There comes a point in every twenty-something’s life when they become convinced that nobody has ever struggled with work, dating and rent quite like they have. Not Suitable for Work is built entirely around that feeling.
Created by Mindy Kaling and showrunner Charlie Grandy, the Hulu comedy follows five ambitious young professionals trying to survive careers, friendships and romantic disasters in Manhattan’s Murray Hill neighbourhood. It is the final chapter in Kaling’s unofficial coming-of-age trilogy after Never Have I Ever and The Sex Lives of College Girlsmoving her characters from campus life to the equally chaotic world of adulthood.
The problem is that while the show understands what young adulthood looks like, it is less certain about what it actually feels like.
The series introduces AJ Pascarelli (Ella Hunt), a newcomer to the brutal world of finance; Abby Chilukuri (Avantika Vandanapu), a fashion assistant trying to balance career ambitions with an increasingly complicated personal life; Davis Barrett III (Will Angus), a finance bro with unexpected romantic tendencies; Josh Teitelbaum (Jack Martin), a journalist wrestling with privilege and expectations; and Kel Washington (Nicholas Duvernay), a former medical student chasing dreams of acting.
Collectively, they form a familiar television archetype: attractive young people navigating adulthood while living in apartments they probably should not be able to afford. And therein lies both the show’s appeal and its biggest limitation.
Kaling has always been exceptionally good at creating aspirational worlds. Her New York is glossy, energetic and filled with attractive people making questionable romantic decisions. The workplaces are stylish. The friendships are warm. The dialogue moves quickly enough to keep things breezy. On the surface, Not Suitable for Work is an easy watch.
But beneath the polish, something feels missing. The humour rarely lands with the sharpness one has come to expect from Kaling’s best work. Jokes often feel engineered rather than organic, and several characters initially come across as personality types rather than fully realised people. The series spends so much time introducing five separate storylines that it struggles to give any of them enough depth early on.
That said, the cast works hard to elevate the material. Avantika emerges as one of the show’s most engaging presences, bringing warmth and sincerity to Abby. Ella Hunt gives AJ enough vulnerability to make her career struggles relatable, while Nicholas Duvernay injects Kel with an easy charm that makes him immediately likeable. Even when the writing stumbles, the younger ensemble remains committed enough to keep viewers invested.
The supporting cast often fares even better. Jay Ellis brings charisma to AJ’s boss Bill Gibson, while Constance Wu and Ego Nwodim add welcome texture whenever they appear. Several scenes involving the older characters carry more comic bite than the central friend group.
Visually, the series looks polished and expensive, capturing a version of New York that feels aspirational without becoming entirely detached from reality. The romantic storylines also generate enough chemistry to keep the narrative moving. Yet the show never quite escapes the sense that it is chasing older sitcom formulas while trying to speak Gen Z’s language.
It wants the workplace ambition of The Bold Typethe friendship dynamics of Friends and the romantic chaos of Kaling’s previous hits. Occasionally, it finds its own rhythm. More often, it feels caught between nostalgia and reinvention.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment is that Not Suitable for Work never becomes as insightful about work as its title suggests. The professional struggles often function as backdrops for romantic complications rather than meaningful explorations of ambition, burnout or adulthood.
Still, there is enough charm here to justify spending time with these characters. Not Suitable for Work is neither a disaster nor a breakout success. It is a pleasant, mildly entertaining comedy that occasionally hints at becoming something sharper than it ultimately is.
The first three episodes of Not Suitable for Work are now out on JioHotstar.
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