The story
Dr Mindy Lahiri is a talented New York obstetrician-gynaecologist who approaches love the way her favourite romantic comedies taught her to, with mixed results. At her small practice she spars with a cast of eccentric colleagues, including a gruff, traditional fellow doctor and an unpredictable ex-con nurse, while juggling ambition, friendship and a dating life that rarely goes to script.
Why it matters
The Mindy Project made the jump from network to streaming almost without a pause: Hulu stepped in nine days after Fox's cancellation with a full 26-episode order and kept it going for three more seasons, letting Mindy Kaling announce and deliver a planned final season on her own terms.
How it was rescued
Fox cancelled The Mindy Project on 6 May 2015 after three seasons. Nine days later Hulu picked it up with a 26-episode fourth season, which premiered on 15 September 2015, and the show completed its six-season run on Hulu.
Filed under: Cancelled, then revived online
Notable facts
- The pilot, then titled It's Messy, was first developed at NBC before Fox green-lit it in January 2012. (source)
- Fox put the pilot online on 27 August 2012, a month before the TV premiere, to build interest. (source)
- Hulu's 16-episode order for season five was later cut to 14 episodes. (source)