The Fate Of Mindy Kaling’s New Series Has Been Decided
Mindy Kaling may be having a rough few weeks, but her comedy series, The Sex Lives of College Girls, just got picked up by Warner Brothers Discovery for a third season on HBO Max. The final two episodes of season 2, which started on November 17th, have yet to air and already fans can get excited for another semester at Essex College. Reporting from Deadline includes praise from Suzanna Makkos, EVP of Original Programming for HBO Max, saying “This series is the perfect balance of comedy, sex, curiosity, and chaos, and we can’t wait to see what the next season brings.”
A veteran of sitcoms, including The Office and The Mindy Project, Mindy Kaling co-created The Sex Lives of College Girls along with Justin Noble (Brooklyn 99), which features similar themes to her own sitcom, namely a female perspective on sex and love, with the added thrill of newfound freedom unique to college campuses. Parts of the series were filmed at actual colleges, with Vasser College appearing in season 1, and The University of Washington Seattle providing some sets in season 2.
The series focuses on four freshmen played by Pauline Chalamet (Kimberly), yes she is Timothy’s younger sister, Amrit Kaur (Bela), Renee Rapp (Leighton), and Alya Chanelle Scott (Whitney). Mindy Kaling ensures that despite the title, it’s not all about the sex lives of college girls, with plots including cheating on exams, trying to fit in with a new social group, college athletics, and one that seems to be ripped right out of Kaling’s own life story. Bela, an Indian-American character, spent part of season 1 trying to get accepted to the staff of the college’s famous comedy magazine, which matches with Kaling’s time writing for the Dartmouth Jack-o-Lantern.
While Bela makes poor decisions regarding the humor magazine, fans can argue that Mindy Kaling recently made a poor choice based around humor herself, when she stated that the characters of The Office would be canceled if the show started airing today. Immediately, fans of the show rushed to its defense, bringing up comparisons to other shows still going strong with controversial humor, including It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. The Sex Lives of College Girls has not been canceled, and Kaling’s comments don’t seem to have done any damage to the show, but time marches on and what may be progressive on a show now, could be considered offensive as the years go by.
For now, Mindy Kaling will continue to have success with The Sex Lives of College Girls, which, as of the start of season 2, holds the record for top performing HBO Max Original, beating Gossip Girl, Titans, and even the Sex and the City revival, And Just Like That. That last one is fitting, given the easy comparisons from the Sarah Jessica Parker series to The Sex Lives of College Girls, but we’ll let fans decide one of the girls is Miranda. The final two episodes of season 2 will air on December 15th, with no word yet on when season 3 will premiere.
