Now that The Mindy Project has gotten rid of fiancés and Dr. Francos, it can get back to business as usual, with pop-culture doctor Mindy searching for love. The biggest problem with the beginning of this season was seeing story lines that seemed to have weight behind them, but in reality wouldn’t matter at all in a few weeks. Now that we’ve passed that period, The Mindy Project is back to being quite enjoyable, while also strengthening the minor characters that have been a problem for far too long.
Probably the greatest choice The Mindy Project has made this second season is adding Adam Pally to the cast as “bro” Peter Prentice. Pally makes everything funnier, from the gone-too-soon Happy Endings to frequent cameos on the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast, the man knows how to be funny, but more importantly how to enhance the performances of everyone else in his vicinity.
Peter also unites all the guys in the office for “Bro Club For Dudes,” where we discover that the doctor’s office has become a broffice. Peter, Danny, Jeremy and Morgan even have “Wings & Stings” night after hours, which is basically just an extreme Nerf battle with snacks. But while everyone else has succumbed to the likability of Peter, Mindy hasn’t quite yet.
The Mindy Project has never hidden the self-centered nature of Mindy, and we get plenty of that this week. When presented with the office’s unused outdoor space, she decides to put in a gazebo garden probably straight out of one of her rom-com fantasies without even asking anyone else’s opinion. When she takes Peter out to lunch to try to get to know him better, she takes him to the girliest possible restaurant where Peter’s fingers can’t even fit into the teacups.
In order to integrate herself more into this bros club, Mindy goes out with the guys for Peter’s first MMA fight. But she doesn’t know how to be a bro, instead of pumping up Peter before his fight, she brings up that his ex-girlfriend is now engaged to someone else, turning Peter into a crying mess before his fight with a guy nicknamed “The Suicide.”
Lumping the four guys together for this episode really works, as these four actors are great together, especially since almost anything Pally and Ike Barinholtz does is hilarious. Barinholtz also helps “Bro Club For Dudes” give us more information about another new secondary character, secretary Tamra. Morgan has a crush on Tamra, but she’s been dating her boyfriend Ray Ron (played by Josh Peck) for two decades. Tamra and Ray Ron are clearly a disaster, but they’re brilliant together, so hopefully they don’t break up too soon. (At least give us a look at what their date at a “menu restaurant” would look like.)
As far as Mindy’s new relationship with Jason, ehh, it’ll run its course. Just like her engagement with Casey, it’s clear that nothing will come of it, but at least it gives us an enjoyable guest appearance by Ben Feldman.
The Mindy Project is finally back in its comfort zone: awkward moments with Mindy trying to fit in and find love. With the show upping its cast with Pally and starting to flesh out more of its characters, it seems like The Mindy Project is on a promising roll.