Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - Mindy Kaling on the Inspiration Behind Not Suitable for Work, Running Point and her New Book Imprint

Episode Date: June 7, 2026

Mindy Kaling launched her television career as an actor and writer for The Office. She also had a starring role in The Mindy Project and is the brains behind several shows including Never Have I Ever, Sex Lives of College Girls and her latest show Not Suitable for Work, which follows a group of 20-somethings starting their careers in New York. She is also behind Running Point, which was born out of her love for basketball.  Mindy, who is also a best-selling author, tells Willie why she wants to help rising actors and authors with her new book publishing imprint Mindy’s Book Studio. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks as always for clicking and listening along. Got a great one for you this week with one of my absolute favorites, the hilarious, the talented, Mindy Kaling. Mindy Kailing has honestly become one of the powerhouses of Hollywood. She writes, she directs, she creates all these shows you love. Most recently, Running Point, starring Kate Hudson on Netflix, just renewed for a third season.

Her latest show is a Hulu series. is called Not Suitable for Work. And she'll tell you why she thinks it fits into kind of a trilogy of three shows that she has created and then kind of laughs at herself as the trilogy style artist in the mold of, you know, Peter Jackson or George Lucas. You probably know her story. She grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, loved reading and writing was very funny. It was encouraged by her parents who were not certainly in the entertainment field whatsoever and moved out to L.A. and got a job as a writer when she was 24 years old on the office. She also then was placed on the office because she was so funny and so talented by the show's creator Greg Daniels

and became the unforgettable character, Kelly Kapoor. She later became an executive producer of the office as well and wrote some of the most famous episodes of that iconic series. Then created her own series, The Mindy Project, which was a hit for six seasons, loosely based on the life of her late mother. So she's got so much cooking, so much going on. She's a mother of three beautiful young children. She just really got it going. And she was nice enough to get us in to a restaurant in New York City called Semma, which is not just the best Indian restaurant in New York,

but some think it's the best restaurant in New York, period. It was the first Indian restaurant to top the New York Times 100 best restaurant list. So with all that said, let's sit. sit down at Semma. We got a table at Semma guys to talk to Mindy Kaling right now on the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Great to see you, Mindy. It's been too long. Wait, you said that it's been... Almost nine years. Nine years. That's an outrage. And the last time you saw me, I was pregnant with my first child. Yes. Yes. Yeah. You were ending the Mindy Project, pregnant with your first child. I was actually thinking about that. Come over. Look at how much your life has changed. It's the last time I saw.

in every possible way, professionally and personally. But it feels like you're in a really good place. I feel really, I'm shocked by how many more children I have. I have an army of children. You did keep going, yeah. Maybe we'll see each other in another nine years and have three more kids. I'm just one of those weirdos that just wants to have. It's wonderful to have lots of children.

I don't know why am I insulting families with lots of kids. It's great. No, no, I can see it for you. I can see it for you. You seem to be managing it well, so why not keep going? I'm also happy to be at Semma with you Because truth be told, the only way I could get a table here Was to say I was meeting you

So thank you for that Willie, I love to hear it I love to be your catalyst into Indian restaurants Hard to get to Indian restaurants in the city Very hard to get it and we are gonna eat in a little while So that's the good news That's the good news Now I feel relieved we can talk about other things

We're ready, but we can relax There's so much to talk to you about Let's start with your latest show for Hulu Not Suitable for work I got to see a couple of episodes of it. Love it. Feels Like You. Where do the idea for this show come from?

Well, I think of not suitable for work as the last show in this trilogy of shows that I've done about young people. Never Have I Ever was a show loosely based on my childhood and the loss of a parent. Sex Lives with College Girls was very loosely based on my time at Dartmouth. Not that much sex happening there. And then not suitable for work is about that time when I first moved to New York in my 20s, actually, when I was 21. And just feeling so, I mean, you could probably relate to this. That time when I felt so ambitious and had no access to the world I wanted to be in. And I just wanted to hurry up to the time in my life when I was successful and people took me seriously.

And, yeah, that's the show. I'm so excited about it. It's that moment where you can see or at least envision the place you want to be. but there are all these walls between you and there and like, how am I going to get there? And why don't people see what I see in myself already? Why don't people see what I see? Right. That I have so much to say.

