After Season 6, which is set to air in September, The Mindy Project and Mindy Lahiri will be no more.
More:The Mindy Project: Why Mindy’s Heartbreaking Decision Is the Right One
Next stop, more Mindy. 💞 The final season coming September 2017. https://t.co/w6BwnTtqES#MindyOnHulupic.twitter.com/zHuIgetcUG
— The Mindy Project (@TheMindyProject) March 29, 2017
In some sad news announced Wednesday, the Hulu comedy from Mindy Kaling has been canceled. As much of a bummer as that is, at least we get a whole new season that will hopefully wrap up everything, right? Based on how Tuesday’s Season 5 finale ended (with Mindy proposing to Ben and looking unsure about her decision), fans are in need of some major answers — and a lot of closure.
If you ask series star and creator Kaling, viewers are going to be satisfied. She tweeted Wednesday, “It’s true! Our 6th season will be our last but it’ll be lit AF. Save your sour straws, bear claws & chicken wings for Sept #TheMindyProject.”
https://twitter.com/mindykaling/status/847130640847798272
There’s no doubt that The Mindy Project started off strong in Season 1, held its own for a while and then slowly began to wobble along the way. There were many ups but also many downs. However, one thing it got right throughout its time was how both the comedy and Kaling presented women, all while making women feel good about themselves.
Mindy Lahiri is by no means a perfect leading woman, but who is? There is no such thing, and that’s what makes her character so wonderful. To see a multidimensional woman come to life in a comedy has been refreshing since the first episode. To watch a woman establishing a life through romance, through her career and as a single mother couldn’t be more relatable.
The series has been a powerful force in television, and we will surely miss it when it’s gone. That’s why we feel it so necessary to look back at each season and show exactly why The Mindy Project has been so important to and for women.
1. Your life doesn’t need to be a romantic comedy
The Mindy Project has always been like a romantic comedy. The pilot opened with Mindy narrating about rom-coms. She was also shown drunkenly riding a bicycle after watching her ex-boyfriend get married, all while yelling, “I’m Sandra Bullock!” As proven by this very moment, your life is not a romantic comedy — and that’s OK.
Rom-coms are movies for a reason. They’re fictional, which means nothing like that usually happens in real life. From day one, Mindy has shown that women’s lives can be so much better than a romantic comedy. When you take charge of it and stop living by the rules of others, your life will become that much more fulfilling. It’s up to you take your life by the reins and steer it in the direction you want it to go.
2. Dating is messy — and so is life
Dating is by far not as easy as it sometimes looks on television or in movies. You know, kind of like how life is in general. The Mindy Project has never tried to portray dating as easy. Mindy’s dating life is super messy, complicated and dramatic. She is exactly the same way. Never once has Mindy tried to hide the fact that her life and relationships are far from perfect. Heck, she usually embraces her flaws, even if they makes dating that much more difficult.
None of her relationships have been easy. In Season 2, she dated so many different people (Casey, Cliff, Charlie, Graham…) until she finally realized she had feelings for Danny. Even when she and Danny did seem blissfully happy, real life happened and wrecked that, too.
Dating sometimes sucks, as proven by Mindy Lahiri. It also takes a lot of work, just like relationships. This realistic portrayal of dating is something so many women can relate to. It also helps when women get to watch a flawed woman like Mindy trying to find love because it shows them that they don’t need to be perfect to discover romance.
More: The Mindy Project Season 4 Premiere Cast the Perfect Love Interest for Danny
3. A healthy relationship is what you deserve
Never, ever settle for love that isn’t worth your time or makes you feel like less of a person. In the beginning of their relationship in Season 3, Mindy and Danny had a super healthy relationship. There was a moment where Mindy thought about relocating from New York City to San Francisco to open a practice. This was even after she found out she was pregnant with Danny’s baby.
Rather than freaking out about it, Danny was really supportive of Mindy’s decision. At one point, he even said he would move to San Francisco with her. That is how a relationship should be. It’s all about balance and supporting your partner when they need it most. If you don’t have that support or feel super unhappy with someone, it’s probably better to move on.
4. Following your dreams isn’t selfish
Season 4, specifically Episodes 12 and 13, were rough for Mindy Project fans. This was the time when Danny and Mindy were falling apart at the seams, mainly thanks to Danny wanting Mindy to be a stay-at-home mom. He also tried to trick her into getting pregnant again, which was so not cool.
Being a mom never deterred Mindy from her dreams. In addition to being an OB/GYN, she also opened up her own fertility clinic. Big things were happening for her in Season 4, and Danny didn’t support her — at all. It was all about what he wanted, never what she wanted. Unlike in Season 3, Danny showed what a partner shouldn’t be like.
Thankfully, Mindy stood up to him and ended up choosing herself in the end. Ladies, it’s 100 percent OK to be selfish and to choose yourself. As Mindy showed, following your dreams is never selfish. If you aren’t happy with yourself, your life and your career, how can you be happy in a relationship?
5. It’s OK to not get married
There is still so much pressure on women to get married and have babies. We are so much more than that. It’s mind-boggling that women are sometimes still seen as only capable of being wives and mothers. There’s nothing wrong with being a wife, just like there is nothing wrong with being single or never wanting to get married. We know, it’s so shocking that a woman wouldn’t want to get married.
At the end of Season 5, Mindy told Ben she didn’t want to get married. Somehow, along the way, she convinced herself she did and ended up proposing to him. Based on that final scene of the finale, Mindy is totally not happy with her decision. She shouldn’t have to sacrifice her happiness for what someone else wants — or be convinced that what she wants is wrong. Mindy is clearly content with how her life is and how her relationship with Ben is going. Why does marriage need to come into play? Marriage is important to some people, like Ben, but not to Mindy anymore.
If you don’t want to get married or are content with how your life is, then don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. Just like Mindy showcased throughout Season 5, you don’t have to get married to be fulfilled.
Thank you to both Mindy Kaling and Mindy Lahiri for helping guide women, showing them that they are not alone and letting them know that what they want matters.
More: The Mindy Project: 5 Things That Might Change Now That It’s a Hulu Show
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