After the years we've spent watching the (many, many) doctors at Shulman & Associates, The Mindy Project is coming to a close.
Entertainment Weekly reported Wednesday that the next season of the sitcom will be its last. Hulu’s head of content, Craig Erwich, confirmed the news to EW.
The show started out on Fox, before moving to Hulu after its first three seasons. And a lot has happened to our favorite OB-GYN since the show's premiere in 2012.
The Mindy Project started out as a rom-com satire of sorts — the unlucky-in-love Dr. Mindy Lahiri (Mindy Kaling) narrated her romantic woes to anyone who would listen, often her fellow doctor Danny Castellano (Chris Messina). Mindy eventually found a seemingly romcom-perfect ending with Danny, and they even had an adorable son, Leo, together, only to have her discover he definitely wasn't the man of her dreams.
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Considering the fact the show is a sitcom about romance, Danny's dark side was a risky reveal, but The Mindy Project has only grown in depth since its switch to Hulu. Mindy's character has grown up a lot — and ending things after the next season sounds just about right.
"We're really excited about this last season," Kaling told EW. "I think the timing is exactly right."
At the end of the fifth season, we found Mindy (spoiler alert!) finally settling down with Ben, the nurse who taught her dozens of lessons about compassion. It's not the romcom stereotype she once had with Danny — remember when she ran up all the stairs of the Empire State Building to meet him? — but her relationship with Ben is real, love-filled, and incredibly sweet. The next season will give us just enough time to see Mindy and Ben's relationship play out, without becoming stale.
"What's weird is, Mindy is married at the end of the season 5 finale, but she has never been married in the series, so that's incredibly fun for a character who's been obsessed with [marriage] and has come close many times, and seeing her disavow it for a while after her disastrous breakup with who she thought was her soulmate," Kaling told EW. "And now she's married! The final season is the final time — it's the best time — to confront what that reality is for her. And really, we've put her through the ringer. It's hard. I'm a romantic at heart. I believe that marriage is like, a sacred relationship, and I really like it, but I'm also single myself, so I see every side of it. It's going to be really fun to explore."
Kaling also nailed the problem with TV shows that overstay their welcome. "I think I always say that, at least with TV shows, just when you get really, really good at it, is when it ends," she told EW. "I was so proud of this past season and of the quality of every script and the talent that we were able to attract to the episodes. That really has been true of the series."
It's great to know that The Mindy Project will leave us on a high note — and, hopefully, let Kaling herself pursue other endeavors. Check out the full interview at EW.