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Workplace Bromance: The ‘Not Suitable for Work’ Stars Are Your New TV Crushes
“They’re soulbound.”
That’s how Not Suitable For Work star Will Angus describes the friendship between Davis (Angus), Josh (Jack Martin), and Kel (Nicholas Duvernay), the lovable trio of twenty-something guys who live across the hall from Abby (Avantika) and AJ (Ella Hunt) in Murray Hill’s biggest three-bedroom apartment.
After the first three episodes of Not Suitable For Work, it’s official: The bros of Apartment 6C are Swooon’s TV comedy crushes of the summer. We all have Davises, Joshes, and Kels in our lives, and just like your New York City bagel order, you know what you like. (We’ll take one of each, please!)
Mindy Kaling‘s new comedy series for Hulu takes us inside the lives of Davis, Josh, and Kel as they figure out work-life (and love) balance in the Big Apple, which is easier said than done.
There’s Davis, AJ’s finance bro coworker at Fisher Stassen, a self-proclaimed loverboy, whose love-bombing often results in Sex and the City-style Post-It breakups. Angus tells Swooon that Davis is “definitely the goofball” of the trio and “wants to do everything at 100,” even if he should cool it.
Kel is an aspiring actor who yearns to break free from his demanding parents’ expectations that he become a doctor. After quitting medical school, he winds up substitute teaching at an all-girls private school in New York City. At home, Duvernay says that Kel is keeping his friends in line, making sure “they’re eating their vegetables, doing the dishes,” and ensuring they stay out of trouble.
And finally, there’s Josh, the snarky nepo “baby menace,” according to Martin, who’s a secret softie with an emotional support cardigan and a love for investigative journalism. His favorite movie is Broadcast News, and he idolizes legendary journalist Wes Dryden (Victor Garber), so he uses his nepo status to score a job on Wes’ show.
As with any project that involves Mindy Kaling, there’s a hefty amount of comedy and romance in the fold that she’s able to mix in effortlessly. “You can go too far in either direction and ruin the other one, and she has so much experience doing it at the highest possible level,” Martin says. “Never Have I Ever is great. The Mindy Project, Sex Lives of College Girls, all of her shows, she just knows it better than anyone, and you can tell when she’s on set. She knows exactly what to say and where to direct us and what to do. She’s a genius.”
There are plenty of potential romantic entanglements already in play on Not Suitable For Work, and Kaling knows how to spice things up in the love department with unexpected twists.
Photographer: Avery Thompson
Davis is smitten with AJ the moment she walks in the door at Fisher Stassen. Unbeknownst to him until Episode 3’s dinner party, which leads to an allergic-reaction-induced hospital visit, AJ and Josh hooked up in college. (They were each other’s firsts, too.) Kel is crushing on Abby, who is enjoying a flirtationship with Austin Blanchett (Harry Richardson), Cate Blanchett‘s handsome (fictional) nephew.
But the friendship between Will, Josh, and Kel is one of the most important love stories within Not Suitable For Work.
“I never thought about it like that,” Angus tells Swooon, before the actor and his costars acknowledge the bromance that is happening on and off-screen. Angus and Martin, who lived together while filming the show, make sure to bring up how they want Duvernay to move in with them if the show gets a second season, mirroring their characters.
“They want me to move in. We get a three-bedroom in Williamsburg or the city, wherever,” Duvernay says, and Angus chimes in, “I know he won’t, but it’s something to look forward to.”
Duvernay says he’ll “consider it,” and then proceeds to make a bet with his costars: “If the Knicks win the finals, I will move in. ”
The three actors didn’t do any chemistry reads together during the casting process. “We got lucky,” Martin admits. Angus notes that he and Jack have actually known each other for years. They were just waiting on Duvernay to join the party. “It’s just a gift,” Duvernay says of their bond.
This Not Suitable For Work trio didn’t have to work overtime to find their groove as friends in real life and as their characters — and they’ve already filed their way into our TV-loving hearts.
Not Suitable For Work, New Episodes, Tuesdays, Hulu