And so that period of time is so fascinating to me because I remember it incredibly clearly. I don't really remember that time just after I had my first daughter. It's like more of a haze to me. But I remember so vividly that feeling of being in my 20s and like just waiting for my life to start. And so that's what that show explores. Do you, when you look back on that time in your life, do you now have kind of like a romantic view of it? Like, oh, I was struggling, but it was great and I'd kill to go back there. Do you feel that way at all about your 20s? Yes and no. That period of time, because I wasn't professionally successful, I didn't have any confidence. And so I was, I mean, I had the most

fun time with my friends and the city was this incredibly glamorous, like, second. in the city was on the air. So for a young woman who was looking for romance and loved fashion, but couldn't afford it, like New York City was like the place to be. But also, like I said, like, felt like incredibly competitive, didn't know how to get where I was going to go. So it was really frustrating. I mean, it really felt everything in that huge way that you feel when you're young. Yeah. I mean, you, it took you a while to get there, but now that you've had the success that you've had when you think back on that time of the build, because I kind of do this a little bit too, I go, you know, that was all worth it. It was a little bit of struggle, but it was, like,

it had to happen to get where you are today. Do you feel that way, too? I mean, definitely now I can look back in it fondly and just wish I could tell my anger self to chill out, but I did not feel that way back then. No. There's this line in the office that I love from one of the later seasons where Andy Bernard says, I wish that we knew, what is it? What did he say? I wish Andy Bernard says, I wish that we knew when the good old days were happening that we were in the good old days. Yeah. You know, that that was going on. And I think that's such a profound thought because that time when I was in New York and I was surrounded by friends and none of us had money, it was the good old days.

But all I could see is like what I didn't have. Right. And, yeah, you know, it makes me want to be more grateful for what I have now for sure. Yeah. it's easier for us to look back on it and say, oh, that was a great time. It was romantic. Didn't that feel that way? No. So when you're starting out to create a show like this, because you've done it so well so many times, I'm just curious about your process. How do you begin? Is it in a writer's room? Is it with

Ike or whoever your favorite collaborator is on whatever the show is? Yeah. So the research aspect of the shows is really the most fun part of it. For sex size of college girls, I went back to Dartmouth and talk to sorority girls and, Acapella groups and just really talked about the experience of what it's like going to college in the 2020s. And then for this show, I went to New York and I just, how do I say this? For this show, I had to do a lot of research because the different jobs that all the characters have were not really my level of expertise. So I went to go Shadow Jake Tapper for a little bit because one of the characters wants to work on a Jake Tapper type show. The character in the show is not based at all on Jake, but I had no idea.

with the news, like TV news is so fascinating. Yeah. And there's so many big personalities. Yeah. And the pressure is so uniquely different than scripted TV. And so I loved that environment. And it's like, yeah, so news is both like unglomerous and glamorous. The pressure is so high.

People are really idealistic. And I really love that. And you have a character in finance. Yes. Some of that as well, right? Yeah. So I went to Dartmouth and the. I went to Dartmouth and the kids that were in finance,

that was more of the culture of the school and the artsy kids like us were not really the mainstream. And so I have so many friends who went into investment banking, but to be honest, I didn't really know what they did. Like, I was like, they do banking, and I was like, they just make spreadsheets all day. So I had to, I went to another place that I think I'm, I think I signed an NDA and I'm not, I'll say this.

I did a lot of research by going to a major investment bank downtown, A very famous one, and they very graciously let me speak to bankers. And that world is crazy. Yeah, that's a different thing. That world is so crazy. It's so much closer to Wolf of Wall Street than you think it would be. And so, you know, Running Point, I got to do a show about behind the scenes of basketball, and then this was all about these new different worlds that I didn't know about.

So I love that part of my job. Were you thinking, when you say it was a trilogy, were you thinking that way from the beginning or your view it that way now? Like, I've done these phases of my life, and here's the last one of this. No, that's just the pretentious way that I like to frame my career now. Kind of like Star Wars in that way. Yeah, I'm like Peter Jackson and George Lucas. Like, that's, I'm equivalent to them on the Rushmore of people who've done trilogies.

Yes. Yeah. You've always said that. I've always said that. And people always have said that about me. Well, the show is great. People are going to love it. Thank you.

It's very, very funny and moving and all the things that your shows always are. And you mentioned Running Point, which just announced. for a third season. Congratulations on that. Thank you. That has been such a hit. I won't ask you if you're surprised by the way it's taken off, but you have to be so gratified by how big this thing has become.

