Just one day after its premiere, Mindy Kaling's latest series Not Suitable for Work has already stormed the streaming charts, landing at #4 worldwide on FlixPatrol. With only three episodes released so far, the Hulu original follows five ambitious twenty-somethings sharing a Friends-style apartment in Manhattan's trendy Murray Hill neighborhood as they struggle to balance career and personal life.
But for fans of Kaling's previous work, this new show feels like coming home. In a recent interview with Good Morning America, Kaling revealed that Not Suitable for Work is actually the third installment in an unofficial trilogy that began with Netflix's beloved Never Have I Ever. "In my mind, this is the third show in a trilogy of shows that are about my life," she explained. "Never Have I Ever is about me being in high school, Sex Lives of College Girls was about my time at Dartmouth, and this is this last pivotal time in my youth, which was moving to New York City, being super ambitious and being in your 20s."
From High School to the Big City
Never Have I Ever debuted in 2020 and ran for four seasons, earning a stellar 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. The series followed Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), a sharp-tongued Indian-American teen navigating grief, friendship, and romance. Critics praised its honest portrayal of adolescence and its flawed but lovable lead. As one review noted, "It asserts itself with sassy confidence right away, not just in Devi's voice but in the narrative's framing."
Unlike the ensemble-driven Sex Lives of College Girls or Not Suitable for Work, Never Have I Ever zeroed in on Devi's personal journey, exploring Indian traditions, second-generation identity, and the emotional weight of losing her father. That focus on a single, complex protagonist gave the show a heart that resonated deeply with audiences.
In Collider's review of Season 2, Carly Lane highlighted Ramakrishnan's performance as the show's secret weapon: "Ultimately, a show is only as strong as its lead, and once again, Ramakrishnan proves why she's the one to build an entire series around."
A Trilogy of Ambition and Identity
Each show in Kaling's trilogy features a central Indian-American character who mirrors her own experiences. In Never Have I Ever, it was Devi; in The Sex Lives of College Girls, Bela Malhotra (Amrit Kaur); and in Not Suitable for Work, Avantika Vandanapu plays Abhinaya "Abby" Chilukuri, an assistant to a celebrity stylist terrified of losing her job. While none of these characters are named after Kaling, they all share her signature blend of ambition, quirkiness, and vulnerability.
Kaling's new show arrives hot on the heels of the second season of Running Point on Netflix, released in April. But for many fans, Never Have I Ever remains the crown jewel of her TV trilogy. Its ability to balance laugh-out-loud comedy with genuine emotional depth set a high bar that Not Suitable for Work is now aiming to reach.
As the new series climbs the charts on Hulu and Disney+, it's clear that Kaling's vision of young adulthood—from high school to college to the cutthroat world of New York careers—has struck a chord. Whether Not Suitable for Work can match the critical acclaim of its predecessor remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the unofficial sequel to Never Have I Ever is already making waves.
