‘Champions’ Is The Cure To Your ‘Mindy Project’ Withdrawals

It’s been four long months since The Mindy Project took a bow on Hulu, and if you’ve been dealing by shoving bear claws in your mouth and lying on the floor in your office, you’re not alone. But it’s time to brush those crumbs off and tune into the Mindy Kaling produced Champions tonight on NBC.

Kaling and Charlie Grandy serve as co-creators and executive producers of the new NBC comedy that has clearly followed the instructions of The Mindy Project recipe book. All the ingredients you loved about The Mindy Project are here and shining strong in Champions, which premieres at 9:30pm after Will & Grace.

Anders Holm stars as Vince, a former student-athlete dude that owns a Brooklyn gym with his brother Matthew (Andy Favreau). When his high school ex Priya (Kaling) shows up, she brings a surprise with her — their gay teen son she’s been raising, played by J.J. Totah who proves to be the complete heart, soul, and comedy of the show.

In fact, a lot of what we loved about Mindy Lahiri lives on in Michael. The same attitude, the lack of filter, and the lightning fast celebrity name drops and pop culture references we’ll never get enough of. As he clashes with his dad and the new lifestyle he’s presented in the city, Michael bonds with his uncle Matthew and teaches everyone around him new lessons about parenting and friendship, while remaining hilariously uninterested in learning any of his own. Sound familiar?

Also familiar are the faces you’ll be watching each week, no longer causing trouble in the Shulman and Associates office, but in the Champions gym. Mindy faves Fortune Feimster and Yassir Lester are in the cast, and of course Holm was offered the part first because of the impact he made on the creators as Pastor Casey. Plus, Kaling herself pops up from time to time, but is not a series regular. You won’t always see her, but you will always feel her.

The best thing about Champions is the clear presence of Kaling’s comedic sensibility throughout. The jokes are as funny as they are sassy, there’s a true, effective ensemble at play, and there’s enough heart throughout to not feel forced but to keep the show sweet in the right ways, without ever getting too mushy.

Just as The Mindy Project was significant for putting an accomplished and relatable yet hilariously flawed Indian-American woman front and center, Champions does the same in the form of a proudly gay teen boy. Michael never goes full caricature, but Totah’s pure charisma jumps off the screen and obviously let the show’s creators that anytime they put the spotlight on him, he would deliver. In fact, when Decider spoke with Grandy in January, he admitted they weren’t even sure they’d be able to find an actor to play the character he and Kaling had dreamed up. Luckily, Grandy explained, “From the moment he walked through the door, he had this great winning, charming personality and was the character we’d always envisioned.”

There’s a confidence and intelligence to Michael, surely different from what we got from Dr. Lahiri, but the same spirit lives within the character. It’s even evident in his on-screen chemistry with Holm, as he challenges his father and his elder, but really, his intellectual equal. “J.J. and the character Michael can give as good as he gets,” Grandy said on the key to the actors’ professional relationship.

The thing about Champions that will appeal to Mindy fans and comedy audiences alike is that the show knows how to be as sharp as they come while still proving to be so easy and enjoyable to watch. You’ll want to be paying full attention to catch all the jokes and references, but nothing about this show will stress or bum you out. Just as Mindy mastered the art of being subtly important while making people laugh, Champions, too, is wisely and successfully running with that winning formula.

Where to watch Champions