Television series

The Mindy Project

Name: The Mindy Project
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Medical
Released: 2012
Cast: Mindy Kaling, Ike Barinholtz, Ed Weeks, Chris Messina, Xosha Roquemore

Romantic comedy
Light-hearted

A smart, romantic comedy about an obstetrician who's equally obsessed with her career, her love life, and old Hollywood movies. Mindy Kaling writes and stars as a character so vivid and funny she practically pulls the show around her. It's warm, genuinely hilarious, and unafraid to be both silly and sincere.

TVMaze rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy romantic comedy built on rapid-fire banter and a lead who is funny about her own mess, the sort of workplace sitcom whose jokes land fast and whose heart sneaks up on you.

Skip it if you want something slow and sober, since the jokes arrive quickly and the romance is often played for laughs.

What it asks of you: Half-hour episodes that move at a brisk clip, with plenty of people talking over one another, and six seasons to settle into if it clicks.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Parks and Recreation2009

A workplace comedy where the characters are so lovable you'd genuinely hang out with them. Leslie Knope has the same infectious optimism and romantic desperation as Mindy, and the ensemble cast is equally sharp and weird.

But The first season is stiff and The Office–derivative; you have to push through to season two before it finds its footing and becomes brilliant.

Scrubs2001

A hospital comedy-drama that nails the same balance: genuine friendship and competition between doctors, real emotional stakes, and absurdist humour. The romantic tension between JD and Elliot mirrors Mindy and Danny perfectly.

But Later seasons lose focus and get scattered; the show overstays its welcome by about two seasons, and some episodes are aggressively corny.

30 Rock2006

Tina Fey's rapid-fire, self-aware comedy about a woman trying to have it all—a career, romance, and a life. It's similarly packed with references, jokes-per-minute density, and characters who are both lovable and deeply flawed.

But The writing is uneven across seven seasons; some episodes feel stretched, and the supporting cast doesn't always land like Mindy's does.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Mindy Project

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

You've Got Mail1998

Mindy Lahiri's entire emotional and comedic vocabulary is built from Ephron's screwball romantic tradition. This is the source text—Mindy watches it, quotes it, wants to *be* it.

The Mindy Project is obsessed with romantic comedies, especially the Nora Ephron variety. This is the Platonic ideal: witty, yearning, impeccably written, and built on the premise that you can genuinely like someone you're also supposed to want to strangle.

But It's from 1998 and reads as such; the twee New York nostalgia and the notion of AOL as romantic backdrop will feel quaint at best, saccharine at worst.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine2013

A workplace ensemble comedy with real heart and chemistry between cast members. It's funny, genuinely moving, and builds ongoing relationships the way The Mindy Project does—romance develops slowly and actually matters.

But It's relentlessly optimistic and can feel saccharine if you're in the mood for something darker or more cynical.

Murphy Brown1988

An earlier blueprint for the brilliant, complicated woman navigating work and love. Candice Bergen's Murphy is sharp, ambitious, and romantically messy in ways that would definitely influence Mindy Lahiri's DNA.

But It's entirely a product of its 1990s network sitcom era; the pacing and style feel dated, and the jokes don't always survive the transport.

Fleabag2016

A British comedy about a flawed woman wrestling with ambition, family, love, and self-sabotage. Like Mindy, it's funny and sincere in equal measure, with a protagonist who's her own best joke and worst enemy.

But It's considerably darker and more melancholic; if you want pure escapist fun, this has an undertone of genuine sadness that never quite lifts.

Cougar Town2009

A comedy about a woman unapologetically pursuing what she wants—romance, friendship, fun. It's warm, self-aware, and has that same willingness to be both goofy and genuinely touching.

But The early seasons are uneven, and the show's obsession with wine and lifestyle-brand comedy doesn't appeal to everyone.

Ginny & Georgia2021

A more recent comedy-drama with similar romantic tension, character-driven humour, and a female lead who's messy, ambitious, and worth rooting for even when she makes terrible decisions.

But It's aimed at a younger audience; some of the tonal shifts feel calculated, and the drama occasionally overwhelms the comedy.

Happy Endings2011

A tight ensemble comedy with the same rapid-fire joke density and genuine affection between characters. It's funny, weird, and never patronizing—just pure fun.

But It was cancelled after three seasons; there's not much of it to sink into, and some of the humour leans very niche and specific.

Kroll Show2013

Both shows trust that committed weirdness and character specificity are funnier than conventional jokes. Neither is interested in explaining the bit or waiting for you to catch up.

A sketch comedy show where comedian Nick Kroll inhabits dozens of characters in rapid succession, building absurdist comedy through character commitment rather than plot. It has The Mindy Project's willingness to be ridiculous and sincere simultaneously, but at maximum speed and with zero narrative constraint.

But Sketch comedy is a brutal format; half the sketches won't land, and there's no narrative through-line to carry you through the duds. Some characters are aggressively stupid.

La Dolce Vita1960

The Mindy Project is fundamentally a comedy response to this sensibility: the same hunger for an impossible glamorous life, the same romantic desperation, but filtered through absurdism and real affection for the characters. Where Fellini is anguished, Mindy is laughing—but at the same essential loneliness.

A black-and-white Italian masterpiece about ambition, romance, and the gap between the life you want and the life you're actually living. Mindy's constant yearning for glamour and transformation is rooted in this aesthetic tradition—the fantasy of the beautiful, complicated woman living fully.

But It's three hours, in Italian with subtitles, from 1960, and deliberately paced. The narrative meanders; there's no clear plot. It's not a feel-good movie. It's a *mood*.