Filming on season two of The Mindy Project is well under way, and Hypable was on set to get the scoop on everything from James Franco to new and returning guest stars and of course, a few spoilers. Here’s a hint: There’s wedding cake involved!
Mindy Kaling, Chris Messina, and the rest of the cast of The Mindy Project sat down with reporters to answer questions about the hit show what is in store for season two.
Over the first season, the show became a fan favorite, standing its ground as part of the Tuesday night comedy block on Fox alongside The New Girl. Kaling’s post-The Office effort is making a name for itself with quirky characters and strong writing.
Last time we saw Dr. Mindy Lahiri (Kaling), she had chopped off all of her hair, and was on her way to Haiti with boyfriend Casey (Anders Holm). The new season will see Mindy return from her trip and find out what the rest of the gang at the Shulman Women’s Health Center has been up to in her absence.
Here are some of the tidbits we gathered during our time on set:
James Franco is the “Anti-Mindy”
The Mindy Project has proven been itself a frequent stomping ground for guest stars and season 2 will be no different. The first two episodes of the season will bring a visit from James Franco as the doctor who stepped in for Dr. Mindy while she was working in Haiti.
Kaling describes Franco’s character as her “nemisis” while co-star/writer Ike Barinholtz (Morgan) says “James Franco is the ‘anti-Mindy’. He’s everything [she’s] not.”
Kaling and Franco worked together on this summer’s apocalypse comedy This is the End.
…And the guest stars just keep coming
Chloe Sevigny returns in the new season as Christina, ex-wife and rekindled flame for Danny (Chris Messina). Life has gone on for Danny, according to Barinholtz who says “Danny has kind of gone suburban.” It looks like we are in for a lot more “will they or won’t they” tension between Mindy and Danny.
Anders Holm (Workaholics) is back as Casey, the minister we saw Mindy ride off into the Haitian sunset with and the writers have some big plans for him (see spoiler on page 2).
Indie rock band The National will appear in an episode where the gang goes to a music festival.
Kris Humphries even has a guest spot this season. That’s right you guys, Kris Humphries.
Who are the new regulars?
Adam Pally (Happy Endings) is joining the show in the second season and Kaling says he plays a character she has always wanted to write.
Kaling described Pally’s character by saying, “I went to Dartmouth College, and until now, I have not been able to satirize my favorite kind of Dartmouth character which is a kind of well-educated frat guy who is both congenial and ultra into his frat.”
Barinholtz says of Pally, “He came to the table reading last week, and everyone was just so excited because we couldn’t have scored bigger. We’re really excited.”
Beth Grant is back as Beverly. Grant became a regular after becoming a fan (and cast) favorite in a guest spot last season. The veteran actress who has appeared in nearly 200 roles says working with Mindy is a dream for her.
Grant says she enjoyed working on the show and admired Kaling so much that after her guest appearance last season, she put a picture of Mindy on her “dream board” and got the call to return as a regular soon after.
Xosha Roquemore (Precious) who played Tamara in the last few episodes of the season, is now a series regular.
Kaling says she and fellow writer, Charlie Grandy discovered Roquemore after seeing her in Precious four years ago, and agreeing that she stood out as being both “beautiful” and “funny” in an such an intense movie.
On page 2: More from ‘The Mindy Project’ cast, Mindy’s happy ending, and spoilers we found on set!
Wedding bells are ringing for…
While on set, we got to walk around Mindy’s apartment and noticed some very interesting decorations that included balloons, a cake, and a very curious sign that read “Happy Wedding Day.” After some very slick investigating (and also just asking) Hypable uncovered that the couple in question is none other than Mindy and Casey (Holm).
Kaling says she and her Minister man tie the knot in a pretty exciting episode, saying “We have a wedding in this apartment -an impromptu wedding.”
She adds that they also run into a funny situation at an exotic cake store, saying, “they only have, a cake that looks like a penis or a cake that looks like a Torrah, and Casey says, ‘We’ll take the penis’ -it’s one of the more offensive scenes we’ve ever shot.”
Spoiler inside of a spoiler:
Kaling did mention that audiences will get to see her character be single again before apologizing to Holm, who asked with uncertainty, “I don’t die though, right?”
Writer Matt Warburton joked that they would shoot his character’s exit both ways to see which they liked best.
The hair thing
Kaling tells reporters, “I was told by one of the writers, Jeremy Bronson, that if I cut my hair off, the show would tank. He hates it. But I think it’s really fun, and chopping you hair off is something every woman fantasizes about.”
She says Mindy’s hair will gradually grow back over the first part of the season.
What is Mindy’s happy ending?
When asked where she sees the show headed in the long run, Kaling points to the success of The Office, saying, “I come from a show that lasted for nine years, and so I know that I think as a writer, that’s a really long time. That’s hundreds and hundreds of episodes, but yeah, that’s the goal.”
Of her character’s long term future, Kaling says,”The cool thing about this show is that if the character were to get married, get divorced, have a kid, be a single mom, [she] has such a strong personality…that any of those situations are fun.
Kaling adds, “She’s never going to get too mature. You are who you are, and she’s not going to grow up too much, she’s always like one step forward, two steps backwards in her maturity.”