Mindy Kaling Broke Down Her Favorite Teen TV Shows And Her Commentary Is Hilarious

    "When I was younger, my parents wouldn't let me watch a lot of shows about teens."

    Morgan Murrell
    by Morgan Murrell

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher are currently working on a new coming-of-age TV show for Netflix.

    Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

    The 10-episode series is inspired by Mindy's complicated life growing up as a first-generation Indian-American teenager.

    Mindy wasn't allowed to watch teen shows when she was growing up, due to graphic images of sex and drugs shown in them. So, she's playing catch-up now to prepare for her new series and she decided to make a list of some of her favorites.

    Then she went to her Instagram Stories to tell fans what she loved most about these shows. Here's what she had to say about them:

    Friday Night Lights

    Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17905836352302728/, NBC

    "One of my favorite teen shows — actually, one of my all-time favorite shows, period, is Friday Night Lights. I'm not a big football fan. I don't know much about football, so I was surprised at how much I related to and loved this story of about six or seven kids and their parents living in a small suburban town in Texas. It also launched the career of one of my favorite actors ever, Jesse Plemons."

    Riverdale

    Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17905836352302728/, The CW

    "So, speaking of sexy shows my parents would've found inappropriate for me to watch as a teen: Riverdale. It's one of the greatest shows. The cast — they're really good looking in a kind of suspicious way. The show is just beautiful. I don't know if people talk about how gorgeous the cinematography is, but it really is gorgeous. It reminds me of Twin Peaks. And I've done a deep dive on some of the Instagram accounts of these kids, so I know about Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart...LilCole? I don't know."

    Veronica Mars

    Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17905836352302728/, UPN

    "I love mysteries and I love mysteries that have women in the center of it, like Big Little Lies. So, Veronica Mars is one of my favorite shows. Kristen Bell is incomparable as Veronica Mars and the show's just incredibly smart about things like sexual assault amongst teenagers, and just the way that friendships are torn apart and brought back together, and young love. I was thrilled when I heard they were doing a revival on Hulu, so I will be the first in line to watch it."

    The O.C.

    Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17905836352302728/, Fox

    "So, I was a little bit too old to be a fan of The O.C., I was like 21/22 when it came out. And I remember watching it, because I had such a big crush on Adam Brody, so much so, that my email password was Seth Cohen. The show is fantastic. It had an iconic opening credits song. It's just great and it made me fall in love with L.A., years and years before I had an opportunity to move here, so I love that show."

    Fresh Off the Boat

    Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17905836352302728/, ABC

    "So, one thing I don't like about teen shows is when they focus too much attention on the parents, like in My So Called Life, but the ONE exception to that rule is Fresh Off the Boat. I love this show! It was created by Nahnatchka Khan and it's fantastic. It's actually a show about a family with a teenager in it, but I love when they talk about the parents, because Constance Wu is so hilarious. If you have an ethnic mom, who's a tough customer, you'll really love the show. And Randall Park is amazing in it also. So, really funny show, super hard jokes, but there's a teen at the center."

    I don't know about you, but her taste in television just made me want to hang out with her more!

    NBC

    And if you want to help Mindy Kaling with her research, head to her Instagram and suggest some teen shows that she should watch, preferably ones starring POC. Some of her celebrities friends have already sent in their recommendations.