I am a huge fan of Mindy Kaling the actress, adoring her in The Office and The Mindy Project, but I am a much bigger fan of Mindy the writer, and well the creator- let’s say as soon as I knew it was her baby, I wanted to watch it. I’m so happy I did! While everyone is going gaga over Euphoria, which I’ve seen but I’m not over the moon about, this show was more my wheelhouse.
Capturing the often not seen college years that TV shows often tend to skip or gloss over, The Sex Lives of College Girls highlights college through the eyes of four very different girls with two common features- they are roommates and their relationship to sex.
Without further ado, let me highlight a few reasons this is the best show you probably haven’t seen yet and one of my choices of top TV, in this TV review:
1. The Struggle is Real
All of our mains- be it preppy and affluential Leighton (Renee Rapp), sporty go-getter Whitney (Alyah Channelle Scott), straight from Hicksville Kimberley (Pauline Chalamet) and sexually free (post getting her retainer removed and glowing up) Bela (Amrit Kaur) have their own issues with sex. Also yes, Pauline Chalamet is THAT Chalamet- sister of Timothy.
Whitney is in the throes of a forbidden affair with her married coach, who consistently lies to her and makes fake promises, making you want to scream at her to wise up while there is a much nicer guy waiting in the wings. Kimberley is getting French tutored by Leighton’s very easy on the eyes brother Nico (Gavin Leatherwood) who has his own secrets. Bela is looking to sex it up after years of suppressing her appetite probably due to Indian parents, not to mention superficial hold backs. Leighton has her own demons- hiding in the closet and not wanting to get too close to anyone.
The dynamic between the foursome is wonderful, and the way they start to develop as friends, heart-warming. I see a lot of Mindy Kaling in Bela who wants to be part of the very male dominated comedic society “The Catallan” but deals with set back after set back every step. Leighton is eager to not be defined by her sexuality which leads to her hiding herself and losing out on what could actually make her happy. Whitney is constantly trying to live up to her senator mom’s spotless reputation making every mistake on the way. Finally, Kimberly gets played by her first boyfriend who deflowers her yet gets sucked into another toxic relationship. We’ve all been there and it’s great to see how their lives unfold.
2. Side Characters with enough sass to carry their own shows
Nico is delightful to watch as eye candy, and Kimberley’s crush. Leighton’s relationship with Alicia (Midori Francis) is heart-warming and I love anything Midori does, she is an actor to watch. Chris Meyer who plays Cannan does a great job of playing the guy you’d want to hang with and who prank’s naïve Kimberley with a made-up tale of how he grew up, capitalizing on her racial profiling. Lila, who plays Kimberley’s co-worker, steals every scene she is in. Lolo Spencer plays a confident influencer, which spoiler alert, she is in real life. Even the Catallan crew bring a lot to the table- surprising us with subversion of their characters at every step. Travis, played by Betti, does a fab job of showing us the horrors of Acapella. I could go on, but these side characters all earn their screen time.
3. Representation
Bela is another feather in the cap of Indian representation everywhere showing that Asian women can be funny, sexy and crave sex.
Whitney is so much more than a competitive African American football star. Her mother, a senator, is a force to be reckoned with in her own right. Rather than a delicate flower, Midori Francis shows Asian women can be pretty but scary when they need to. Leighton is so much more than the stereotypical blonde girl. This is representation done right and Mindy Kaling, I love you so much more for it.
4. Witty jokes and relatable incidents
From naked parties, to harassment and being questioned because you’re sexually open, this series shares everything. Weighty topics are covered with ease, and there are so many enjoyable lines you will be quoting this show in no time.
Some of my (out of context) faves
· I come from a small town in Arizona, and it is really exciting to have a black friend. – Kimberly
· You’re a good person- underneath all your bad qualities. – Nico
· I’m sex-positive! Deal with it! – Bela
· We had to listen to your crappy sex playlist on repeat. You made me hate Ed Sheeran. – Bela
· Dude, can you move? Your reflection is in my selfie.- Bela
· No pants should cost more than $40. – Kimberly
5. A great soundtrack
I found myself shazam-ing or smiling hearing some of my favourite songs being played during pivotal scenes. Well worth googling to make a playlist for, I’m sharing my faves from the show:
– The Mother We Share- Churches
– Upside Down- Jvke, Charlie Puth
In short, if you haven’t seen it yet please do, it deserves to be one of the most popular shows to watch.
The first episode can be seen on youtube.com but c’mon if you can’t find it in India on hotstar or Netflix or Prime, just research a bit and stream! The second season has already been confirmed and all I can say is Lago Raho, Mindy!
To read about more shows you should watch or avoid click here and here
‘This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with RRE Studios and ShowCase Events.‘
