Mindy Kaling and the cast of Not Suitable for Work are taking to social media to share their gratitude following the news that Hulu has decided not to renew the show for a second season.
The comedy series premiered in June and ran for nine episodes. It followed AJ (Ella Hunt), Abby (Avantika Vandanapu), Davis (Will Angus), Josh (Jack Martin) and Kel (Nicholas Duvernay), five work-obsessed 20-somethings living in the same apartment building in Manhattan’s Murray Hill neighborhood.
In what many compared to Friends, the series charted the group’s personal and professional lives as each of them attempted to figure out adulthood. Fans were particularly keen on the will-they-won’t-they relationships between AJ, Davis and Josh, as well as the romantic chemistry between Abby and Kel.
Those same fans will have been disappointed to hear Monday’s news, although The Hollywood Reporter understands that series producer Warner Bros. Television plans to shop the show around for a potential new home.
On Tuesday, Kaling — also the creator of The Mindy Project, Never Have I Ever and The Sex Lives of College Girls — took to Instagram to share a carousel of photos of the cast and team. “I love this show, I loved making this show, I love these people and I love all of you for all your sweet comments, messages, edits and for watching [Not Suitable for Work],” she wrote.
Martin reposted Kaling’s photo, saying he “will always love” Not Suitable for Work and “everyone who was a part of it […] thank you for watching.”
Avantika, meanwhile, shared a photo of her co-stars and wrote: “I love this cast and this team so very much!” She said the show “gave me such an opportunity of a lifetime and introduced me to people and audiences I could have never even dreamed of meeting before […] I am so grateful to Mindy, Charlie, Hulu, [and] Warner Bros for giving us this chance. We love you,” she added.
Many of the cast members caught up with THR about being in the show, including Martin, who said he felt “really lucky” after getting cast as Josh. As for Hunt, she told THR: “Being part of the Mindy-verse was exciting to me.”
Duvernay, also star of The White Lotus, embraced the Friends vibe. “That’s a giant to compare it to, but that’s initially how I felt being part of it,” he said. “A lot of the comedies put out nowadays are so angled at Gen Z to the point where it’s like scrolling on Instagram […] It has a more modern take on it. It’s work-obsessed kids trying to make their way in New York.”
THR‘s TV critic Angie Han wrote about the show in her review: “Despite being set in present-day New York, the show’s vision of love and career feels rooted somewhere in the 2000s, or even the 1990s. And while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing — a bit of escapism is crucial for a comfort watch — it means that for a show about Gen Z, Not Suitable for Work feels oddly Millennial.”
NSFW is Kaling’s first sole creator credit since The Mindy Project. She executive produced the project under her Kaling International banner with showrunner Charlie Grandy and 3 Arts Entertainment’s Howard Klein.