'The Mindy Project' season 5 cast news: Ryan Hansen cast as white Mindy
"The Mindy Project" season 5 is about to introduce an interesting version of its titular heroine, Mindy Lahiri (Mindy Kaling).
"Veronica Mars" alum Ryan Hansen has been cast in the current season and will appear in an upcoming episode as Mindy — that is, a white, male version of her.
In the episode, Mindy will have a disagreement with someone at work and find herself wishing she were a white man. She will falls asleep and, upon waking, find herself in the body of a handsome, blonde-haired, blue-eyed doctor named Michael Lancaster, who will allow her to experience the world through his lens for a day.
The gender- and race-flipping episode, titled "If I Was Born A White Man," will air sometime in the current season.
Hansen is best known for his role as Dick Casablancas on the popular teen noir mystery/drama "Veronica Mars," which ended in 2007. Since then, he has appeared in "2 Broke Girls," "iZombie," "Bad Judge," "Bad Teacher," and "Parenthood." He is set to appear in the upcoming films "Bad Santa 2" and "CHiPs."
Kaling teased the upcoming episode during the Television Critics' Association's semi-annual program this summer. "I love the idea that something happens to Mindy that is really sexist, and then she wakes up the next morning as a white man..." she said. "It seems really interesting and fun and kind of a weird wish fulfillment to see how differently she would be treated," she continued.
Another guest star soon to appear in "The Mindy Project" is "Happy Endings" alum Casey Wilson, who will take on the role of an old friend of Mindy's.
Wilson is the third cast member of the now-defunct "Happy Endings" to appear on "The Mindy Project." Adam Pally plays Dr. Peter Prentice in the Hulu comedy while Eliza Coupe played the role of Chelsea in a guest-starring arc.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ike Barinholtz, who plays Morgan Tooker, talked about how Wilson's guest role came to be. "We just shot an episode last week that will air in a month or so where one of Mindy's old friends from her past comes back," he said. "And, kind of, right after we read the table read, Mindy and I were talking and we were like, 'What about Casey Wilson?'"
New episodes of "The Mindy Project" season 5 drop every Tuesday on Hulu.