Where this was said
From #11 on the Call Sheet to Building Her Own Show
At 35:30 · chapter starts 34:45
This is one of the episode's richest professional conversations. Mindy describes the call sheet — the daily production document that announces the hierarchy of the people who matter — and what it felt like to be number 11 for eight years while Steve Carell was number 1. She's clear that this was appropriate and she was lucky to be there, but eight years in, she needed more. So she built The Mindy Project: assembled her own writers' room including Lang Fisher, Tracy Wigfield, Ike Barinholtz, and Matt Doherty; became the comedy engine; and discovered that, paradoxically, the days felt shorter even though she was working harder because funny scene followed funny scene without a break. Amy draws a parallel to her experience leading Parks and Recreation and SNL, and both women discuss the particular skill of being a constant host — keeping the energy high while watching everyone else wrap and go home for the weekend.
For eight years, Steve Carell was #1 on The Office call sheet and Kelly Kapoor was #11. That hierarchy wasn't unfair — it was just the truth. But after eight years, Mindy had to find out what it felt like to be the one powering a show from 7am to wrap. So she built her own.
After eight years on The Office as the number-11 name on the call sheet, Mindy Kaling decided she needed to be the lead of her own show and build something from scratch.
