Common Sense Media Review
By Kari Croop
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based on child development research. How do we rate?
Playful romcom homage has romance, sex, fatphobia.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Mindy Project
What's the Story?
Writer-producer-creator Mindy Kaling also stars in THE MINDY PROJECT as Dr. Mindy Lahiri, an accomplished 30-something obstetrician whose obsession with romantic comedies has seriously skewed her view of love and relationships and left her drowning in her own neuroses. In the meantime, her desperate search for Mr. Right bounces her from man to man—and the same bad habits.
Is It Any Good?
You may remember the star of this punchy comedy from her breakout role on The Office as Kelly Kapoor, a chatty office drone who loves celebrities and shopping—and has self-destructive tendencies. Kaling continues a similar character on The Mindy Project as Mindy Lahiri, before going on to deliver the same neurotic, image-obsessed energy in Kaling's Netflix series, Never Have I Ever.
On the one hand, these characters fall into the two-dimensional stereotypes we've seen in most of the romantic comedies Lahiri references in her rapid-fire dialogue. A professionally successful single woman really doesn't need to be such a hot mess when it comes to her personal life. On the other hand, it does feel refreshing to see a woman of color get to be just as flawed and eccentric as White characters and still "get the guy." It's just too bad The Mindy Project stops short at bringing other people along with it: Tokenism and fatphobia mar an otherwise funny ensemble of anti-heroes and very flawed people who still manage to come together and support one another at the end of the day.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the lessons we learn from "classic" romantic comedies—from When Harry Met Sally to 27 Dresses. What do they say about love and relationships? Are those lessons different depending on your own background? Is any of it realistic?
How does Mindy measure up as a role model? Is she an anti-hero? Is it good that a character who isn't White gets to indulge in the same flaws and eccentricities that White leads regularly get in romantic comedies, or is her shallow behavior bad no matter what?
What are the real-life consequences of some of Mindy's actions (including hook-ups and public drunkenness)? Why do we find her problems funny?
The Mindy Project has a significant relationship with food and body image throughout the series. How does Mindy's obsession with food make you feel? What about her quips about being fat and chubby? Does the show reinforce fatphobia, or is it an effective satire?
TV Details
- Premiere date : September 25, 2012
- Cast : Mindy Kaling , Chris Messina , Ike Barinholtz
- Networks : Fox , Hulu
- Genre : Comedy
- Topics : Friendship
- TV rating :
- Award : NAACP Image Award - NAACP Image Award Nominee
- Last updated : December 10, 2025
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