I feel very lucky that the show is so loved, and so much of it is because of Kate Hudson. You know, we wrote the script. My friend Ike Berenholtz and Dave Stassen and I wrote the script, and we didn't really have anyone in mind when we were picturing Jeannie Buss, our great friend, who's an executive producer. And when Kate Hudson read it and wanted to do it,

we were so excited because I don't even picture her doing TV at all. But she really took the show. I mean, she took the script to a new level. And I think the fact that so many people are watching is so much because of her. And the rest of the cast, like Justin Thoreau, Jay Ellis, Ray Romano. Like, we were really, we were so lucky by who wanted to come do the show. Hey, guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Stick around to hear more.

with Mindy Kaling right after the break. Welcome back. Now more of my conversation with Mindy Kailing. When you wrote it, was Kate Hudson even on the board as an option? Or when did she come into the project? You know, I think that whenever I've written a show with someone in mind, it never happens, and it's so heartbreaking. So for that show, we almost purposefully decided not to picture anyone.

And really, we're just picturing Jeannie Bus when we did it. And then we were just lucky that Kate wanted to do it. She's very good. She's very funny. She's like, can do all the things. She's incredible. What I loved about her is she's, what I love about Kate is how game she is. She doesn't mind looking foolish.

But in the same moment, she can be so glamorous. And there's so much great romance on the show. But she also doesn't mind walking into a glass wall, like over and over again for a joke, you know? She literally does that. She does it for a laugh. And I, like, love that about her. What was it about the world of basketball? I know you're a fan that you thought would be a target-rich environment for a show like this.

I think there's two things. I find, and you're a huge Knicks fan. Huge, yeah. So that world is very glamorous, and it's extremely fast-paced. And there's a side of basketball, well, how do I say this? Like, the Lakers is, how do I, how do I say it? So I grew up, my dad loved the Celtics. And so we grew up hearing about Kevin McHale and Hondo Havlicek and like all of that.

When I moved to L.A., basketball in L.A. is so different than basketball in Boston. Right. And there's a glamour, right, at Showtime for a reason. And reading Jeannie's book and learning about Jeannie, like, it just felt like this world is so rich for a TV show. Because you have all of what's special about basketball, but then all what's special about show business, kind of in one. and learning about Jeannie's life and how dysfunctional her family has been. I don't think she'd be insulted because she's written about it herself. But it was like, we felt so lucky that she was willing to let us do a show about it.

Like, I wouldn't do that. Right. I wouldn't let anyone examine my personal life and read a show. And she's been such an amazing creative partner in that way. And yeah, like that whole culture of basketball in L.A., And the amount of scrutiny that she has on her is so good for a TV show. And you're right. There's such an element of show business to it.

New York has that, too, to a degree, but really, L.A. going even before Magic and all those guys. There's been a whole show to the presentation of the game and what's happening behind the scenes. No, and that's such an innovation of the bus family, right? Of making these larger-than-life celebrities out of the actual players. Like, when you see, like, LeBron and Luca run out, it's like they're Titans or, like, they're not. They're not humans. They're like the children of gods. And that's how I feel when I watch them play.

And so that's like that is great. Like she's storytelling as well. And it's so nice to do a show about a basketball team set in L.A. By the way, this is the first time I believe Hondo Havlicek has been name-checked on this show. And he should be named checked more often. Good for you. Good for you. You've just made history on Sunday today.

Honestly, Hondo Havlicek, Jojo White. Look at you. Like the Celtics fans. It's a deep bench of people that I. That's what I love. Like, you're a real hoops fan. I mean, you've already, you've shown your bona fides before, but this is, you can go as deep as you need to go on the Celtics. Very impressive.

So this will air after the finals, right? We might still be in them. We might still be in. God willing, like if it's a long series. How emotionally ready are you for the finals? I feel weirdly good about it. Okay. And that terrifies me, right?

You're supposed to be like, well, we're going to lose. Oklahoma City's too good. Yeah, yeah. Swemby, it's his time, all that. Yeah. And being a Knicks fan, people don't view New Yorkers as underdogs, but the Knicks haven't won a title since 1973. That's such a good point.

It's like 50-some years. The Yankees are like always winning. They're always winning. But you're so right. The last time they were in the final was 99, then one time before that when I was in high school or college in 94. So since then, we haven't had a lot to celebrate. Yeah.

