By the End of ‘The Mindy Project’ Premiere, We’ll Know If Mindy Picks Danny or Jody

When we last saw Mindy Lahiri, the doctor had slept with her ex-fiancé, Danny Castellano, in the elevator of their son’s nursery school and her co-worker Jody Kimball-Kinney professed his love and bought her an apartment. You know, just the regular life of a woman torn between two men who can’t get enough of her bright clothes, ever-changing hairstyles, and love of Kardashian-Jenners.

And now that the season five premiere of The Mindy Project is here, we need answers. Will Mindy give Jody an answer? What about the fact that Danny is actually engaged to another woman, and there’s a wedding invite for Mindy sitting in her kitchen? And what about poor little Leo, who thank goodness is too young to know about any of this?

So many questions, so little time. That’s why we went straight to the source—Mindy Kaling—to everything there is to know before the October 4 premiere.

Glamour: OK, let’s get to it: How fast will Mindy make a decision about whether to pursue something with Danny or Jody?

Mindy Kaling: Oh, we’ll know by the end of the premiere. Both guys (Chris Messina and Garret Dillahunt) are in it.

Glamour: I think most fans would prefer that Mindy end up with Danny, whether it’s now or later. Is there any realistic hope for them?

Mindy: I don’t know. I was talking to Chris about it, and I don’t know. As a show, it’s such an evolving thing. We love acting together and our scenes together are so great, and Danny and Mindy as characters have such an electric energy. They are so good together, but not necessarily good for each other all the time. It’s very hard to say.

Glamour: Bryan Greenberg comes on board this season. What’s the dynamic between him and Mindy?

Mindy: He’s in a lot of episodes, and he’s great. I love acting with him. He’s a pediatric nurse on the show who works for Nasim Pedrad’s character. They are from completely different socioeconomic backgrounds, and he has a teenage daughter. On the surface, it seems he doesn’t have a lot in common with Mindy, but he ends up being one of the most challenging and great people in her life.

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Glamour: Danny’s mom, Annette, will return, which is one of the best things ever.

Mindy: She’s great. [Annette] was such an adversary of Mindy’s for so long, and they still have big personalities and a lot of different opinions, but there’s a love there because she’s Leo’s grandmother. The way that Rhea [Perlman] plays the part, I just have so much personal affection for her as an actor, so that always comes through. Their dynamic now has even more subtleties to it, which I really like.

Glamour: Is Mindy Lahiri in season five what you pictured for her back when you were outlining season one?

Mindy: As much as I know every aspect of the show and am hands on, I didn’t think that far ahead. I love where she is. I think it’s great to see her mature. She’s an awesome mother, and yet still has a lot of the same bad character issues that she’s had the whole series. But she’s so funny and loving and trying to be better, so I’m not surprised she’s the way she is, but I wasn’t thinking that far down the line.

Glamour: OK, tell us this: At the end of tomorrow’s premiere, how do you think fans will react?

Mindy: I think they will be surprised and feel really satisfied. In fact, our creative executive at Hulu just saw the premiere and was like, “Oh my God, I love the ending.” It’s an ending I’m really proud of. I think people are going to like it.

The Mindy Project‘s season five premieres begins streaming on Hulu on October 4. New episodes will be available each Tuesday.