Hulu Announces Premiere Dates for New and Returning Series

The following shows will be coming to Hulu this fall:

Hulu

Mindy's quirky adventures shall come to an end when Mindy Project returns for its 6th and final season on September 9th (10 Episodes)

Hugh Laurie's Chance will return for its 2nd chance on 10th October (10 Episodes)

Teen Horror series Freakish is coming out just in time before Halloween as it premieres on October 18th (10 Episodes)

The new Sci-fi comedy Future Man starring Josh Hutcherson will premiere on November 14th (13 Episodes)

Marvel's first show for Hulu, The Runaways will premiere on November 21st (10 Episodes)

Shut Eye also returns for its second season on December 6th (10 Episodes)

The Mindy Project: 'Leo Castellano Is My Son' Review

Entertainment Weekly

You would think any parenting storyline following the first two episodes of The Mindy Project's triumphant season four return would be unquestionably spectacular. With an Eliza Coupe guest appearance to match? All the more reason why the latest episode, "Leo Castellano Is My Son" slightly disappoints structurally and topically, but still provides the laughs when needed for a series that usually knows just when to deliver.

Mindy Lahiri is officially on maternity leave in the latest episode thanks to the newest addition to the cast, little Leo Lahiri/Castellano. While maternity leave sounds somewhat relaxing in nature following a birth, this time off provides a challenge for our leading lady as she battles the aching desire to go out with the newborn and partake in some spontaneous adventures... like, say, her favorite actor siblings' new book signing. Without access to her TV, laptop, or booze, due to Danny's strict baby-proofing system, who would blame her? Against Danny's advisement, she of course must sneak out for the love of Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal's new cookbook, "Grillin' Haul." Why was Danny so against this particular excursion? Well, it's responsible to assume he doesn't want her or the baby to be exposed to potential sickness before the vaccinations are in. But, on a minor note, Danny can give Jake Gyllenhaal credit for "Southpaw," but he's not in for "Brokeback Mountain," just FYI. Mindy returns and ends up locking her son in the apartment accidentally. Oh, Mindy. Ross and Rachel much?

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang at the office is up to... well, a bit of this and that, I guess. We mainly have Jeremy in a bit of a seemingly precarious relationship roadblock with Whitney (Cristin Milioti), as Tamra (referred to as 'Tamar' by Whit) is lead on to believe that girlfriend may just be cheating on our English charmer. Okay, I may have given him the title of "English charmer" because that's his designated character type, but I would have to say, through four seasons, I've not really accepted Jeremy's presence. Ed Weeks' dry delivery is sometimes passably funny, but for the most part, he seems consistently underdeveloped and usually underutilized when it counts. I don't think he can be relied on for most sub-plots, but, to be fair, not many of the others (ie. Tamra, Beverly) could either. I think Mindy, Danny, or Morgan need some involvement in order for these stories to work.

Surprisingly, Morgan wasn't the bright spot of this episode. He had his moments, but some jokes went on a little too long or didn't quite work as well as you might expect. I love punches about Morgan's income, but the two in this episode seemed a bit unnatural and made the joke seem like it may be getting stretched thin, which I hope it's not. Ultimately, the title for scene stealer goes to the great Eliza Coupe, who is not the first Happy Endings alum to grace the show (we need Adam Pally back). She perfectly played the role of the young, noisy, "busy" neighbor, in contrast to Mindy and Danny who are becoming "that old married couple." I'd love to see Coupe return and explore the dynamic between them more, as she eases up on Mindy throughout the episode and leaves a potential friendship to mine from for additional stories. If Mindy continues on maternity leave for another few episodes, I hope they have Eliza around to entertain her (and the audience) rather than leaving Mindy in boredom.