And it's a likable team. We've got good guys. Yeah, yeah. long well. Will you cry if they lose? I could see myself crying if they lose. Tearing up a little bit. Tearing up a little bit.

Also, you see it through your kids. So my 16-year-old son is a crazy fan. Oh, my gosh. My 18-year-old daughter is a crazy fan. So I think I would also feel it through them that they had this like season-long excitement building to a thing that maybe didn't happen. And the stakes are very high for the Knicks.

I remember we felt the same way as a Sox fan in like 2004. Yes. It's almost unbearable. Like you're like, I need this to happen. There's history built into it. Like, is it a curse? Is it not like, you know? And so I'm, I hope they win.

And that's very nice of you. As a Boston fan. Yeah, another hated. Very generous of you. Hated sports city. That had an underdog story for many years. Yes, they did. Yeah.

And now that's long gone. Long gone. I don't have to feel bad for them anymore. No, we're just straightforwardly hated. Exactly. Exactly. Enough about me and the Knicks. Your, I want to talk about the Mindy Bowels.

studio as well. Yeah. This is so cool. Thank you. The idea being that you're going to bring in books with diverse voices, but the idea being to like get them on the screen eventually too, do I have it right? Yeah. What's the idea about it?

So I love, I mean, so many celebrities have book clubs. The books that I pick are all really juicy to me. And it sort of reflects the kind of storytelling I like to do, which is I love juicy stories, page turners for TV shows, ones with big characters, big plot devices and things. But I just happen to populate the worlds with people that you don't normally see in TV. And that's kind of my philosophy behind the books that I pick. We pick really romantic books, sci-fi, creepy stories about, you know, like best friendships gone wrong, like that kind of thing. But we just, they're filled with like these, you know, kind of diverse protagonists that we don't

normally see. And I tend to just like things that are kind of mainstream. Like, I have, I wouldn't say I'm populist, but like, I have very mainstream taste and like my books sort of skew that way too. And so I would love for them to become movies. I think a lot of them are cinematic. Stick around to hear more of my conversation with Mindy Kaling right after a quick break. Welcome back now to the rest of my conversation with Mindy Kaling. Isn't it cool that you are in a position now in your career that you can help bring people along who maybe otherwise wouldn't have had a place to be seen in many ways, whether it's authors or actors or people like that, that you've done enough in your career and built your reputation, you have enough clout in Hollywood to say,

I want to make sure these people now get to come in behind me. That's got to be incredible. It's the best part of my job. And it's totally unexpected because when I started out, like, I wasn't thinking about pulling other people up. I was like, I just want health insurance and to make enough money that I can prove to my parents. It wasn't stupid to move to L.A. And then after a while, I realized, like, oh, when you're the only person who does something,

it means more than your sort of selfish interests for clout and fame and everything else. It means something to other people. And during the Mindy Project, that's really when I had to figure that out. And no one teaches you that, you know? And so I have, especially with NEMD, Never have I ever. And be able to discover these voices, whether it's the actress Mitri Ramakrishnan,

or different directors we've used, like Anuvalia or Erica Oyama, just finding all these ambitious, funny, particularly Asian women who love comedy and putting them on screen or in the writer's room or directing TV has been so, like I said, satisfying. And one of the best compliments I hear is when I'll, like, meet a girl at the airport or I'll be speaking at a college, and a girl will say, like, I want to go into the arts and I can point to my parents to you

as someone who's succeeded. And I'm like, yes, use me as a data point. I love it. If I can help convince your parents that you can go into this career and actually make a good living, then I love that. Yeah, that line about you have to see it to be it.

Yeah. It's real, you know? Yeah. Like, oh, it can happen. I mean, we still, I still wish there was more people succeeding, But I think that's, I mean, it's even changed since the last time I saw you. Yeah.

Yeah. So I think it's like it. So, yeah. I mean, you're also now, Mindy, in a category of, like, women who are great at the creative side of it, but who have created, like, empires of bored and people throw around. But I mean, like, think about you or Reese or Tina Faye or the people who just, like, can control their own destiny because of the things they're able to do with their talents and also having business savvy to it as well.

Well, obviously, Reese and Tina are huge heroes of mine and the work that they've done is absolutely incredible. So thank you for saying that. Yeah, I love them. It's true. I think people, especially young people, look to you the way a lot of people look to them. Oh my gosh. That's so nice.

