In addition to her many other projects, comedian, actress, and writer Mindy Kaling recently brought her acting and comedic chops to bear as the voice of the spunky Artificial Intelligence program in , Allyssa Cole's new Audible Original. It all plays into Kaling's love for romantic comedy, which she digs into in this interview with editor Katie O'Connor.
Note: Text has been edited and may not match audio exactly.
Katie O'Connor: Hi listeners, it's your Audible editor, Katie here and I am so excited to be speaking with actress, producer and author Mindy Kaling. Hi, Mindy.
Mindy Kaling: Hey Katie, how are you?
KO: I'm great. We were so thrilled to have you featured in our commercial for the Audible Escape launch. You were the natural choice. Between The Office, The Mindy Project, Champions, Late Night and your upcoming Four Weddings and a Funeral, you've really established yourself as a force in comedy, but particularly romantic comedy. What is it about the genre that appeals to you?
MK: I love romantic comedy because I was a real wallflower and late bloomer and I think that because I had no access to any legitimate romance as an 11, 12, 13-year-old, I really fantasized a lot about romance, even for me, and romantic situations. And I think because I always loved writing, it just gave bloom to so much creativity for me. And then of course I grew up in the time of the great romantic comedy movies of the '90s and I wasn't a snob about any of them either. It could be, While You Were Sleeping, starring Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman, or Sleepless in Seattle. I really just love the genre and I've always felt that it is an undervalued genre. I feel like people talk about romantic comedies they love, and they say that they're their guilty pleasures. But I truly don't believe in guilty pleasures, I only believe in pleasures. And I oftentimes think people undervalue them because women like romantic comedies so much and it seemed somehow not as intellectual or something, but I just love them.
KO: I'm with you. That's a hill I'll gladly die on. Are there any other types of love stories that you're drawn to, like paranormal or historical?
MK: I really do love historical romance. Obviously, like everyone else, I adore and think of as canon, so I know it inside and out. But also , I think that has really invigorated the genre because of how great the TV show is. And so I'm a huge fan of that, which is kind of paranormal and historical actually.
