As part of her unofficial “young adulthood trilogy”, Mindy Kaling has given us “Never Have I Ever” and “The Sex Lives of College Girls.”
While the former focuses on the trials and tribulations of teenagehood and the latter places a spotlight on young women journeying through early adulthood, the American actress and comedian’s latest offering is “Not Suitable For Work”.
In the nine-episode series, whose finale debuted late last month, the focus shifts to graduates beginning their professional lives.
It centres around a group of twenty-somethings as they pursue their career aspirations in Manhattan.
Kaling explained that the workplace comedy was inspired by the early days of her career.
“I think of ‘Not Suitable for Work’ as the last show in this trilogy of shows that I’ve done about young people,” Kaling told “The Today Show”.
“‘Never Have I Ever’ was a show loosely based on my childhood and the loss of a parent. ‘Sex Lives of College Girls’ was very loosely based on my time at Dartmouth.”
The 46-year-old added that “Not Suitable for Work” is based on her experience in her early 20s when she relocated to New York City.
“I just wanted to hurry up to the time in my life when I was successful,” she recalled.
And while she admitted that she didn’t intend for the three series to serve as a trilogy of her life story, her latest offering is a refreshing take on life and friendship in the big city.
Ella Hunt and Avantika Vandanapu play roommates in ‘Not Suitable For Work’.
While it has been criticised by some for having a predictable plot, I enjoyed how the series, with its focus on entering the working world, delved into different career paths.
First, there is AJ Pascarell (Ella Hunt), a fiercely ambitious first-year investment banking analyst whose career often comes before everything else. She moves to New York from Boston to live with Abby Chilukuri (Avantika Vandanapu), who works as an assistant to an impossible celebrity stylist while dreaming of something bigger.
After graduation, Abby moved to New York City first to work as an assistant to celebrity stylist Vanessa Hsu, while AJ took a job in Boston before landing her dream job as a financial analyst at the prestigious investment bank Fisher Stassen.
As the pair reunite and become roommates, we are introduced to their apartment neighbours, Davis Barrett (Will Angus), a wealthy finance bro whose confidence often masks insecurity.
He also works with AJ at the finance firm, creating the first romantic storyline in the show. Davis lives with Josh Teitelbaum (Jack Martin), an idealistic New Yorker whose principles don’t always survive adulthood.
Josh’s career is one of the central workplace storylines in the show. Rather than following his wealthy father’s path, he wants to build a journalism career on his own merit. However, his family connections make that difficult.
The group is rounded off by Kel Washington (Nicholas Duvernay), the guys’ roommate and a medical student balancing medicine with dreams of becoming an actor.
Kel brings a refreshing contrast to the group, balancing the pressures of medical school with an unwavering passion for acting, while his warm, grounded personality often makes him the emotional glue among his friends.
It is this mix of personalities that was my highlight of “Not Suitable For Work”.
Nicholas Duvernay and Avantika Vandanapu in ‘Not Suitable for Work’.
Despite their vastly different personalities and career ambitions, the five leads complement one another remarkably well.
AJ is driven and laser-focused on success; Abby is warm and endlessly optimistic; Davis hides his vulnerabilities behind bravado; Josh is idealistic and determined to prove himself, while Kel provides a calming, grounded presence.
Their contrasting outlooks create plenty of humour and conflict, but it is their genuine friendship and effortless chemistry that make the series so enjoyable.
By the end of the season, they feel less like a group brought together by circumstance and more like the kind of friends who become each other’s family while navigating adulthood.
Apart from the ensemble chemistry, I also enjoyed the awkward workplace situations and that the show focused on these rather than relying on outrageous slapstick comedy.
Its universal themes, including toxic hustle culture, privilege, burnout, friendship and modern dating, also resonate far and wide.
I also enjoyed the show’s bingeability. The episodes are short, making it easy to move from one to the next. The New York setting is also enticing, and all five leads feel like people who could genuinely be trying to build a life in the city.
“Not Suitable For Work” does start slowly, but it picks up pace by episode three and, by that point, I was hooked. It isn’t groundbreaking television, but it is entertaining comfort viewing that will have you laughing out loud more often than not.
So if you enjoyed watching “Friends”, “How I Met Your Mother”, “New Girl” or “The Mindy Project”, I would suggest giving this show a try.
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