There was questionable use of the "nanny cam" that Danny installed in the apartment to watch over Mindy during her first day of maternity leave. It was mentioned only a couple of times but wasn't a hitting topic of conversation by the episode's end. I think simply the uneventfulness of maternity leave was the focus in this episode, and it worked at times, but it wasn't as hitting as the birthing method/marriage debates of the previous episodes. However, that may be an unfair expectation for the show to always be having a controversial topic front and center. We want to laugh and enjoy this half hour of television, and that's ultimately the true expectation. Overall, I don't think the episode was on par with the first two of the season, but my love for Mindy Kaling and this show prevails all flaws that the storytelling may have at times.

Notable Lines:

• "It certainly has a lot of the n-word like a Kanye song. Oh, no, but it has a message of a Common song!"
• "You want to settle down? I thought you were (provocative) for modern female empowerment reasons, not for old-fashioned sad ones."
• "It was all package and no care!"

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What did you think of the latest episode? Feel free to share your thoughts below!

The Mindy Project: 'C Is For Coward' Review

Courtesy of Hulu

Baby Lahiri/Castellano is here at last! Although, it wasn't a simple road leading up to this point. Not to mention the endless mid-pregnancy battles between Mindy and Danny over a handful of different relationship issues and decisions that we witnessed in the season premiere episode, the two were at it again over two new issues: the name, and the preferred birthing method.

Knowing Mindy's tastes, this baby is probably going to be "stylish as hell." In the beginning of the episode she strongly advocates for a name that pays tribute to a classic movie character, such as "Indiana" or "WALL-E." These were vetoed immediately by Danny, who wants a name "from history," but somehow, Mindy's suggestion of "O.J." was too edgy for his tastes. Go figure. They also bring up a hot topic of controversy, which is gender neutrality. The comment is made by Mindy that a gender-neutral name would suit the child if he happens to be transgender, which Danny renounces. While they don't explore this any further, it reflects the show's continued pursuit to be aware and make light of controversial modern issues without having to go into heavy depths.

The midwives Brendan and Duncan are back in this episode, played expertly by real life brothers Mark and Jay Duplass. While Mindy and Morgan are trying to launch a new business called Later, Baby! that plans to freeze young women's eggs, they are interrupted by the timely commercial launch of the midwives, who are advocating against birthing drugs and egg-freezing and are instead promoting the natural birthing procedure that Mindy detests. In fact, she detests the idea so much that she plans to be so drugged up for her C-section that when she wakes up, "Donald Trump will have started his second term." Again, power to the writers for keeping the show current. When Danny overhears and becomes part of the conversation, Mindy takes him to a luxurious Manhattan birthing suite (massage chair! satellite radio! Dad Cave with a tequila list!) that has seen the births of Bethenny Frankel and Tina Fey. He again refuses to accept Mindy's desire to take an alternative birthing route, as he thinks it's copping out and not taking full advantage of a woman's natural ability to give birth.

Thus, Danny sets out with the help of Brendan to find ways to trick Mindy into giving natural birth early using paleo birthing techniques. This includes: spicy foods, alcohol, massages, and of course, sex. Don't count on Mindy to be fooled, though. It doesn't take long before she smells the stench of foolery. Later, she and Morgan are on the subway, accompanied by Brendan and Duncan (just their luck). Inevitably, mid-conversation, Mindy's water breaks and she is forced to be soothed by the brothers as Danny is absent. To make matters worse, the subway is halted when a man filming a viral video had reportedly fallen onto the tracks ahead. The experience only gets WORSE, as Mindy is forced to hear everyone in her cabin sing "I've Been Working on the Railroad" rather than any Beyoncé song, which she would probably give anything to hear in this stressful moment.

