Parents' Guide to Not Suitable for Work

Twenty-somethings navigating foibles both professional and personal in the Big City is a classic sitcom setup, but unfortunately, Mindy Kaling's new series is no Friends. There's definitely comic potential to be mined from Gen Z struggles in late capitalism, but Not Suitable for Work is mired instead in cliches: Everyone is cute, no one struggles to pay the rent, and none of the characters are troubled by more than the most trope-ish of concerns, which they handle in the most sitcom-like way. No one just quits a job in Not Suitable for Work; they make a speech in front of their boss and a dozen classmates before walking out while a musical sting plays. No one shows surprise when confronted by something startling; they drop a mug with a clatter that disturbs everyone in the room. That tendency, coupled with 45-minute episodes (unusual for comedies), makes this series a slog.

Saddled with too much expository dialogue and mid quips, the actors try to breathe life into their characters, with varying success. Avantika, who stole every scene in the 2024 remake of Mean Girls as Karen, comes off best as the breathtakingly confident Abby, alternately sweet and sour with the other characters; her chemistry with Ella Hunt's AJ is solid. The trio of male roommates across the hall come off worse, particularly Will Angus as Davis, who's an anxious sitcom stereotype right out of the 1980s. The side characters are this series' brightest spots, like a memorably cranky Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians) as Abby's driven boss, and Michael Benjamin Washington (30 Rock) as landlord Antoine. You find yourself wishing the camera would wander off to focus on these characters instead.