Hulu has canceled Mindy Kaling’s comedy series Not Suitable for Work after one season.
The streamer will not order a second season of the workplace-and-relationship comedy, which premiered June 2 and completed a nine-episode run later that month. Variety first reported the cancellation on August 25.
The decision arrives roughly two months after the June 23 finale. Neither Variety nor Deadline reported a specific reason for Hulu’s decision.
The cancellation may not be the final word for AJ, Abby, Davis, Josh and Kel. Warner Bros. Television, the studio behind the series, plans to shop Not Suitable for Work to other outlets in hopes of finding a new home.
Warner Bros. TV Plans to Shop the Series Elsewhere
Variety reported that Warner Bros. TV intends to take Not Suitable for Work to potential buyers after Hulu opted not to continue with a second season.
No network or streaming service has picked up the series as of August 25. That means another season remains possible, but it would require a different distributor to acquire the show rather than Hulu reversing its decision.
The series was produced by Kaling International in association with Warner Bros. Television. Kaling created the comedy and executive produced alongside showrunner Charlie Grandy and 3 Arts Entertainment’s Howard Klein.
Not Suitable for Work was also Kaling’s first sole creator credit on a television series since The Mindy Project, which itself moved from Fox to Hulu after being canceled by the broadcast network and ultimately ran for six seasons.
The Nine-Episode Comedy Followed Five Ambitious Friends
Hulu’s official synopsis describes Not Suitable for Work as following five work-obsessed people in their 20s chasing professional success and personal happiness in Manhattan’s Murray Hill neighborhood.
Ella Hunt starred as AJ Pascarelli, an investment banker who moves from Boston to New York for a new job and lives with her best friend, aspiring celebrity stylist Abby Chilukuri, played by Avantika.
Across the hall live AJ’s co-worker Davis, played by Will Angus; young journalist Josh, played by Jack Martin and aspiring actor and former medical student Kel, played by Nicholas Duvernay. Jay Ellis also starred as Bill Gibson.
The recurring cast included Victor Garber, Greg Germann, Judy Gold, Ego Nwodim, Harry Richardson, Constance Wu, Laura Bell Bundy, May Hong, Bhavesh Patel, Emilia Suárez and Michael Benjamin Washington.
Hulu premiered the first three episodes on June 2 and released two episodes each week thereafter. The final two installments arrived June 23, completing the nine-episode season.
Critics and Viewers Had Very Different Reactions
Not Suitable for Work received mixed reviews from professional critics while drawing a considerably stronger response from viewers who rated it on Rotten Tomatoes.
As of August 25, the series held a 54% Tomatometer score based on 24 critic reviews. Its audience score, now called the Popcornmeter, stood at 82% from more than 100 ratings.
Variety’s review described the series as a familiar take on the young-friends-in-New-York formula while finding occasional signs of a sharper comedy underneath it.
Season 1 Ended With a Love Triangle Still Unresolved
The cancellation leaves several stories unresolved, most notably the show’s central romantic triangle involving AJ, Davis and Josh. In the June 23 finale, Davis defended AJ during a confrontation with Bill and punched him, a decision that ultimately cost Davis his job.
Davis later confessed his feelings to AJ on New Year’s Eve, and the two kissed at midnight. Josh, who had been developing his own feelings for AJ, arrived in time to see them together.
Showrunner Charlie Grandy discussed the finale shortly after it aired, when a second season was still undecided. The ending was deliberately structured to leave AJ’s romantic future unsettled.
Abby and Kel also finished the season with their own relationship questions hanging over them, leaving multiple storylines available if Warner Bros. Television succeeds in finding another home for the series.