Picture: NBCUniversal Television Distribution
The ex-Fox and ex-Hulu Original series The Mindy Project will be making its Netflix debut to bring in the new year on Netflix in the United States. Multiple seasons (expected to be all six) will arrive on Netflix US on January 1st, 2023.
Mindy Kaling was the romantic comedy series main star, coming off her successful stint on NBC’s The Office. She played Dr. Mindy Kuhel Lahiri, a professional living in New York City, trying to juggle her personal and professional life.
The show ran for 117 episodes across 6 seasons, with seasons 1-3 at Fox and 4 through 6 at Hulu as a Hulu Original.
Alongside Mindy Kaling, the series includes Chris Messina, Ed Weeks, Anna Camp, Zoe Jarman, Amanda Setton, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Ike Barinholtz.
So why is a show from Fox and Hulu coming to Netflix and a Hulu Original series at that? Well, it comes down to who the owner of the show is, and that’s NBC Universal Television Distribution, who are free to sell the show’s streaming rights to whoever they choose.
In recent years, NBC Universal Television has been keeping their shows in-house for their Peacock streaming service, although we’ve still seen them sell shows to Netflix on short-term licenses.
This isn’t the first time The Mindy Project has been on Netflix worldwide. Netflix Canada carried the show for a long stint before leaving the service in 2020.
Netflix US isn’t expected to carry the show exclusively, however. All prior seasons are expected to remain available on Hulu and Prime Video.
It’s unclear whether other Netflix regions will pick up The Mindy Project’s license in the New Year.
Netflix release date for The Mindy Project in the US
We should note that Kaling, under an overall deal with Warner Bros. Television, has close ties with Netflix.
The prolific writer and actress notably created one of Netflix’s most successful teen-comedy series in the form of Never Have I Ever, due to release its fourth and final season in 2024. She also has another project lined up for Netflix in the form of a Lakers comedy series where she’s teaming up with Elaine Ko.
This strategic licensing could be a stepping stone to introducing Kalings other works on Netflix to subscribers.
Are you looking forward to The Mindy Project heading to Netflix in January 2023? Let us know in the comments.