Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Today’s episode of The Mindy Project is the show’s 100th. One hundredth! Let’s take just a moment to understand what a momentous occasion this is. After 3 seasons on Fox, the comedy about an OBGYN’s adventures in love moved over to Hulu, giving it a freedom to pursue jokes a network couldn’t possibly let on the air, and making it stronger with each new episode and love interest for Dr. Mindy Lahiri (Mindy Kaling). And there’s been a lot of both. 100 episodes for sure, and a handful of handsome gents that wish they could’ve stuck around with Mindy that long.
Which is exactly how The Mindy Project celebrated this major milestone. In ep 100, as Mindy gushes about her new relationship with Ben (Bryan Greenberg, an addition so perfect to the cast this season it’s confusing as to why he didn’t show up sooner) to Morgan (Ike Barinholtz) while proudly putting the previous “weirdos and losers” of her dating life in the past, one creeps up right behind her. Enter B.J. Novak as Jamie, in the ultimate on-the-nose role of pretentious author. Fans of Mindy Kaling are familiar with her extremely close relationship with Novak off-screen since their on-screen couple status on The Office. His previous appearance on the show in season 1 wasn’t quite as juicy as his return, so it only made sense to have him on board for such a significant episode.
Oh, but the returning guests don’t end there. Mindy’s former loves Casey (Anders Holm) and Josh (Tommy Dewey) also pop in to remind both Mindy and viewers of all that she’s experienced. Even though those relationships were less than perfect, seeing those guys return serves a larger purpose. We can laugh at Mindy and Casey’s (un)sexy shower, and that time she confronted Josh in rehab. And we can feel proud for Mindy who found a mostly healthy new relationship with Ben. Plus, she’s a mom now, her work life is thriving, and she recently DECLINED a phone call from Danny (Chris Messina) that could’ve taken his wedding off track. Whoa, is this some maturity we’re sensing here? You bet your butt it is. Running into an ex is an amazing way to feel better about yourself, where you are in your life, and taking stock in how much you’ve grown. That’s precisely what Mindy episode 100 nails so well.
Because you know who was noticeably absent from the episode? Danny Castellano. He’s still the only one that could cause Mindy to regress, and we’re celebrating the future here, people. This was a wise decision in many ways, starting with Messina’s move last year to guest star instead of full-time cast member. While Danny will always be a part of Mindy’s past, and due to their son Leo, her future as well, seeing him breeze by in a restaurant or on the street wouldn’t elicit the happy memories of a disaster. It’s a bit more dramatic with him. And Mindy’s got enough drama in her life already. Like, 100 episodes worth.
Mindy Lahiri is an accomplished, strong, hilarious, interesting woman, and the men of her life helped her to get there. She doesn’t need a man to be the woman she is, but who’s mad at a little eye candy from time to time? The Mindy Project knows that viewers drool over the men almost as much as we drool over the clothes, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Watching The Mindy Project is like flipping through a celebrity magazine that also happens to have smart, super funny jokes in it (wait, can that exist please?). The show serves as both an escape and aspirational viewing at the same time. The fact that they’ve lasted 100 episodes is nothing to sneeze at (exsqueeze you).
Congrats to The Mindy Project for putting a non-white, polarizing woman at the center of a show that has at the same time allowed us to dream about dating hunks while contemplating how we would balance a work conundrum, and sometimes both of those things at once. Watching and living vicariously through Dr. Lahiri’s failures and triumphs has proven to be endlessly more entertaining than our own, time and time again, and to that, we raise a bear claw in your honor.
[Watch The Mindy Project on Hulu]
