As summer winds down, TV fans are looking forward to one thing: curling up on the couch and catching new episodes of their favorite shows.
"American Horror Story" has witches on the way, "Homeland" will get even more intense, and I'm the first to admit how excited I am to see what unfolds with Nick and Jess on the new season of "New Girl."
And then there's "The Mindy Project." The Fox comedy's sophomore season boasts a crop of insanely great guest stars. Over the course of the season, Mindy (Mindy Kaling) will meet James Franco, Kris Humphries, "Happy Endings" star Adam Pally, "Mad Men's" Ben Feldman and "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia's" Glenn Howerton.
Although Season 1 was great in its own way -- Mindy's one-liners were fantastic and she and Danny (Chris Messina) had great chemistry -- it failed to truly hit its stride.
In "Mindy's" defense, a lot of great shows got off to slow to starts. Even the most die-hard "Parks And Recreation" fan will admit that Season 1 wasn't great, and Fox's "New Girl" got much stronger in its second season. So in the spirit of keeping Kaling and her smart little show alive, here are a few things I'd like to see happen in Season 2.
Hit the pause button on Mindy's love life.
I'm impressed with Mindy. I really am. She manages to meet a new guy in almost every episode, and it usually leads to a few dates. It's also an easy, funny way to keep the story rolling, especially because we've seen actors like Seth Rogen, B.J. Novak, Bill Hader and Seth Meyers enter the picture.
But it's also hard to keep up with. I'm not asking Mindy to find domestic bliss only two seasons into her series, but the moments unrelated to her love life are often funnier, like the time a "random cat" crawled into her window and she adoringly started petting it, or the episode that found her clubbing with her entire office. And who could forget the moment she became brave enough to weigh herself in front of Danny by channeling her inner "Beyonce Pad Thai"?
Less Morgan, more Danny.
Morgan (Ike Barinholtz) -- the ex-con nurse who got hired early on in Season 1 -- is no doubt a fun character to have around. But Morgan-centric episodes are often chaotic and confusing, and he usually does something so dumb it becomes unconvincing.
Danny, on the other hand, is the most lovably flawed character on the show. He's rough around the edges but has a heart of gold. And as I mentioned before, he and Mindy have great chemistry, both when it comes to friendship and a possible love connection. He's clever, funny and is the perfect complement to Mindy's wacky personality.
Whether or not they get together in Season 2 -- they did share an almost-kiss in the Season 1 finale -- let's get more Danny-Mindy screen time going in Season 2.
Focus on one storyline.
There were a few times last season when I had to pause the show mid-episode because too much was going on. Morgan, Jeremy (Ed Weeks) and Betsy (Zoe Jarman) were trying to break into Mindy's apartment, Mindy was lying on the floor in a fit of despair because she's sure she'll never have children, and Danny is taking pleasure in knowing he's crushing Mindy's soul a little bit.
A particularly strong episode of Season 1 was "In The Club," and this was because practically everyone on the show was in the same place at the same time. And it was great. It was hilarious! There was very little unnecessary plotting or mass chaos, it was all laughs and ridiculous fun.
Sometimes a season needs an episode or two that focuses on only two or three characters and doesn't make use of the entire cast. How about a few episodes centering on just Danny, Mindy, and perhaps her brother Raj? Hey, I wouldn't hate it.
What did you think of Season 1 of "The Mindy Project"? Are you looking forward to Season 2? Sound off in the comments.
Season 2 of "The Mindy Project" premieres on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 9:30 p.m. ET on Fox.
