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Mary Grill has landed the major new role on Fox’s freshman comedy series The Mindy Project. Grill, a Second City Chicago alum and founding member of the NY sketch group New Excitement, will play the recurring role of Maggie, a tomboyish college friend of Mindy’s (creator and star Mindy Kaling). The introduction of the character is part of a creative overhaul of the show midway through its freshman season, which includes the elimination of a character, played by regular Amanda Setton, and the downgrade of another one, played by Anna Camp, from regular to recurring. Additionally, Stephen Tobolowsky’s recurring character was written off. Grill, repped by Vincent Nastri of Bleecker Street Entertainment, recently appeared on Boardwalk Empire and has upcoming guest stints on Whitney and Don’t Trust the B—- In Apt.23.
Ryan Lee (Super 8) has joined the cast of ABC’s single-camera comedy pilot Trophy Wife. It centers on reformed party girl Kate (Malin Akerman), who finds herself with an insta-family when she falls in love with Brad (Bradley Whitford), a successful charmer with a quirky sense of humor who has three manipulative kids, one of them played by Lee, and two judgmental ex-wives (Marcia Gay Harden, Michaela Watkins). Lee will next be seen in Judd Apatow’s This Is 40 playing Melissa McCarthy’s son.
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Kaling should never have been given her own show. Her supporting role on The Office worked because she is unlikeable. We laugh at her character, nit with her.
I always figured she was simply playing an annoying character. I now am aware she is simply annoying.
I don’t even laugh AT her character. I laugh at the surrounding characters who react to her/put her down/etc. For me, she was the single worst part of The Office.
Plus, in her interviews, you can tell that she thinks she is a comedic genius. Which she is not in any way, shape, or form.
Thank you! If she were just an annoying comic that would be one thing, but the fact that she trumpets herself around as the funniest girl on the planet is too f-ing much. Also, if you look at the Mindy project between the lines, she’s also trying to tell you that she’s really “hot”. Which, of course, is the exact opposite of reality.
Can somebody fire her?
Not only that but consider the hubris and out-of-control egoism of naming the show ‘The Mindy Project,’ when 99% of Americans have no idea who Mindy Kaling is. You get the sense of an ego showcase rather than a sitcom.
Rats usually jump from a sinking ship. Not board it.
This is Hollywood, rats everywhere. How can they tell what direction to go?
The can reboot all they want, but MP is just not funny. There is a reason why NBC passed on that pilot and the ratings show it. What a sad mess FOX is this season.
wow.. the Mindy Kaling hate on this site’s comments is just insane. God forbid should an Indian chick have her own TV show? What the hell does she think she is??? White?
Not the race card here bud…the agreement among most is that she’s unlikable. The same reason unlikable white people get their shows cancelled, ya dig?
Excellent point. Not liking an unfunny show is racism.
The problem isn’t race. The problem is she is a bad female stereotype. Not every woman is concerned with getting married and having babies! Oh, she thinks she’s fat (gasp)! I never noticed her being fat on The Office.
Plus, the show is simply not funny. I have laughed more at Law & Order.
There are plenty of white people who are also not funny. If they take a supporting role on a popular show and try to build a vanity project around themselves, we call them on it. “Joey died because it wasn’t funny” Or the now-dead Dwight spin-off. I suspect Mindy’s show still exists BECAUSE she is Indian.
Really? You’re calling the race card here? You should be ashamed of yourself. My extended family is Indian and they don’t like this show…and it’s because it’s not funny. It’s terrible writing and acting, and isn’t really a show. A show has a beginning, middle, and end…this just has unfunny twitter quips.
Showfiz, I don’t like ‘Ben & Kate.’ Does this mean I don’t like blonde women? Don’t like white people? Don’t like babies? I’m just curious, since it’s impossible that I dislike the show because it is strained, self-conscious, antic, immature, and headache-inducing.
when you express your opinion about Ben & Kate (which has no babies on it FYI) you’re not attacking Nat Foxon or Lucy Punch and you know it. So make an equal comparison please
Or Dakota Johnson for that matter
What about when everyone attacks Whitney and says, “Whitney is awful, etc, etc” Is it because she’s a brunette? No, it’s because she’s the creator and star, just like…wait for it, wait for it..Mindy! Tada…see how that works?
