Mindy Kaling Reveals Why Mindy and Danny Had to Break Up on The Mindy Project

(Caution: Major spoilers ahead!)

Throughout four seasons, we’ve been overly invested in Danny and Mindy’s relationship on The Mindy Project. We cheered when they passionately kissed on an airplane; we cried when Danny finally proposed. So we never thought we’d be excited about a breakup between the two—but, well, here we are. Of course, in a perfect world Danny and Mindy would have stayed together (with the usual comedic hijinks, obviously). But that’s not how real life works, especially with these two. What made Mindy and Danny’s relationship so addictive in the first place was their insane chemistry, but chemistry—even love—doesn’t always mean it’ll work out.

That’s why we respect The Mindy Project‘s writers so much. They’re clever; they could have created entertaining storylines that kept Mindy and Danny together for little Leo, while fighting to maintain a work/life balance. But this show has never been afraid to take risks; it’s always about real life, which is why, on the mid-season premiere, Mindy did what so many of us have done before: She got sucked back into hooking up with an ex, not wanting to admit that great sex or romance can’t fix everything else. And when she discovered that he had been sleeping with another woman, she realized that she owes it to herself to be strong and fight every urge to reconnect.

As sad as the breakup may have been to watch, we’ve come to expect nothing less from Mindy Kaling and the show’s talented cast and writers. And there’s still more exciting things to come: Kaling and the cast sat down for a special Emmys for Your Consideration panel to talk about why the breakup had to happen, what’s next for characters, and who Kaling most identifies with. Get all the details, but warning: There are more spoilers ahead!

Why Mindy and Danny Had to Break Up: Yes, it sucked, but given Mindy and Danny’s very different personalities, there was bound to be trouble. “This is a couple that’s very attracted to each other, and they have great chemistry,” says Mindy Kaling, “But we thought we’d show realistically after working on it and working on it, this is what they would probably do.” Writer and co-star, Ike Barinholtz adds: “I remember when Mindy called me in August that Chris [Messina] was going to do this Ben Affleck movie. My first instinct was, ‘This is the best thing [for the show].’ The show became about Mindy and Danny, and I think we were finding great ways to tell those stories, but just like life, sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. Now we have a show about a single mother, who’s looking for love in New York, and I think it’s been pretty fun [working with that].” Adds Kaling: “Scores of women in this country—their story isn’t told. I’m really proud we’re able to tell stories like [this].”

The Upcoming Adventures of Mindy and Jeremy: Later in the second half of the season, it’s revealed that Mindy and Jeremy have a “musical theater appreciation society where they drink wine,” according to Ed Weeks, who plays Jeremy. “They actually get thrown out of Hamilton,” adds Kaling. “[Mindy] goes into the aisle and raps.” The decision to pair up the two (who, if you remember, hooked up in the pilot) came from Danny’s absence in the office. “When you lose Danny in the office, we lost Mindy’s main confidant,” explains Barinholtz. “Now she’s opening up to Jeremy more.”

Platonic Pairing: Morgan and Collette: Get ready for these two misfits to become roommates. “Basically it’s Dumb and Dumber,” laughs newcomer Fortune Feimster. Executive producer Matt Warburton also revealed that the two will live in a two-bedroom apartment—but one of those rooms is solely for their dogs. The decision to give the two actors more screen time together came courtesy of Barinholtz. According to Kaling, he “became obsessed with working with Fortune. He came back to the writers’ room and was like, ‘I love working with her!'”

Mindy Kaling vs. Mindy Lahiri: Even though fans think Kaling very similar to her alter-ego, the truth is that she’s more like Danny in real life. “I felt much more similar to Danny than Mindy,” she says. “Mindy was a combination of our writers coming up with that character. [We share] our love of fashion and clothes, [but] my character is pretty out there with the things she says. I like to think we’re both so committed to our jobs. And that we’re both very close to our family.”

There’s Something Special About Mindy Fans: “It’s amazing,” says Feimster. “I was on Chelsea Lately [before], and her fans would be drunk and rowdy. Mindy fans are very respectful. From the top to bottom, everyone is so kind. It’s a dream job. And I’m not just saying that because she’s paying me.”

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.