The Mindy Project kicks off by commencing the romantics
In its new home at Hulu, Mindy Kaling’s leading comedy gets riskier and friskier.
If only Fox could see The Mindy Project now. The show was axed from the network’s lineup after a durable third season with less-than-satisfying ratings, only to be picked up by online streaming service Hulu. But rest assured, The Mindy Project is finally having its moment—seizing it, commanding it, and showing it off in full liberation from the evils of cable.
Mindy Kaling’s wildly witty comedy, which she solely birthed, raised, and kicked out into this grave world, has always had a keen edge to its humor. But it’s been complacent. Fox has rules that kept Mindy sticking to its PG practices (though, we do know it’s known for pushing boundaries). Now, The Mindy Project gets to spread its wings a bit. This time around, we see some work inspired by Kaling’s new bit of creative freedom combined with its already established, mindful play on the cliché rom-com.
In the season 4 premiere, Mindy Lahiri speculates a life in which Danny never kissed her on the plane from Los Angeles, thus a life without a Mindy-Danny relationship at all. Joseph Gordon-Levitt cameos as Lahiri’s alternative husband in a dream sequence. It’s all very 13 Going on 30, except with a pregnant person.
But before we proceed, remember the pilot episode where Lahiri’s bumbling on and on about love and boyfriends and her disaster of a life? “Your life is not a romantic comedy,’’ says Lahiri’s friend, but it’s an awfully meta statement because it is. Here we are three years later, and it hasn’t lost that awareness at all.
So it’s no surprise, after arriving at the typical realizations that always happen in dream sequences, the episode ends with a riff on the two most classic rom-com clichés of all: a theatrical fighting scene in the pouring rain, followed by a theatrical kissing scene in the pouring rain.
But on the other end of that romance spectrum, Dr. Lahiri still remains expressive about sex, but her one joke—you know, that one about the intimate side of the desk—was poignantly cheeky. Though she’s always been somewhat of a pioneer on that forefront, that punchline was purposely unsubtle.
But really, many parts about The Mindy Project are unsubtle. It’s actually funnier because of that.
Fall TV premiere dates:
[bdc-gallery id=”113498″]
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com