“The Mindy Project” is all grown up. After four years of workplace romance and pleasantly predictable hijinks, the show has finally reached its sixth and final season, which promises to find a happy ending for each of its characters. Of course, it will likely be a bumpy, wacky road until then, but with a romantic protagonist like Mindy at the helm, everyone will end up riding off into the sunset with their significant other before the finale credits roll.
For Mindy, however, her significant other might not be sunset material. The season premiere “Is That All There Is?” opens with obstetrician/gynecologist Mindy (Mindy Kaling) and her new husband Ben (Bryan Greenberg) settling into a nauseatingly tedious routine of uneventful domesticity, complete with leftover dinners and spin classes. While Ben seems content, Mindy is unaccustomed to living with a better half and inadvertently ignores her spouse in favor of helping her friends sort through their own issues—of which there are several. Mindy’s supervisor, Jeremy (Ed Weeks), wants to ask his uptight girlfriend Anna (Rebecca Rittenhouse) to move in with him; Colette (Fortune Feimster) is uncomfortable working in the same office as her ex-fiancée Karen; Tamra (Xosha Roquemore) wants to become a single mother. As Mindy eagerly tackles her coworkers’ issues, she alienates Ben and ends up calling into question her ability to share her life with another person.
“The Mindy Project” has always been the perfect marriage of romantic and situational comedy, largely due to Kaling’s experience writing for comedic heavyweight “The Office” and her lifelong obsession with rom-coms. While never particularly ambitious, the show has managed to entertain weekly without jumping any sharks and attracts respectable ratings in spite of its lack of success with the award committees. It pales in comparison to trendier, more richly realized sitcoms like “New Girl,” but “The Mindy Project” is comfortable in its own skin and never tries to posture or put on airs. It is proud to be a safe sitcom.
The fact that most of the characters are taking risks in this season premiere does little to remedy the show’s complacency. These new plot lines are far from surprising, not just in the context of modern sitcoms but for the characters themselves: of course Anna would be unable to decide if she wants to move in with Jeremy, and of course Tamra would worry if she'd be a suitable mother when she can barely give herself a shot without fainting. Even the ever-hilarious Beverly’s non sequiturs are growing predictable (with the exception of her Trump hat comment, which was delightfully random and in-character). Mindy’s dissatisfaction with her boring life packs the most punch, primarily because of her dedication to finding a husband and ending her romantic story the way all great rom-coms do—with marriage. Her difficulty adjusting to marriage is refreshingly realistic, not to mention true to her character: Mindy is not comfortable sharing herself with others or compromising the narrative that she has painstakingly constructed. The entire show has revolved around Mindy grappling with her career, her relationships, her child—all of which pertain to her story. Giving up that sense of individuality and total independence is justifiably challenging for Mindy. Hopefully, this fresh conflict will give rise to a compelling story arc about marriage and selfhood that will push the show a little farther out of its comfort zone.
As for the rest of the characters, it will be interesting to see if the show dares to delve more deeply into their interactions before we bid the cast farewell. Jeremy’s appeals to Anna suggest he had a wildly depressing childhood (“I kept telling her that Mother always called me a mistake”), and Jody (Garret Dillahunt) seems to be taking an interest in Tamra that could evolve into an intriguing relationship if handled correctly. If the many subplots covered in the first episode are any indication, the show is willing to cover a broader spectrum of storylines that could encourage the production of more episodes like “Mindy Lahiri is a White Man,” which was a fascinating take on white privilege and provided a tantalizing glimpse of what this show could be if it stopped toeing the waters and dove in without fear of cancellation or controversy. Like Mindy herself, the show needs to step back from its routine and venture outside of its comfort zone. There is only one season of “The Mindy Project” left—it should be a season that has to work for its happy ending.
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