The Future of Morgan and Tamra: The couple is "off" for now, but that doesn't mean it will stay that way forever. At least according to Barinholtz: "I think Morgan would take her back, but I think she's past him. I think they'll [eventually] end up together."
Mindy Kaling's Talented Discoveries: Kaling actually discovered Xosha Roquemore (Tamra) while watching Precious: "She had a huge scene-stealing part, and I was still at The Office, but I knew I wanted to work with her on my next show." But that's not all! Kaling knew she wanted Beth Grant when she saw her in No Country for Old Men. "I like to go deep and dark to discover people," jokes Kaling.
All About That Seth Meyers Cameo: That was actually Seth Meyers' dog, Frisbee, from last Tuesday's episode. "We pitched the idea to Seth," explains Barinholtz. "He was on board." (It also helped that Barinoltz and Meyers are good friends). "We shot the Morgan segment during a taping of his show, and Quentin Tarantino was the guest that night. [He didn't know who I was at first, but moments later], he came to my dressing room and was like, ‘You’re on The Mindy Project! I love that!' Tarantino was watching me on the show [as Morgan] and then said, ‘I was so confused. Were you you or the character? Oh, and I liked take two better.' So, technically, that means that episode is directed by Michael Spiller and [Quentin] Tarantino."
The Emma Thompson Effect: When asked who Kaling looked up to when starting out in the business, she points to a surprising influence: Emma Thompson. "I remember her winning an Oscar for writing and starring in Sense and Sensibility, and realized I could do that," she says. "That was huge." Another big influence for Kaling? Her late mother, who was an ob-gyn.
The Issue of Diversity: Did Kaling feel pressure to be diverse when she launched her show? "On most shows, it's a gesture," she says. "But on our show, it's a premise. It's such an important issue. [In fact], we have an incredibly cool episode where Mindy dates an Indian guy, and he rejects her because [he calls her a] coconut—dark on the outside, white on the outside—and [says she] doesn't have a connection to her roots. Mindy takes it to heart, and it’s one of the most fun episodes [this season]."
An all-new episode of The Mindy Project is now streaming on Hulu.
