Finished With ‘Not Suitable for Work’? Here Are the Best Shows to Watch Next

If you have already made your way through Mindy Kaling’s latest comedy on Hulu, you are probably feeling that familiar end-of-season itch. ‘Not Suitable for Work’ follows five work-obsessed twenty-somethings who strive for professional success and, if they have time, personal happiness, in Manhattan. It is the kind of breezy, hangout-style comedy that goes down easy and leaves you wanting more of that exact energy.

The good news is that the landscape of ensemble comedies about young adults navigating careers and romantic chaos has never been richer. From ‘Friends’ to ‘Seinfeld’, ‘New Girl’ to ‘How I Met Your Mother’, the hangout comedy genre is as prolific as it is enduring, and the success of these shows almost always comes down to cast chemistry. Whether you connected with the professional ambition, the found-family dynamics, or the New York City backdrop, there is a show on this list built for you.

The Obvious Starting Point: Running Point

The most natural next stop is another Mindy Kaling production, and the connective tissue here runs deep. Jay Ellis, who plays charismatic investment banker Bill Gibson in ‘Not Suitable for Work’, also stars in ‘Running Point’ on Netflix as coach Jay Brown. Watching both shows practically gives you a Kaling extended universe to explore.

‘Running Point’ is a Netflix original sports comedy co-created by Mindy Kaling, Elaine Ko, David Stassen, and Ike Barinholtz, following 30-something Isla Gordon, played by Kate Hudson, after her brother is forced to go to rehab and she is unexpectedly appointed president of the Los Angeles Waves basketball franchise.

The show blends workplace comedy with family drama in a way that feels genuinely fresh. Season 1 spent six weeks in the Netflix global top 10, amassing over 181 million viewing hours, and the series has since been renewed for a third season.

Critics have noted that ‘Running Point’ has a more dynamic structure than ‘Not Suitable for Work’, making it arguably the stronger of the two Kaling productions currently in rotation. If ‘Not Suitable for Work’ left you wanting something with a little more polish and momentum, ‘Running Point’ delivers exactly that.

Going Back to School: The Sex Lives of College Girls

If what you loved about ‘Not Suitable for Work’ was that sense of young women stumbling through life while being both brilliant and chaotic, then ‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’ is essential viewing. Created by Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble, the HBO Max series follows four freshman roommates discovering and reinventing themselves at the fictional Essex College in Vermont, starring Pauline Chalamet, Reneé Rapp, Amrit Kaur, and Alyah Chanelle Scott.

The ‘Mindyverse’ is defined by charming leads who thrive in chaos, dole out pop culture references, wear impeccable outfits, and indulge in complicated love affairs, and ‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’ captures all of that in spades.

The ensemble dynamic and the will-they-won’t-they romantic entanglements feel like a direct spiritual predecessor to what ‘Not Suitable for Work’ is doing with its Manhattan twentysomethings.

‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’ earned a 73% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes across three seasons, making it one of the more consistent entries in Kaling’s creative catalog. Three full seasons means you have plenty of material to sink into, and the show hits a real stride in its second season.

The Grittier Alternative: Adults

For viewers who appreciated the New York City twenty-something energy of ‘Not Suitable for Work’ but want something with sharper edges and a more grounded sensibility, ‘Adults’ on Hulu is the answer. Created by Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw, the show stars an ensemble cast as a group of five friends living together in Queens as they try and fail to navigate adulthood, dealing with healthcare crises, job problems, and romantic entanglements.

Unlike shows about Gen Z conceived by creators like Mindy Kaling, ‘Adults’ was made from within that generation, and it distinguishes itself from the millennial wave of comedies that swept pop culture in the early 2010s. It is the kind of comedy that feels like it was written by people who actually lived these experiences rather than observed them from a distance.

The show premiered in 2025 and was a major hit, returning with a second season in April, and after improving its Rotten Tomatoes score, recently secured a Season 3 renewal. Its blend of genuine heart and dry humor makes it one of the most satisfying ensemble comedies currently streaming.

For Longtime Kaling Fans: The Mindy Project

Long before ‘Not Suitable for Work’, Mindy Kaling built her entire creative identity around the concept of a woman who is wildly accomplished professionally and an absolute disaster personally. ‘The Mindy Project’ focuses on the messy personal lives of professionals trying to keep their careers on track while dating in a big city, with fast-paced dialogue and pop culture references that perfectly match the vibe of her 2026 workplace comedy.

Kaling and Hulu previously collaborated on ‘The Mindy Project’, which aired its final three seasons on Hulu after airing its first three on Fox, establishing the template for the kind of glossy, joke-dense romantic workplace comedy she would continue to refine throughout her career. That history makes watching it feel like archaeology into everything that eventually became ‘Not Suitable for Work’.

The show also holds up remarkably well. The comedic voice is sharper than almost anything in its era, and watching Kaling figure out what her signature style actually was in real time is its own kind of pleasure.

The Cultural Touchstone: New Girl

Critics and the ‘Not Suitable for Work’ cast themselves have not been shy about the debt the new show owes to the hangout comedy tradition. At the premiere of ‘Not Suitable for Work’, the cast addressed comparisons to ‘Friends’, with Kaling responding that being compared to it is the highest compliment she could receive. But the show that feels most immediately relevant as a companion piece is actually ‘New Girl’.

‘New Girl’ ran for seven seasons and followed a group of roommates figuring out what to do in life while getting into high jinks, carving out a template that many later ensemble comedies, including those in the Kaling universe, have drawn from heavily. Its balance of workplace comedy and domestic chaos directly anticipates the apartment-across-the-hall structure at the heart of ‘Not Suitable for Work’.

Both shows understand that the best comedy comes not from plot mechanics but from watching people who genuinely enjoy each other’s company. Ultimately, what keeps viewers returning to shows like these is the glimmer of chemistry between core characters, and the promise that spending time with them is worth it regardless of what the plot is actually doing. If the Manhattan ensemble of ‘Not Suitable for Work’ captured your heart, ‘New Girl’ will feel like coming home.

Whether or not ‘Not Suitable for Work’ grows into something sharper in a potential second season remains to be seen, but these five shows offer more than enough to tide you over. Which of these feels like the most essential watch for someone who just finished the finale, and are you hoping Kaling’s latest gets another shot at bat?