09/25/12 - 0 Comments
Meteoric Mindy: The New Queen on the Comedy Block
At 33, Mindy Kaling’s career is skyrocketing, and she’s making us laugh right alongside her astounding meteoric rise to the tip top of the comedic food chain—it is, after all, her self-deprecating and simultaneously brilliant quips that make her so appealing. Until know, she’s been pigeonholed as Kelly Kapoor, the shallow, sex-crazed bimbo on NBC’s The Office, a show she’s written and acted on for the past eight years.
Now, Kaling is the new queen on the comedy block. Earning Emmy Award nominations for her Office work alongside her New York Times best-selling accolades for her laugh-until-you-pee memoir, this Indian-American actress who somehow simultaneously accepts and rejects racial stereotypes is both our comedic heroine and gallant girl-crush.
The overachieving Kaling can now add leading lady to her resumé, as the creator, producer, writer and star of The Mindy Project. The show, slated to premiere on FOX today at 9:30/8:30c, is cleverly-marketed “for everyone whose life is a work in progress.” So, seemingly everyone can relate (and, if you can’t, well, lucky you). As Dr. Mindy Lahiri, a successful OB/GYN whose personal life could use a bit of an upgrade, Kaling charms as the everygirl whose failures and triumphs hit a little too close to home.
But a new show is not what made us fall in love with Mindy in the first place. Yes, her quirky Office quips were spot-on, but it’s her most personal projects that leave us vying for a spot in her friendship circle. If you don’t consider Twitter feeds a creative outlet yet, well—we have a bigger problem. Kaling’s musings on life, love and everything in between have us reeling (in a good way) on a daily basis (most recently, her faux New York Fashion Week “coverage” left us reaching for tissues from tears of hilarious happiness.) And her recently published memoir, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), is, as much as she won’t admit it, just as blissfully beguiling as that other funny girl memoir, Tina Fey’s Bossypants.
Mindy is the girl you want to call at the end of day, tub of Ben and Jerry’s in hand, to simply gossip about boys and revel in retail guilt over splurgy purchases (Kaling’s blog laments her shopping addiction, and who can’t help but commiserate?). We would say she’s one to watch, but we’ve been watching, loving and anticipating her next move since we caught wind of her smart, savvy and wisecrack antics. Mindy, we’re on board—keep the quips coming!
Photo credit: Marketplace, TV Fanatic
