{"id":617685,"date":"2026-06-02T21:03:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T21:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/617685\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T21:03:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T21:03:10","slug":"not-suitable-for-work-review-new-mindy-kaling-show-plays-it-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/617685\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Suitable For Work review: New Mindy Kaling show plays it safe"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are a few defining traits to Mindy Kaling\u2019s glossy TV universe (Mindyverse?): Beyond their \u201ccreated by\u201d credits, the lighthearted likes of The Mindy Project, Never Have I Ever, and The Sex Lives Of College Girls are all united by their charming leads who thrive in chaos, dole out pop culture references, wear impeccable outfits, and indulge in complicated love affairs. Taking a cue from the show that provided her big break<\/a>, Kaling\u2019s narratives tend to center on quirky families, either blood-related or found. The messy journeys of these ensembles are entertaining at best (Running Point) and unimaginative (Champions, Four Weddings And A Funeral) at worst. Somewhere in between those poles, you\u2019ll find Kaling\u2019s newest show, Hulu\u2019s fun but half-baked Not Suitable For Work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The title raises an expectation for the risque, but in reality, Not Suitable For Work is far from provocative. In fact, it\u2019s a sweet and predictable tale of five twentysomething New Yorkers in the early stages of their careers. As neighbors, they seemingly rely on each other to navigate the city, their workplaces, and their romances. In other words, it\u2019s a hangout sitcom catered to a younger generation. In interviews<\/a>, Kaling calls it part of a trilogy with Never Have I Ever and The Sex Lives Of College Girls. If those were a callback to her high school and college years, respectively, then Not Suitable For Work seems inspired by her early, pre-Office adulthood in Manhattan. Like last year\u2019s Adults<\/a> and I Love LA<\/a>, it feels like an attempt to give Gen Z its own Friends, Seinfeld, or New Girl. One thing that\u2019s holding the show back from reaching those lofty heights: In season one, its protagonists aren\u2019t spending nearly enough time together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cultivating chemistry among your main ensemble is a necessity for a good hangout comedy. Audiences have to believe that Joey waltzes into Monica\u2019s home for food whenever he pleases, that Kramer never knocks on Jerry\u2019s door either, or that Nick and Schmidt can accidentally share the same towel. Not Suitable For Work has its work cut out for itself in that department, because the dynamic between its five leads is less than sparkling in season one. The focus is on their individual professional ambitions and issues with their coworkers; with less of an eye on the interpersonal relationships between its principals, Not Suitable feels disjointed, and its characters quite thinly sketched. And if they\u2019re not hanging out that often, why would we want to do the same?<\/p>\n

The group, in this case, consists of Abhinaya \u201cAbby\u201d Chilukuri (Avantika), the dutiful assistant to a demanding celebrity stylist played by Constance Wu. Abby\u2019s college roommate, AJ Pascarelli (Ella Hunt), moves in with her to start a new banking job in the city. Across the hall are a trio of goofy, well-meaning dudes: Davis (Will Angus) works with and develops an instant, How I Met Your Mother-like crush on AJ; med student Kel (Nicholas Duvernay) is a wannabe actor whose real calling is teaching English at an elite all-girls institute; and Josh (Jack Martin) is an aspiring reporter who secures his production assistant gig at a news show by using his connections\u2014his dad is the network\u2019s CEO. Naturally, all of them can afford to live in fairly large Midtown apartments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some of the first season\u2019s strongest scenes come when Abby and AJ stand up for themselves on the job; it\u2019s one of the very few ways the show realistically reflects a relatively more outspoken, open-minded generation\u2019s entry into the workplace. It\u2019s too bad that, as the central female duo, Avantika (a real highlight here) and Hunt don\u2019t share believable BFF chemistry. The guys fare slightly better: Angus channels dopey Ike Barinholtz energy as Davis, Duvernay draws on his White Lotus experience for Kel\u2019s emotional arcs, and Martin quite effortlessly crushes his one-liners while carving out a distinct personality for Josh, who wants to shed his nepo-baby persona and be taken seriously as a journalist.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the show reaches the end of its first season with an uncertainty about its tone. Adults is cringe but comforting, I Love LA is cutting; the humor of Not Suitable is neither cozy nor scathing. Not Suitable For Work hardly approaches the mile-a-minute joke-telling or unique characters of Kaling\u2019s funniest shows. It may contain many of the hallmarks of its creator\u2019s TV work, but it lacks a unifying comedic voice. All kinds of jokes are tested out by the end of the season, but none of them ever speak to the collective and individual strengths of the ensemble. Still, there are signs of promise elsewhere: The performances click into place in the slow burn between Abby and Kel, a storyline where Kel briefly moves in with Abby and AJ after a fight with Josh and Davis, and the guys\u2019 bonding.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Further setting the show apart from its FX and HBO Max counterparts: It\u2019s not really concerned with the ups and downs of being in your 20s in the 2020s. In that sense, it\u2019s more like a sitcom where everything seems to work out just fine for the characters\u2014all with an aspirational backdrop to boot. It\u2019s not exactly relatable or grounded, nor is it particularly hilarious, but Not Suitable For Work\u2019s few bright spots and its impressive pedigree suggest that with a tighter focus, it could turn into the comfort hangout sitcom it desperately wants but doesn\u2019t yet know how to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Saloni Gajjar is The A.V. Club\u2018s TV critic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not Suitable For Work premieres June 2 on Hulu.\u00a0<\/p>\n