Mindy Kaling & Champions
As most people did, I first discovered Mindy Kaling when I started watching The Office. But it wasn't until I read her book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) that I began to fully understand the brilliance that is Mindy. First off, she wrote some of the best episodes of The Office: The Dundies, Branch Wars, Niagara (aka Jim and Pam's wedding), among others. But beyond her brilliant mind, Mindy also has a certain quality about her that draws people in. B.J. Novak (I'll never give up on their love!) famously said: "Mindy has long been considered the best writer on The Office, and every actor on the show thinks she writes for them best. There is the extra little ‘smile’ that infuses her scripts, which is hard to quantify." He's definitely in love with her, right? Mindy started writing on the NBC show when she was just 24 (show creator Greg Daniels saw Mindy's Off-Broadway show Matt & Ben and hired her) and she was the only woman on the writing staff when the show began. Eventually she earned an Emmy nomination and worked her way up to a co-executive producer credit on the show. When The Office concluded, she went on to create The Mindy Project, which started off on Fox and eventually moved to Hulu. During the show's six-season run, Mindy came into her own as a showrunner and infused her style into every scene. Her charming spark, love of romantic comedies (her friends even threw her a Nora Ephron-themed party), fashion-forward Instagram posts, spot-on Twitter commentary and status as a self-proclaimed nerd and bookworm make Mindy all the more lovable. Both of her books (her second, Why Not Me?, came out in 2015) feel like reading a note from your best friend, as she tells her life stories and funny anecdotes with genuine emotion and avoids the formulaic feeling of a celebrity tell-all. Right now, we're at the beginning of what I hope will be a Mindy renaissance. She created a new prime time show (see the section below!), is starring in A Wrinkle in Time and the upcoming Ocean's 8 and is in the process of developing her own movie, starring Emma Thompson, about late night TV. She also just had a baby and was busy editing her TV series four days after giving birth. Sounds about right!
Bonus Pick: Want to know why Mindy decided to write a show focused on men? The answer is here. A 2011 profile about her work on The Office? The New York Times Magazine has you covered. An interview featuring Mindy and B.J. banter? Done. Interested in exploring her showrunner philosophy? Here and here. A rundown of 33 in-depth tidbits about her? Enjoy.
As Seen on TV
Continuing the Mindy-trend, let's talk about her new NBC comedy series: Champions. Pilot episodes of TV shows are notoriously hit or miss. Oftentimes they show the potential for greatness but still have missing elements that don't come together until midway through season one (New Girl, The Office) or even later in the show's run (I'm lookin' at you, Parks and Recreation). Champions is already showing its brilliance straight out of the gate. The show premiered last Thursday and had me chuckling out-loud on my couch several times throughout the half-hour. As many have pointed out, the show has some classic Kaling elements to it, but it's also very different from The Mindy Project. For one, Mindy herself is playing a re-occurring character and spending most of her time behind the scenes. She co-wrote the first episode with series co-creator Charlie Grandy, who she also worked with on The Office and The Mindy Project, and in a big departure from the latter, this show centers on three men. To set the scene, Mindy plays Priya, a single mom from Cleveland who is bringing her son, Michael, (J. J. Totah) to New York City to attend a prestigious performing arts school. When his housing plans fall through, Priya is forced to introduce Michael to his father, Vince (Anders Holm), who runs a gym with his brother, Matthew (Andy Favreau). The gym is named Champions. Get it? It's wonderful to see Anders Holm on screen again with Mindy. His arc on The Mindy Project and their chemistry always shined in the series, so it's nice to see him taking center stage. Andy Favreau is also a delightful addition to the cast. While his character could easily become the earnest, but dumb, athlete, there are clearly layers to Matthew that we'll be explored going forward. I also appreciate the show working against TV stereotypes about male apartments. Vince and Matthew talk about how they always eat dinner together at the kitchen table (unless Matthew's episode of The Price is Right is on) and they make a point of eating homemade meals and keeping their apartment relatively clean. It would have been easy for the straight-laced Michael to walk into Vince and Matthew's disgusting man cave and let tension build from there. But, of course, a Mindy show is smarter than that and finds its humor and conflict elsewhere. J. J. Totah's performance is rooted in sincerity and he delivers hilarious line readings ("I have wrinkles in my cardigan on the first day like I'm straight-up Oliver!") that show that he'll come into his own on the show as well. The quippy dialogue and physical humor, partnered with Mindy's loving touch, make this a can't-miss spring show.
Haven't You Heard?
Comedians and best friends Demi Adejuyigbe and Miel Bredouw teamed up late last year to create the Punch Up The Jam podcast. Each Thursday, they pick iconic songs and attempt to "punch them up" or make them better. Oftentimes they examine a wildly popular tune and when you stop and listen to the lyrics, you begin to question what exactly you've been humming along to your entire life. Case in point: Crash into Me by Dave Matthews Band. It's hard to believe that Demi had never heard this song before Lady Bird, which is why Miel thought it would be a great song to explore in-depth. As she takes Demi line by line through the tune, he becomes more and more horrified. Because that song that you thought was really romantic actually has some creepy stalker elements to it. "I watch you there / through the window / and I stare." I know. So be wary going into an episode where they're picking apart one of your favorites, because it could be ruined forever. Other times, it'll leave you with the song stuck in your head for the remainder of the day. Last week, they took a look at Miley Cyrus' Party in the U.S.A, and I caught myself humming it at my desk hours later. At the end of each episode, they play a new or "punched up" version of the song that they've created. Most recently, Miel mashed-up Party in the U.S.A with To Live and Die in L.A.. They've also done episodes about Welcome to the Jungle, Jessie's Girl, Auld Lang Syne and What's Your Fantasy. Tune in for a funny (albeit definitely not kid-friendly!) look at classic tunes and to hear two best friends talking about music and making each other laugh.
Required Reading
Last week, one of my favorite TV critics published an article declaring that the CW's Jane the Virgin is not a guilty pleasure. As per usual, the brilliant Emily Nussbaum wrote a poetic and thoughtful articulation of Jane's many triumphs. Once you've read that, check out more of Emily's work in The New Yorker archives. Since 2011, she's provided cultural commentary and insight into TV trends for the magazine, winning a Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 2016. Emily often focuses on stories about women. Never brushing these shows off as "guilty pleasures," as critics can be quick to do, which is what made her Jane article so refreshing. As I flipped through her articles to remember which ones I loved the most, I found more and more jumping out at me, making it hard to narrow down my list of favorites. Here are a few of my top picks: The Sex and the City phenomenon, the serious undertones of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the female anti-hero, and The Mindy Project's decision to turn the classic romantic comedy ending on its head. We've now come full circle. Happy reading!