It’s called “The MINDY Project,” so whom exactly should we be aiming our criticism at?
Ryan Lee needs to make an appointment with my office, pronto.
No, he doesn’t.
@showfiz, a female of Indian heritage is more than welcome to headline her own tv show, but all we ask is that it’s a decent show, not terrible like Mindy’s is.
I didn’t even know Anna Camp was a regular. She’s barely on the show as is, so does reducing her to recurring mean we’ll see even LESS of her?
Either way, I love TMP. I think it’s quite funny, and the characters are all quite charming.
Camp asked to be available for other projects, but will still be making time for Mindy.
I like the show. Not a lot, but it has potential. There have been good episodes, and funny-enough bits in the not-so-good ones.
Dax:
Stop believing press releases. Camp did not “ask to be available for other projects.” That’s publicist-speak for “Camp was fired.”
Now, they’ve re-cast Kaling’s best friend, which was originally created from Camp. Camp may show up briefly on one or two more episodes, but eventually she won’t be there at all.
Kaling fired Amanda Setton and press released it, which was classless. She fired Stephen Tobolowsky and hoped no one would notice, which didn’t work.
Now, Kaling’s trying anything and everything to keep her low-rated show on the air: Stunt-casting from THE OFFICE (which didn’t work with Ed Helms, and won’t work with Ellie Kemper and Blow Job Novak), and begging her Twitter followers to vote the show a People’s Choice Award. I guess that’s so she can bleat to Kevin Reilly that the show’s a popular success, in spite of the fact that it’s now the lowest-rated comedy on Fox.
The Mindy Kaling Show is not perfect, but I have enjoyed every episode.
I’ve watched Mary Grill be hilarious on stage for years at The Peoples Improv Theater and she’s going to be a brilliant addition!
Perhaps all these people throwing hate at a show not like every other sitcom should stick to Seinfeld re-runs.
Seinfeld re-runs are funny, and I tend to gravitate toward re-runs when what the networks are throwing up is unwatchable. This is bad news for the networks.
Yes, Paul. Perhaps all these people who don’t like awful sitcoms like The Mindy Project should watch a great one like Seinfeld.
Also, perhaps all those people who don’t like the taste of dog crap should eat an ice cream sundae!
Mary Grill is an amazing talent. Saw her in a wedding comedy movie at a buyers screening and she’s hysterical in it. Good for her.
RYAN LEE IS A STAR. Great kid. Love him.
I am happy that Mindy has her own show, but I agree that it can work with the framework of a show like New Girl or HIMYM, where Mindy is not the central focus. ALSO: Does everyone around her need to be white? Sorry…had to…
I agree, Jonathan – FOX seems to be throwing white people at this show to keep it afloat.
Looking forward to seeing what Amanda Setton will do next. She’s a beautiful young talented actress who is poised for something big. Probably best to be off The Mindy Project after all.
It would be nice to see Mindy support more minority castings.
One problem with Mindy Project is that it has a bunch of forgettable male characters. There are way too many bland and just unappealing. Get rid of them OR add others who will actually help and not hurt the show. Start with the Brit on the show…. he has to go!
And to “Sorry” … I’m sorry but when Seinfeld was on, what other shows were brilliant on at the time?
Every so often there is a Seinfeld BUT do you remember the crap that aired around it and the crap on other nets?!
Consider it like Modern Family….and then there is a bunch of cruddy stuff on the networks
I know I’m in a minority here, but I think MF sucks. Suburbia is a thousand times funnier, which isn’t exactly saying much.
I am not simply playing the race card but I don’t see why her character is so annoying. I find the show funny and while not perfect, it’s far from being worthy of the amount of hate it gets. Also, the hate is never directed at the show as a whole or any of the other characters, it’s directed at her and her only and most specifically Mindy, the real Mindy. Lena Dunham gets a lot of flack in comments too and I would be the first person to say that I don’t like the show but it’s not exclusively because of her. The whole thing about Girls doesn’t work for me the men and the women, all of it but in Mindy’s case the hate is directly levied at her. Yes her character in the office was annoying, very but I don’t find any similarities between Kelly and the character on the Mindy project so I don’t understand the constant association either.