Do you stop, Mindy, and think about, because, you know, I was thinking about you coming out of college and your parents not being sure this was the right thing. And then Matt and Ben, right? Which I saw you in. I think I told you last time I saw you in 2003. My mom and I came and saw you in that.

Your mom. She was like, my mom is like very dialed in. She's like, there's the show everyone's talking about. I was like, well, and then we went off off. Off, off Broadway. Wow. That's cool. But do you think back to that person who just wanted to maybe get a job on SNL as a writer

or just work somewhere that you dreamed of? Like to fast forward these 20-some years later and see what you've done? Willie, you know what I'll say is I think there's certain aspects of my life that I'd be very impressed by. But I was that kid who was like, you know what, I'm going to get married when I'm 24. I'm going to have my own TV show when I'm 25. I'm going to have three kids by the time I'm 30. And so in some ways I'd be impressed, but in other ways, I think that version of me would have been very disappointed. What took so long?

What took so long? Yeah, this is the least you should be doing, you know? And so I, that's how crazy I was when I was younger. I think that's maybe similar to a lot of people who make it is that you just have to think so big and be so ambitious because otherwise it's just never going to happen unless you have these huge expectations for yourself. Yeah, you've got to be a little audacious. Maybe ridiculously so in some ways. And if you get a fraction of what you dreamed up, that's pretty good, right? I also was thinking just about your parents coming here as immigrants, like right before you were born and came.

bridge and the life they created for you. I mean, the opportunity they gave you and that you're sitting here right now, your dad must be so incredibly proud at all you've done. I mean, I think my dad is so proud. He loves sitting courts at at Lakers games. That's why he's so proud. That's why he's so proud. They are.

My dad is so supportive and, you know, I'm a single mom and to have my dad's alive and well and he and my stepmom's such a huge part of the lives of my children and um you know obviously I wish that my mom could see not just my success but the life I've built and to meet my kids and um and I don't have that but I do have so many other blessings like again um I get to live in the same city with my my dad and he's such a huge part of her life but he is so proud. He is so proud. And he's not the most, like, emotional man,

but he is when he talks about this. He makes, he's just a very proud, happy grandpa. How could he not be? How could he not be? Those three beautiful children of yours, how have they changed your outlook on life and your outlook on work and what your priorities are?

I thought that I would be loved. of a workaholic when I had kids. And I don't know if you could relate to this, but that aspect didn't change at all. Not really. But the way that I organized my life did. And I would say that if something bad happened professionally, it would be such a crushing blow to me

when I didn't have kids. And now, of course, I still feel it, but it can't hurt me as much anymore because the ups and downs of my career are blunted in a good way because of this, like, love that I have for these three children that, you know, I look back, like, even when I last talked to you, and I was like, how did I even have a life before these three people were in it?

My house looks like a toy's arrest. Like, I have three kids, but it looks like I have 17 children when I go home. It's like a preschool in there. It's just, and it's great. I think it's healthy to have something to take your mind off of work from when you're a workaholic. And I think it's great to be forced to care about, the lives of other people. And I think that was missing.

I had this sort of inherently selfish life when I was just living for myself and trying to make it. And now I'm forced to care about these people and I love that side of me. And it's the biggest gift that they've given me. And it puts things in proper perspective, doesn't it? I agree with you.

I work just as hard, but I was able to say, I'm going to work really hard right here. Yeah. Maybe a little harder so I can fit it into right here. Yes. But then I'm going, then I'm, home. It's bath time and bedtime and all those things. It just kind of gives you a interesting new discipline almost to what's important and where you spend your time. And I'm happier.

I think that's sort of the, I am so much happier now with my family than I ever was before. And yes, if you're wondering, after we broke that conversation, we sat down and just crushed an incredible meal from our friends at Semma. So delicious, my big thanks to Mindy for that conversation. And again, for getting us into Semma. You can see not suitable for work streaming now on Hulu, and as I mentioned earlier, her show Running Point just got renewed for a third season. Stay tuned there. By thanks to all of you, as always, for listening again this week.

If you want to hear my conversations with our guests every week, be sure to click follow so you never miss an episode. And don't forget to tune in to Sunday today every weekend on NBC to see these interviews with your own two eyes. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit Down podcast. podcast.