Mindy Kaling

[Deleted]

I love her shamelessly and I covet practically everything she wears.

[americanchai]

Her show looks terrible but I loved the blog she used to write when she was on "The Office" - it was called something like Things I've Bought That I Love - it very much sounded like it was written in Kelly Kapoor's character's voice. When I read/see interviews with her, I want her to be as level-headed, hilarious and sane as Tina Fey, but she tends to come off as defensive. I still want to reserve full judgment because there are so few women of color - particularly Indian/Asian in pop culture.

[WestEndGirl]

I'm not sure which shows Mindy was speaking of. I compare it to 30-min sitcoms like Big Bang Theory (which I don't watch), New Girl, Friends with Better Lives, etc. I imagine it was hard enough for her to get her show on the air, and instead of acknowledging that achievement (how many shows are led by women, much less minority women?), Mindy is criticized for not having more diversity on her show...it's not enough that she herself is the leading lady (how many shows focus on the adventures of a minority woman?). Yes, there's room for improvement, but at least it's steps in the right direction.

"Girls" is another show led by and starring a woman with less than conventional star appeal, in the same city as Mindy, and while Lena Dunham gets some criticism about diversity, it's not nearly the same amount. Whitney Cummings, who is behind "2 Broke Girls" and "Whitney", doesn't really get criticism for how crude and racist "2BG" is - although maybe that's because it's not a popular show and doesn't have a lot of expectations. Chelsea Handler, who brought the cancelled "Are You There Vodka" show out last year, didn't get any commentary on the lack of diversity in her show. Again maybe that's because expectations were so low and the quality wasn't there, but still.

[Hamatron]

I think it's sad that whenever 2BG comes up in any conversation, it's always about how racist it is. Everyone in the real world knows that that show makes racist jokes (I've never watched it), but the media isn't calling them out for it.

And the Mindy thing... is she really at fault for not having more diversity? Writing staff of mostly white guys is the norm (Mad Men is one of I think two shows where there are more female writers than men), as is having a mostly white cast (holy crap, I can't think of a single show on right now with a diverse cast... Glee?). It sucks, and it's always good to point out how much TV and film industries are a white man's world, but is Mindy at fault for not diversifying her show? Are the people she hired folks she already knew and have worked with?

[GirlyGhoul]

(holy crap, I can't think of a single show on right now with a diverse cast... Glee?).

Sleepy Hollow has a pretty diverse cast (although, their asian and latin guys may have been killed off... I'm not 100% sure if they survived last season's cliff hanger- it was chock full of mystery and suspense so it's all still in wait and see mode!!) But that's not a sitcom.

I've never seen Mindy's show, but it sounds like she's doing her thing her way. As a minority woman who's had to swim upstream against a gushing tide of shows run and cast by white guys, I reckon she would bristle against any suggestion that she should be more diverse or more this or more that. But again, I have not seen her show.

I remember many moons ago, Margaret Cho had a show called 'All Amercian Girl' that was about her wacky Asian family and it was great in the first season. Then all of a sudden in the second season, she had left her family and was now in college with a bunch of white guy roomates. What happened? Some studio exec must have decided "changes were needed to add diversity to the show!!!" It was unwatchable and cancelled very soon after.

So the fact that a minority woman has now managed to get a show on the air and have it be the way she wants it and has so far been able to keep it that way- well that's gotta be progress right there. Her show might not be everything to all people... but it's her show at least. And not every show is going to be all things to all people. They can't all be Sleepy Hollow ;-) (which completely rocks BTW!!... Is it September yet?!?!?)

[freelancergirl]

I LOVE the show. I don't know a lot about Mindy personally, but I think the writing on the show is smart, razor-sharp, tongue-in-cheek, and hilariously self-deprecating. I think how she writes and what she writes takes a lot of balls, and while I totally see why it's not everyone's cup of tea, I admire what she does with it. Of course, I felt the same way about Happy Endings, and that didn't find much of an audience either.

[FotoStoreSheila]

Seinfeld wasn't diverse. But it didn't matter because it was funny. I have watched about 10 episodes of TMP and I just find it sophomoric and dated.

[twodollars]

May 12, 2014 10:33:37 GMT -4 Hamatron said:

I think it's sad that whenever 2BG comes up in any conversation, it's always about how racist it is. Everyone in the real world knows that that show makes racist jokes (I've never watched it), but the media isn't calling them out for it.

And the Mindy thing... is she really at fault for not having more diversity? Writing staff of mostly white guys is the norm (Mad Men is one of I think two shows where there are more female writers than men), as is having a mostly white cast (holy crap, I can't think of a single show on right now with a diverse cast... Glee?). It sucks, and it's always good to point out how much TV and film industries are a white man's world, but is Mindy at fault for not diversifying her show? Are the people she hired folks she already knew and have worked with?

Brooklyn 9-9-9 is incredibly diverse. It's an ensemble show with 2 white guy, 2 black guys, 1 white woman and 2 minority women and it is also the funniest show on television. But, overall network TV is much less diverse than it was back in the 1980s. And if you look at the new shows picked up by networks for next season, it is a sea of white faces. It's really depressing.

I am not a fan of Mindy, but her show is hysterical. They do physical comedy really well.

[ikmccall]

The Walking Dead has diversity with a black female and Asian male as two of the leads and they are also fan favorites. And there are and have been other people of color on the show, both as survivors and zombies.

[twodollars]

There is definitely more diversity on cable shows (outside of HBO which is pretty much lily white). ABC Family does a great job with diversity. Their prime time dramas all have minority and/or LGBT leads.