The Office Fans Are Ridiculing Mindy Kaling’s Cancel Culture Comments
The Office fans are certainly passionate, as evidenced by the fact that many are fired up over the recent comments by Mindy Kaling, about the show in today’s current environment. Kaling gave an interview where she said “Most of the characters on that show would be canceled by now,” leading to a divisive debate on her opinions. Users took to Twitter to let everyone know where they stood.
The above user pointed out that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia started the same year as The Office and it’s still running to this day, despite the cancel-worthy nature of the characters. It’s worth noting that Mindy Kaling did say the characters would get canceled, not necessarily the actors playing them. This is sort of why shows like It’s Always Sunny and The Office work — a lot of the humor comes from the fact that the characters aren’t people that would be considered likable in the real world.
This user called out that point specifically – that the show is meant to be satire and that Michael was often out-of-line, which made the other characters feel awkward or dislike him. Unlike It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, many characters in The Office did grow and become better people. Of course, there were plenty of people that agreed with Mindy Kaling’s take:
Of course, just because the characters on The Office lacked social awareness, it doesn’t mean that millions of people didn’t tune in to laugh for that exact reason. As Mindy Kaling said, if the show was brought back, the characters would probably be canceled in the real world because of how they act. It doesn’t mean the show itself would come under fire.
Another Twitter user pointed out that The Office still gets tons of views on streaming. It’s absolutely true that the show has become a cultural touchstone and people from all generations continue to watch it and enjoy it to this day. It is a bit silly that the Internet is taking an off-hand comment from Mindy Kaling and turning it into a huge debate, but that’s the Internet for you.
After giving her thoughts on The Office, even Mindy Kaling herself was a bit surprised by all the discourse on Twitter. You never know what interview snippet is going to set off social media. Of course, it’s pretty likely that the show will never return anyway, so the point ends up being moot regardless of what side of the argument you fall on.
The American version of The Office featured a writing team that included Mindy Kaling, B.J. Novak, Paul Lieberstein, Michael Schur, and more. Getting the writers on board would be hard enough, not to mention the original cast. Many cast members, like John Krasinski and Steve Carell, are now superstars after their tenure on the series, and would be difficult to get back for regular episodes.
In the end, this debate will likely be a flash in the pan and people will continue watching tons of episodes of The Office on Peacock. As for Mindy Kaling, you can see her next in a TV series based on Velma, the Scooby-Doo character. You can also see ongoing episodes of the most recent series she created, The Sex Lives of College Girls, on HBO Max.