Think what you wish of my comments but I am not one to play the race card every 5 minutes, I just don’t see another reason why she and she alone is constantly being berated in the comments. It reads very personal to me.
PS: I am not Indian. I’m white.
Of course you are, which is what makes all your comments just so, so sad.
I just like Mindy on the show. I think she’s fun to watch.
Go Mary Grill!!! Keep an eye on that one!
I really enjoy The Mindy Project and laugh out loud at least a couple of times every episode. I can see how it wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste, and I will not be surprised if it doesn’t make it past this season, but I like it.
I also agree with a previous commenter that I’m always a little taken aback by the sheer venom directed at Mindy Kaling and The Mindy Project on this site. How dare she appear confident in interviews and seem to consider herself funny! How dare she put her name in the title of her show (because that is never ever done with sitcoms)! How dare she play a character who is seen as somewhat attractive when she is not to your personal taste! I mean, egads, you’d never see a man who wasn’t every woman’s drop dead gorgeous ideal headlining a sitcom or romcom and being seen, within the context of the show, as attractive by the opposite sex.
Oh, wait.
It’s one thing to say you find her show unfunny and her characters annoying, or that an interview left a bad taste enough your mouth. Fair enough. But when your criticism basically comes off as “who does that uppity little [fill in the blank] think she is?” it’s not ridiculous for other people reading your comments to wonder if you’d be reacting the same way if she were a white male.
This comment is for anyone who thinks this message board is being unfair.
This is a hard business. If you are fortunate enough to have your own show, it is probably best not to use it as a platform to reinvent yourself.
For the least likable character from ‘The Office’ to have her own show is absurd for a multitude of reasons. I won’t list any because that would just be mean.
But for clarity. If she were white this show would never have been.
Moreover it was abhorrent to see the handsome guy from ‘The Newsroom’ paired as her love interest. His character is not blind nor does he seem to possess any kind of specific fetish.
You can present people with heightened realities but you cannot force them to accept elements they have never seen or heard of in their own lives.
If someone can post a story about a gorgeous man who married a very unattractive woman strictly out of love and not as a beard please do so. I want to be optimistic.
I should mention, I love television, even the bad stuff.
What I don’t like is fat women who have power and use it against those without.
Much like the story about the two sisters with the dress. I imagine that Amanda Setton was let go simply because she is too good looking.
And so she was banished from the crumbling kingdom.
Quick someone send in another bucket of cream eggs. Mindy Hungry!
That last part was mean. But only because Amanda Setton should not have been fired simply because she can fit into couture clothing.
In closing. If you want the show to survive have Mindy wear a Chewbacca costume or style her hair like Chewy then switch her profession to professional pie eater.
Then you will have a show.
From
Dev Patel
“Jen”
Allow me to help with your reading comprehension.
1. Plenty of unfunny white men have had their shows cancelled.
2. No one detests Kaling because she’s a woman.
3. No one is detests Kaling because she’s not white.
4. She’s detested because she’s unfunny, deluded, and smug.
You’re welcome.
Totally friends with Anna Camp. She did not get fired. She asked to be released because they were giving her scenes with a telephone half the time.
Totally saw the paperwork for what went down. She was fired. You have no idea what you’re talking about.
Ah gee, you want “likable” fairy tale characters. Try Cinderella or Pretty Woman, same thing. Wow wouldn’t it be nice if life was a fairy tale like Cinderella?
I love The Mindy Project! I can totally relate to her show and I find her brand of humor refreshing.
Hi, Mindy!
I hope TMP succeeds! I LOVE Mindy! Her character is totally relatable to all the chick-flick loving hopeless single romantics like me! I am sad that Setton will be gone, she was a cute character. I hope the rest of original cast can stick around. This show has potential, Mindy is a smart writer. TEAM MINDY!
I don’t know people keep commenting that Mindy is Indian. It isn’t even relevant. My problem is that the Mindy Project is all about her love life.I have to agree with the person who said it probably should target a broader age demographic,and broaden her interests beyond the merely romantic. Btw,I’m probably whiter than most people,and I don’t find her physically unattractive.