"Mindy" Survives The Move To Hulu

When Fox announced earlier this year that it wasn't renewing "The Mindy Project" for a fourth season, my heart broke a little. Okay, a lot. I had been referred to the show in time to watch the third season as it aired, so I wasted no time by diving right into binge-watching all of the episodes up to that point. I became pretty invested in the show, which had quickly proven itself to be sharper and smarter than most current sitcoms. It's a labor of love for its creator/writer/star (the lovely and talented Mindy Kaling), who week after week delivered a refreshingly original series about the personal and professional observations and experiences of an Indian-American woman with an average figure. (Take that, skinny blonde Hollywood!) That alone would have been enough to hook me, but the quick wit, dynamic chemistry between the leads, and endearing supporting characters made for even more compelling viewing. The thought of not having that weekly fix was almost too much to bear.

Thankfully, Hulu (the very same medium that enabled my binge) saw fit to pick up the show. It made perfect sense, given that their platform already has the streaming rights to the first three seasons. In a move that keeps "Mindy" closer to its televised roots, Hulu will release the new episodes weekly, rather than unloading the entire season at once. At that point, I breathed a sigh of relief... until it dawned on me that not only would we have to wait for new episodes, but we would also have to contend with possible tweaks and adjustments to an already successful show on a new network. In case you were also counted among the potentially heartbroken fans, fear not. "The Mindy Project" has officially debuted on Hulu with essentially everything intact. I'm not crazy about the new logo art, though (see above). It's a little too cartoonish for my taste and for the tone of the show, but I'll have to be content with critiquing more substantial matters.

Time will tell, of course, if the show's quirky spirit will be maintained. If the season premiere is any indication, though, we have little if anything to worry about. Right away, the show looked and felt exactly as it always has. There were no telltale signs like downgrades in picture quality or set design that for other shows have indicated a shift in network and/or budget. Also present and accounted for are the trademark snappy banter, endlessly quotable dialogue, and tactful euphemisms that keep the show just edgy enough to earn its firmly TV-14 rating. (A character lamenting about "S-ing [his] own D for the rest of [his] L" is much funnier when abbreviated rather than said outright.) Even the catchy theme song, often truncated to mere seconds to help fit Fox's broadcast constraints of 20 to 22-minute episodes, was able to play in full. In fact, the premiere clocked in at 27 minutes, so if the episodes will be longer from now on, I certainly won't say no... if they spend the extra time wisely, that is.

Which brings me to my only point of contention with "Mindy" 2.0 (technically, 4.0). For a series that prides itself on clever timing, this particular episode veered dangerously close to the edge of predictability, something of which I didn't think it was capable. Naturally, a season opener has to resolve (or at least start to resolve) lingering story threads from where the show left off. However, this one tried a little too hard to do so with a wink, and the effort showed around the edges. Mindy as a character -- despite her best efforts to be a complex, independent, modern woman who can juggle the demands of her medical career and her social life -- is a pure romantic at heart with a soft-spot for old-fashioned romantic comedies. Her well-meaning but misguided notions often conflict with the chaotic world around her, and it's one of the many things that makes her so relatable.

When we last saw Mindy and her live-in boyfriend/soon-to-be babydaddy Danny (Chris Messina), they were trying to figure out where their relationship stood if he (who was previously married and subsequently hurt) didn't want to propose. Unbeknownst to Mindy, Danny travels to India to meet her parents and try to get some perspective. Meanwhile, Mindy is at home feeling alone, so she dreams about what her life would be like if she were involved with someone else. That someone is played by the first of three delightful surprise guest-stars in this episode, proving that the show (which has previously featured the likes of Stephen Colbert, Laverne Cox, James Franco, Rhea Perlman, Seth Rogen, Vanessa Williams, and even Shonda Rhimes) is still a destination for big-name talent who are eager to be used as comic relief.

Danny's meet-the-parents plot is obviously more grounded in reality, but it still rings hilariously true as we see that he is genuinely trying to do the right thing despite overwhelming circumstances. Sakina Jaffrey and Ajay Mehta, who play Mindy's mother and father respectively, have fantastic screen presence in roles that are far better left in their hands as legitimate actors rather than embracing the tendency to stunt-cast bigger "names." At the same time, it's refreshing to see a character's parents written and performed in a way that allows you to see their child as a delicate balance of both parents' traits, rather than just blandly copying or favoring one or the other.

In the end, the episode does rely a little too heavily on Mindy's dream scenario, but on the other hand, that concept plays right into her idealized, fairy-tale optimism, so it's not like the premise came out of nowhere. The culmination of both Mindy's and Danny's soul-searching does generate a really sweet moment between the two, but it seemed to resolve their issues a little too quickly and neatly for what "Mindy" as a show is used to doing. Then again, opening the door to this next chapter of their lives as individuals and as a couple is still ripe with storytelling possibilities, so I'm going to trust the path that is being followed until they give me a reason not to (which hopefully will be never!)

And speaking of reasons, surely a few of the show's newfound extra minutes could have been spared for the rest of the show's terrific ensemble. Despite brief scenes with the always-good-for-a-laugh nurse Morgan (Ike Barinholtz), the other main players were MIA. Now that Mindy and Danny are back on track, I hope that this isn't a sign of things to come and that we'll see everyone else again as soon as episode two. More than anything, I'm just glad to see "The Mindy Project" is back. They've got their work cut out to guarantee an audience and a future on their new TV home, but it's still a pivotal reminder to the industry. Quality shows sometimes need a second chance, regardless of what form they take on the small screen.