course the death, and four marriages, the show falls short of developing meaningful connections between the characters, which was what made the original so brilliant.
Kaling buffs will be happy to see The Mindy Project's, Rebecca Rittenhouse as Ainsley Howard, an American ex-pat, interior designer whose mother is played by the original films, Andie MacDowell. Another notable star is rom-com royalty, Dermot Mulroney who fans of the genre will recognize from My Best Friend's Wedding, and The Wedding Date.
Champions
Champions, written and created by Mindy Kaling was the endearing and funny sitcom that was robbed of a second season. Staring The Mindy Project's Anders Holm and Fortune Feimster, the show revolves around Vince (Holm) and Matthew Cook (Andy Favreau) a gym-owning pair of brothers who are thrust into parenthood when Vince's high school girlfriend, Priya (Mindy Kaling) show's up out of the blue with their son. The ragtag gang of employees at Vince and Matthew's gym are a quirky little ensemble, but it's Vince and Priya's son Michael (Josie Totah) that steals the show as a New York obsessed aspiring thespian.
Though it received mixed reviews, if you loved The Mindy Project then you are definitely going to enjoy Champions, it is so similar in its writing and filming style that it almost feels like some kind of alternate universe spinoff where Mindy Lahiri has been reincarnated as a sassy teenage boy.
The Mindy Project
The Mindy Project, created, written by, and starring Mindy Kaling is the ultimate rom-com series. Mindy Lahiri (Mindy Kaling) is a pop culture-loving, celebrity-crazed, OB/GYN living in New York, and looking for the Harry to her Sally. The show has everything a romantic comedy lover could hope for, big romantic gestures, the 'will they or won't they' storyline, and a string of suitors played by big named actors including Seth Rogen, Bill Hader, Timothy Olyphant and many more.
While the show starts out as a lighthearted comedy it grows into so much more, with Mindy's character evolving from an immature, shallow, boy-crazed young woman into an independent, mature woman with a multifaceted career. A lot of this development is shown through the way she navigates her on-again-off-again relationship with fellow OB/GYN, the grumpy, very traditional, Danny Castellano (Chris Messina). An ensemble supporting cast featuring the likes of Ike Barinholtz, Ed Weeks, Rhea Perlman, Mark Duplass and Mindy's outrageous one-liners make The Mindy Project laugh-out-loud funny.
Never Have I Ever
On the surface, Never Have I Ever may seem like a teen comedy, however, this Netflix series, created and written by Mindy Kaling goes far beyond that. As a writer, Kaling really hits her stride with Never Have I Ever, the characters are all fully developed and multidimensional, and their storylines, while realistic for their age, also appeal to a wider audience. One of the best and most surprising aspects of the show is its narrator, tennis great John McEnroe with special episodes narrated by Andy Samberg and perhaps even more randomly, model Gigi Hadid.
The series centers around Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) a first-generation, Indian American teenager dealing with the death of her father while trying to find her feet as a high school soft more. While Devi sometimes thinks the world revolves around her, it appears everyone in her life is dealing with their own problems, whether it be coming out to their family, dealing with abandonment issues, or struggling to make an impact in a male-dominated field. Though no one is dealing with as much as Devi's mother Nilini (Poorna Jagannathan) who has suddenly found herself the single parent of a rather difficult teenage girl, oceans away from her family, trying to run her business all while grieving the love of her life. Even though she is having a rough time, Devi does manage to attract the attention of not one but two guys, one being the most popular boy in the school, a predicament that lands her in more awkward situations than she could have imagined. All of this makes for a show that will make you laugh until it breaks your heart and then does it all over again.
The Sex Lives of College Girls
The Sex Lives of College Girls was the breakout hit of 2021, with the coming of age dramedy receiving rave reviews from audiences and critics alike. The HBO Max series created and written by Mindy Kaling has already been renewed for a second season. The show follows Leighton (Reneè Rapp), Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott), Bela (Amrit Kaur), and Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet) four very different roommates as they enter their first year of college. With storylines, addressing issues such as racism, sexual assault, financial hardship, and sexual identity, The Sex Lives of College Girls is a nuanced and fresh take on the college experience all from a female gaze.
The series is organically diverse with nothing feeling forced or token, the characters are all from different social and ethnic backgrounds, with different sexual orientations and abilities, and they are all well written, complex, and fully fleshed out. Funny and honest with interesting storylines, featuring an awesome playlist, and Kaling's signature fashion style, The Sex Lives of College Girls is definitely her best series yet.