The cast of Not Suitable for Work dish on Mindy Kaling’s new workplace comedy
A person’s formative years, as we know, makes for good television. Friends, New Girl and 2 Broke Girls are just a few of the comedies to demonstrate that a group of friends in their early 20s, trying to find their feet in the professional world while also building an identity, is a comfortable place to hang. So, when Mindy Kaling dipped into those fruitful waters with Not Suitable For Work, Dickinson actress Ella Hunt knew she wanted to join in on the fun. “I had always played the straight guy in comedies, and I think I have a talent for sadness on screen,” she says. “With AJ, I felt like I had an opportunity to do something I hadn’t done before, in playing a woman who is so ambitious, intense and a bit of an awkward duck. I get to make bold physically comedic choices with her. And there is this funny duality with this character who is so tough and smart in the workplace and so not adept in her personal, social life.”
It also turns out the new comedy series about five 20-somethings living across the hall from each other in New York City’s Murray Hill is also a really good time offscreen. “This show really is a good hang,” says Hunt. “Anytime anyone asked me while we were shooting how it was going, because I think my friends have an understanding that shoots can be stressful, I just was like, ‘I’m sorry to report that it’s just a good time.’” Her co-star Nicholas Duvernay , who plays struggling med student Kel from across the fictional corridor, agrees, 100 per cent. “I think it’s almost the exact same [on- and offscreen], which is why I think it’s been able to translate so well,” he says. “Because this is actually how we are around each other, and our writers are so good at adapting, they’ve, in a way, catered to us in how we’ve developed the friend group.”
Those early days of one’s career are not hard to mine for comedy, even for the actors on the show. “It’s a paradoxical thing, where you’re coming from high school and college, where compared to them, you’re an adult, you have a job, you’re getting a paycheque, you have your own apartment — so you feel like you’re making it,” says Jack Martin, who plays the group’s nepo baby, Josh. “But then you get to the job and you’re the absolute lowest person on the totem pole. You’re getting beaten up every day. It’s like, ‘Wait, this isn’t what I thought it was going to be,’ and you’re trying to figure out the difference between those two things.” At the same time, they’re attacking these work and life issues with a fervour only afforded the young. “I fully relate to turning up in a city, feeling like you have a lot to prove and a lot of energy to prove it with,” says Hunt. “This show gave me quite a sweet window into reflecting on my early 20s, shooting Dickinson. I had so much youthful excitement and desire to succeed and make an impact. It’s taken me a while to feel settled and like I have less to prove. But I really relate to AJ’s work ethic and her caffeinated drive.”
Where the show gets its unique feel is from its creator. Kaling, after making a name for herself as a comedic actor on The Office, has gone on to create an impressive roster of hit shows, including The Mindy Project, Never Have I Ever, The Sex Lives of College Girls and Running Point. “She’s just so smart,” says Martin. “I really think she’s a genius and you can tell the difference between smart writing and not smart writing. This is written brilliantly.” According to Duvernay, Kaling is also, as a person, very relatable. “She’s really good at showing you how human the characters are, which is kind of like a mirror to yourself,” he says. “Even talking to Mindy, she’ll say something and it’s just so completely honest and you’re like, ‘I’ve had that exact thought before.’ I think a lot of people feel so connected to her and her shows because they see themselves in all of her characters.”
As improvisationally fun that it may seem to hang out with these characters, Hunt says the comedy itself is very structured. “I’d wondered whether there would be a lot of Judd Apatow-style improvisation that happened on the set, but quite the opposite,” she says. “We were very mathematical about hitting our beats and getting our lines. But what was interesting was that, within that, they were really writing towards us and we had our writers’ room on set with us, which I’ve never experienced before. Our writers were constantly coming in with alts [alternative dialogue]. Scenes would change dramatically over the course of an hour or two of shooting them, which was really fun, and really kept us on our toes.”
This is perhaps no surprise when you’re working with sitcom royalty. “Mindy has a very distinct cultural commentary that is laced through her projects and there are just observations that I think could only come from her,” says Hunt. “The other big draw was the team around it, like getting to work with Charlie [Grandy], who was one of her original collaborators on The Office. And Greg Mottola directed the first couple of episodes, who’s directed Superbad. He’s a legend. Honestly, having the comedic thumbs-up from those guys was really cool and not something I expected.”
Not Suitable for Work, streaming on Tuesday on Disney+