Hulu has canceled not suitable for work after one season, ending Mindy Kaling’s latest comedy run before it could move into Season 2. The decision comes two months after the show finished its Season 1 run, and it leaves several storylines hanging for the ensemble.
In June, Kaling said, “Our writers room has been up for Season 2, which is wonderful.” She also said, “Of course, the big question is whether we’ll get an official pickup for production, I keep my fingers crossed.”
Mindy Kaling’s June plan
“I love the show so much, I’m so glad that it’s doing well,” Kaling said in June, adding that “One of the things that has made me so happy is how much the cast loves the show, and the writing staff loves the show, and the way that the cast expresses their love through all the social content that they’ve been doing.” Those remarks show how far the show had already moved toward another season before Hulu stepped back.
The series was originally titled Murray Hill before Hulu changed it to Not Suitable for Work. It was built as a 20somethings romantic comedy and completed a trilogy loosely based on Kaling’s life, following Never Have I Ever and The Sex Lives Of College Girls.
AJ, Josh, Abby, Kel, Davis
The cancellation leaves multiple threads unresolved for AJ, Josh, Abby, Kel and Davis. The two-episode finale ended with a big cliffhanger and a couple of smaller ones, including AJ, Josh and Davis in a love triangle and Abby, Kel and Kel’s theater colleague in another.
Davis and AJ’s jobs were also in limbo after they stood up to their arrogant boss Bill. For viewers, that means the final episode now functions less like a season closer than a stop sign.
Hulu’s YA slate
The show had attracted viewers and created buzz, even if it was not a breakout. That is the part of this cancellation that stands out: a series can generate enough attention to look viable and still fall short of a second-season order.
Produced by Warner Bros. TV, the comedy featured Ella Hunt, Avantika, Will Angus, Jack Martin, Nicholas Duvernay and Jay Ellis, with Kaling executive producing alongside Charlie Grandy, Howard Klein and Greg Mottola. The news was first reported by Variety.
For Hulu, the decision narrows the path for the Disney streamer’s YA strategy. For the show itself, the practical result is simple: no second season pickup has arrived, and the unresolved finale now sits where the story stopped.
