The Mindy Project, created by and starring the incredible Mindy Kaling as Dr. Mindy Lahiri, is a quirky comedy about a young Ob/Gyn navigating both her personal life as a single woman in Manhattan and her career. Mindy’s character may seem like just another female doctor on paper but her personality shines bright on screen.
The first major theme of the series is relationships. Mindy is a flawed yet confident romantic type seeking out her perfect companion in the city that never sleeps. Over the course of the six seasons the show aired, Mindy dated about twenty different men — each one a bit different from the others. She dated all types of men from priests to writers, athletes and doctors as well as men of various religions and ethnicities.
Plus, The Mindy Project dives into a number of feminist themes — reproductive rights being the most prominent given Mindy’s profession. In fact, about halfway through the show, Mindy opens her own fertility clinic to help women who are struggling to get pregnant. She also recruits college girls to take action and freeze their eggs.
Aside from all of that, Dr. Mindy Lahiri is a feminist because she takes initiative and stands up for herself when necessary, she also empowers other woman to do the same. But just like everyone else, Mindy makes mistakes and sometimes lets her fears, feelings and impulses get the best of her — nobody is perfect.
Along with Mindy, there is a large and diverse group of supporting characters, many of whom are Mindy’s fellow employees at her gynecology office. First there are all of the other Ob/Gyn’s who come and go throughout the seasons including Danny Castellano (Chris Messina), Jeremy Reed (Ed Weeks), Peter Prentice (Adam Pally), Jody Kimball-Kinney (Garret Dillahunt) and Anna (Rebecca Rittenhouse). Each one of these doctors brings a new dynamic to the practice and spices up the show.
Then there are the lovely nurses starting with Mindy’s best friend and sidekick Morgan (Ike Barinholtz) as well as Tamra (Xosha Roquemore) and Colette (Fortune Feimster). Each of these likable nurses brings authenticity and comedy to the office. Lastly there is Beverly (Beth Grant), everybody’s favorite simple-minded secretary who doesn’t do much work.
What I love most about The Mindy Project is how well-rounded it is. It is not easy to compartmentalize this show into a single genre because it is a workplace comedy, romantic comedy and a drama all in one. With all of these elements entangled together, there is no time to get bored or uninterested. The Mindy Project is witty, intelligent and socially influential. I highly recommend giving it a chance if you haven’t seen it before.
The Mindy Project is available to stream on Hulu.
Grade: A
By Blair Krassen @blairlyawake