Ultimately, the episode's main conversation strikes on an issue with modern birthing techniques that basically make natural birth an outdated concept because of the pain medication and alternative delivery methods that are so readily available. It brings to light Mindy's fear to endure the pain that comes with natural child birth, something that she refuses to believe Danny could possibly understand, which he can't, just as I can't, and I don't imagine any man ever could. He eventually realizes that it's simply overwhelming fear that Mindy is feeling, and that he needs to be more understanding with her through this. The ending is very touching as Danny reassures Mindy that she's much stronger than she knows, even tougher than "Ma." Man, think about how much it took for Danny to say that Mindy is stronger than the great Annette Castellano! They opt to not show the actual birth, which is somewhat of a refreshing choice, as we tend to always be privy to the exact moment the baby is born in every television show and movie that involves pregnancy. Oh, and of course a name is assigned by the episode's end. Mindy releases control and allows Danny to pick the name, which ends up being the ideal for both of them (for different reasons). And the baby is officially... Leo! As in Leonardo Dicaprio for Mindy's sake, and Leonardo da Vinci for Danny. It's perfect on all fronts.

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What did you think of the latest episode? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The Mindy Project: 'While I Was Sleeping' Review

The Mindy Project | Hulu

Mindy Lahiri is back on our screens once more, all thanks to Hulu and its 26-episode fourth season order of the recently cancelled FOX sitcom, The Mindy Project. Naturally, the move to a new platform excites new possibilities for where a broadcast network sitcom couldn't go in terms of content. However, what works in the show's favor is that it has largely remained the same lovable, quirky, addictive romantic comedy that its fans have embraced since its inception. Yet somehow, amidst all the greatness of seasons past, the fourth season opener has managed to take the comedy to even greater heights, as it seems to understand itself increasingly better with time.

There are high expectations for this episode from the title alone. As Mindy Kaling is an outspoken champion of the romantic comedy genre, "While I Was Sleeping" pays tribute to the classic 1995 film "While You Were Sleeping," which stars Sandra Bullock opposite Bill Pullman. It's not the only rom-com tribute within the half-hour opener, as Mindy also conveniently utilizes references to "Sliding Doors" and "13 Going On 30." Where do these references take shape? Only within an arc that sees Mindy facing an alternate reality in which Joseph Gordon-Levitt is her successful, Real Housewives-producer of a husband, of course! Levitt joins the list of many guest stars before that have played a short-term role in Mindy's dysfunctional dating world. This time, however, the importance of Levitt's character is primarily used to help Mindy realize the importance of her complicated but committed relationship with Danny Castellano. When it comes down to it, despite their blatant differences and views on such matters as the meaning of marriage, can you really imagine them with anyone else but each other?

Having concluded season three with Danny unexpectedly traveling to India to meet Mindy's parents, something you'd call a bit of a torturous cliffhanger, we get to FINALLY meet the people behind the witty, sarcastic, fashion-forward Dr. Lahiri herself, who clearly takes after her parents in many ways. Mindy's signature "exsqueeze me" line? Yeah, she shares that sassy characteristic with her mother. While we unfortunately don't get to see Mindy interact with her newly introduced parents (yet!), it's still a great time to watch Danny try to navigate the waters of explaining his ties to their impregnated, unmarried daughter, who they are trying to set up an arranged marriage for in the meantime... with his help.

The other undeniable driving force behind The Mindy Project is and always has been fan favorite Morgan Tookers, played by Ike Barinholtz. Ike is a real comedic gem and has noticeably been getting more work after having written and appeared in the series for the past few years. He is an integral part of why this ensemble works well, as he plays so naturally off of every cast member. Only Morgan can pull off jokes about being recruited by the Taliban, being forced to temporarily use a wheelchair for having squeaky shoes, or not learning to walk until he was 12, because he's so goofily lovable and has such impeccable timing that it just works.

Aside from the usual self-deprecating humor that is expected with this series, the episode also draws humor from many pointed topics and ideas with care, including race, religion, arranged marriage, and divorce, and almost always manages to hit the right notes in order to make a point and get the laugh, a tough combination to master. With the addition of Mindy's parents, who most likely will not appear regularly due to the fictional distance (although I hope they do! Skype, people!), there is no shortage of lovably eccentric characters in this series that continue to keep me coming back for more of their shenanigans.

New episodes of The Mindy Project stream every Tuesday, only on Hulu.

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For those who have seen the season four premiere, what did you think of the episode? Did it meet your expectations? Share your thoughts in the comments below!