My latest guilty pleasure...

As you may know, one of my guilty pleasures was taken away from me this past spring....when 90210 had its series finale. And just so you know, I'm not stuck in 1992. I'm talking about the new series with Shenae Grimes, Matt Lanter, and AnnaLynne McCord.

However, I found a new guilty pleasure this fall. This one may not seem like a guilty pleasure, given its fan base. My main guideline for a guilty pleasure is that it's something my husband doesn't like. Hence, The Mindy Project has taken on this role in my life!

I started watching from the beginning of the series and would usually watch two episodes a night. I caught up quickly and then started on season two, catching up to the rest of the viewing audience by episode 10 (Wedding Crushers). If there was a night I wasn't able to watch an episode (during my marathon period), aside from Shabbat, I felt like I was going into withdrawal. How do you think I feel right now, without a new episode to watch this week?!? And it won't be new again until probably after the new year. *Sob*

The Mindy Project, for me, is the love child of Sex and the City and Friends. There's so much indulgent girlishness, while also having an intriguing plot and enticing romantic tension that makes what Rachel and Ross had look like child's play. It's entertaining, hilarious, emotional, hilarious, chick lit for TV, and did I mention...HILARIOUS! Easily my comfort show on the level of Ugly Betty (some aspects of this show also remind me of UB....like the intro/theme song).

SPOILERS AHEAD! If you haven't watched this series yet and have wanted to, turn back now and then join me later to agree and/or disagree.

Meet the players:
Dr. Mindy Lahiri (Mindy Kaling): The main star of the show, obviously! Whether it's Mindy as a character or Mindy as an actress, she's my new go-to actress and I want to meet her one of these days. I just read Mindy Kaling's book and it's equally funny and indulgent. She's just so cool and down-to-earth. As Mindy Lahiri, she reminds me of my sister, so I could easily see us getting along. The clincher was when she played "Light My Candle" from Rent and started dancing to it. Hilarious!

Dr. Danny Castellano (Chris Messina): That smile. Those eyes. The killer dance moves. Be still my beating heart! That's all I really need to say for now. Well, that, and he's McDreamy and McSteamy combined.

Dr. Jeremy Reed (Ed Weeks): While he's charming with that British accent, he took a while to grow on me. I started to like him better after the Thanksgiving episode where he helps Betsy feel better about her family treating her like a kid. Even so, he's almost faded into the background. He's still around, but his role doesn't seem as essential as it used to. He's become more of a comic relief role. I also think he looks like one of our friends and the resemblance is strange for me to process for some reason.

Morgan Tookers (Ike Barinholtz): Insanely funny. Definitely sealed the deal on this being my new favorite show when he arrived on episode two of season one. I liked Ike from MadTV and this role is perfect for him. He plays it so well!

Dr. Peter Prentice (Adam Pally): Like Jeremy, he had to grow on me a bit before I could accept him on the show. I'm enjoying his presence now. The Bro Club episode got me to warm to him more, but I think the Mr. Wedding episode did it for me overall.

Betsy Putch (Zoe Jarman): Another character who had to grow on me and the Thanksgiving episode helped that along. Seeing how her family treated her made me warm to her. I think she was more annoying when Shauna was around since Shauna seemed so cool in comparison. However, Betsy has matured in terms of personality and seems fun to have around. She's sweet overall.

Tamra (Xosha Roquemore): I thought she would only be around temporarily, but now she seems just as essential to the growth of the show as the other characters. She's attractive, but her voice grates on me sometimes. Very nasal sounding. I love how there's some chemistry going on with Morgan, even though she doesn't want to give in to it. And she has a great comedic personality that works well for this show.

Brendan (Mark Duplass): Even though he doesn't work with Mindy, he's on this show enough to be a regular character. I love how he's pretty much a "villain." He definitely fits in well on the show and there was one episode where I found him sexy. Just one though. Side note: Mark Duplass is my age, but I had no idea because he looks older. Maybe he just carries himself that way.

There are also Mindy's girlfriends, who seemed to disappear after season one. Of the three girlfriends they featured, Alex (Kelen Coleman, who grew up not too far from where I live now) was my favorite. She would have been perfect on SATC if she had been the right age for it when it first aired. She would be so much fun to hang out with. She has a lot of city smarts and also seems down-to-earth. If they were to bring any of Mindy's girlfriends back, she's the only one I'd care to see again. I didn't think Gwen was that nice of a friend to Mindy and Mary was just annoying in general. Then there's Beverly (Beth Grant), the ex-nurse turned receptionist. She's mostly there for comic relief, but she doesn't stand out for me as much.

I won't even get into all the guys Mindy has dated at one time or another. I just like that there are a lot of guest stars playing those roles, such as Ed Helms, Seth Rogen, B.J. Novak, etc.

Favorite episodes

Season one:

In the Club: I think this is the episode where my crush on Chris Messina began. If you saw him dance, you'd agree. The episode has a SATC feel overall. I just love how Mindy is talking to the guys in the VIP section about their favorite Tom Hanks movies.

Danny Castellano is My Gynecologist: This first sets the stage for future romantic tension between Mindy and Danny. It's hilarious and done so well.

Mindy's Brother: Cute episode overall. The concept of stress barfing is so funny.

Bunk Bed: This is the episode where Mindy dances to a song from Rent. Definitely seals the deal for me.

Mindy's Minute: I think Danny having to explain female anatomy on TV was one of the funniest things ever!

Frat Party: Really funny with the guys starting a fight at a college party and Mindy running into the ex whose wedding she ruined in the first episode. Bill Hader plays that role perfectly.

Take Me With You: The last scene of this episode left me reeling even more than when Rachel went to meet Ross at the airport and he walked off the plane with Julie. I didn't cry this time around, but I wanted to. The look in Danny's eyes just floored me.

Season two:

The Other Dr L: I love Mindy's determination to get her job back, and she does it so well.

Bro Club for Dudes: This is the episode where Peter started to grow on me and there's a hint that Mindy likes Danny more than she is letting on. I also love that she took Peter to an American Girl type of restaurant to get to know him better.

You've Got Sext: Fake sexting. Chloe Silverado. More Mindy and Danny tension. This episode has it all and does it in such a hilarious way!

Wedding Crushers: Very funny episode. I loved watching Peter become the life of the party at a wedding where he knew no one. I'm also glad Mindy found a way to get closure with Josh.

Christmas Party Sex Trap: Two words: Danny's dance. That's all you need to know to understand why this was probably one of the best episodes overall from the series.

If you're a die-hard TMP fan like me, then you've made it this far. I'd love to hear about your favorite episodes.