THE MINDY PROJECT AT PALEY FEST 2014: THEY’RE BACK!

Laughter filled the Dolby Theater in LA on Tuesday night. After what felt like the longest hiatus EVER, fans at Paley Fest 2014’s panel for The Mindy Project were treated to a screening of the first of the eight new episodes that will air when the FOX comedy returns on April 1.

Present at the panel were star and Executive Producer Mindy Kaling, Executive Producer Matt Warburton and cast members Beth Grant (Beverly), Zoe Jarmon (Betsy Putch), Xosha Roquemore (Tamra), Ed Weeks (Jeremy Reed), Chris Messina (Danny Castellano) and Ike Barinholtz (Morgan Tookers).

Moderator Jarett Weiselman from Buzzfeed catered to fans and jumped straight into the panel asking about the cliffhanger kiss between Mindy and Danny that has had fans waiting in anticipation since late January. Yes, the writers have known that it was going to happen; it was just matter of when.

“Another thing that Mindy was very sensitive about was don’t jerk around the audience. We love our audience and you can’t have Danny dance and then take it away,” added Warburton.

As for the kiss itself and a certain butt grab? “It was improvised,” said Messina, before adding that he remembered a moment in season one where his character made reference to it being his move.

It wasn’t just fans that went crazy when these two characters kissed, it was the cast too. “Beth Grant freaked out,” revealed Barinholtz.

Throughout the panel there were constant references to Grant being a self-confessed fan of the show, but Grant also has quite a fanbase herself, including season two guest star, James Franco. Kaling spoke of Franco being on set and the cast tried to make small talk with him, yet when he saw Grant, he “just lit up.” Barinholtz then jumped in with a hilarious impersonation of Franco – one of the many impersonations of his co-stars that he did during the night.

Between Barinholtz’s impressions and teasing of fellow cast members, it was clear to fans that there is a great camaraderie between the show’s cast and crew. There was a constant flow of praise for Messina and what he has brought to the character of Danny Castellano, which made Messina embarrassed. “He hates praise, which is crazy because I love praise,” said Kaling.

Speaking of praise, we have to give a shout out to that scene in the episode “Christmas Party Sex Trap” (you know which one I’m talking about) and although Messina declined to give the audience a re-enactment, we did learn that he had moves prior to the episode thanks to his dance teacher mom, and that he was a perfectionist when it came to shooting the scene.

“I was extremely nervous and mad that I told them that I danced, but then I thought it was a really original and fresh and very romantic thing to come up with. So it’s a gift for the character to do something like that,” Messina said of the moment.

We also discovered that just like his alter ego, Messina’s not exactly a pro when it comes to social media. When asked by Barinholtz what he thought Twitter was, Messina replied “It’s like a text message,” and when later asked about Tindr, Messina’s answer was “it’s like Twitter, but with some pictures?” Close enough. Judging the way he was mastering the selfies with fans after the panel and being informed about the #AwkwardQuestionsForChrisMessina hashtag, we’re guessing Messina now knows a bit more about social media than he did prior to the panel.

Messina fangirling aside, fans also learned that Weeks has a weak bladder when he asked, “I have a question. Can I go for a wee?” mid-panel. This was then confirmed by Barinholtz when he remarked, “The show is in its second season and it’s pretty smooth sailing, but the big hiccup is Ed’s bladder.”

But in all seriousness folks, the insanely long hiatus of the show is nearly over and will be well worth the wait.

“The next eight episodes are the best eight episodes of television I’ve been a party to in my entire career. And I hope that people watch them,” said Kaling.

The Mindy Project returns to FOX on April 1 at 9/8c with double episodes on April 1 and April 8. The show has also been picked up for a third season.

Below are some photos from the panel: