No matter how many projects Mindy Kaling has going on, certain fans will always see her as The Office’s Kelly Kapoor. Kaling not only played the character but wrote and produced the NBC mockumentary. Of course, the series found a second life on streaming with new fans connecting to the chaos of Dunder Mifflin, but some topics and humor covered in the classic sitcom might not fly today. Even the The Sex Lives of College Girls creator isn't sure about the show’s subject matter as she got honest about why it wouldn’t work for TV today.
The multi-hyphenate gave an honest look back at the comedy series while on ABC’s Good Morning America. When asked about the classic workplace sitcom, Kaling felt Kapoor would’ve gotten cancelled after becoming a social media influencer. Then, she stated all The Office characters would’ve been cancelled by now. With younger viewers now watching the series, the comedian shuddered at the idea of introducing the NBC sitcom to her two children, saying:
That show is so inappropriate now. The writers who I’m still in touch with now, we always talk about how so much of that show we probably couldn’t make now. Tastes have changed and honestly, what offends people has changed so much now. I think that actually is one of the reasons the show is popular because people feel like there’s something kind of fearless about it or taboo that it talks about on the show.
While The Office served up some meme-worthy moments during its original run, some of the episodes and jokes haven’t aged well. In 2021, the popular Office episode “Diversity Day” was reportedly removed from Comedy Central over inappropriate racial portrayals. Besides the Season 1 episode, there are plenty of cringe-worthy episodes across the show’s nine seasons. Still, the series remains popular across multiple generations as one of the top-streamed series during the pandemic.
Despite her initial trepidations about letting her kids watch the workplace comedy, Kaling did ease up on her stance a bit. GMA host George Stephanopoulos mentioned his 15-year-old daughter binged the series over the pandemic. After hearing the story, the TV writer shifted to possibly introducing them to the show in their teens.
I kind of think maybe never. … I think when they’re teenagers, I think they’ll probably want to [watch it]. It seems like a 15-year-old boy is the base for The Office right now.
Despite the mature nature of the comedy series, it has developed a loyal fanbase amongst Gen Z and possibly Gen Alpha. The multi-hyphenate wants to wait until her children are older to introduce them to the ubiquitous “That’s what she said.”
Of course, Mindy Kaling has other projects that might be too mature for her children right now. With Never Have I Ever inspired by Kaling’s teenage years, they’ll be able to watch the Netflix series around the same time as The Office. It’ll be a while before they can watch The Sex Lives of College Girls, which is currently available through an HBO Max subscription. The same goes for the upcoming Scooby-Doo spinoff Velma.
In the meantime, you can check out every episode of The Office through a Peacock subscription.
