The Mindy Project: The Main Characters, Ranked By Intelligence

Many of the main characters on The Mindy Project are doctors, which suggests a certain amount of intelligence as the education, training, and day to day operations are definitely not for the faint of heart. While several characters always seem smart when they chat and interact with each other, some other main characters seem less intelligent.

From Mindy’s good friends Peter and Morgan to her love interests Danny and Ben, the main characters on The Mindy Project range from super clever doctors at the tops of their field to a few overly confident and immature doctors.

10 Jody Kimball-Kinney

One of Mindy’s worst The Mindy Project relationships is her interactions with Jody, and while Mindy knows that Jody likes her, she doesn’t end up with him. Mindy knows that Jody’s old-fashioned, conceited personality is an issue, and fans don’t find Jody to be very smart at all.

Jody is self-absorbed and doesn’t try to compromise, understand someone else’s feelings, or see things from their perspective. Because he thinks that he can say whatever he wants and it won’t be a problem, he comes off as very unintelligent.

9 Jeremy Reed

Jeremy might be a smart doctor, and he’s able to go through years of school, internships, training, and everything else that it takes to succeed in the medical profession. But despite his confidence, fans don’t find Jeremy to be smart.

Although Jeremy knows a lot about his work, he comes off as someone who likes to show off, and his poor treatment of dates doesn’t make him seem clever or witty, either.

8 Danny Castellano

Danny’s problematic The Mindy Project character seems smart at first, as he’s a doctor at Shulman and Associates and seems to be a huge success. It takes a lot of hard work, long hours, dedication and passion to make it in this profession, and Danny seems to enjoy what he does as well.

However, because Danny doesn’t like that Mindy wants to continue working after having a baby, viewers don’t find Danny to be intelligent. Danny tries hard to control the relationship instead of respecting Mindy and recognizing her talent and gift for helping people.

7 Morgan Tookers

While Morgan might seem ditzy, and he likes having a great time at the office, he does have some emotional intelligence that makes him very sensitive to how others around him are feeling.

Morgan cares a lot about Mindy’s happiness, and he’s especially invested in her love life. If Morgan wasn’t smart, he would have trouble lasting at his jobs since medical practices in New York City are intense and well-oiled machines. Even though Morgan can seem silly at times, he does know how to get the job done.

6 Peter Prentice

Although Peter might not seem like the smartest doctor at Mindy’s practice when he first shows up in season 2, his emotional intelligence comes out the more that Mindy spends time with him.

Peter is smart enough to know that Lauren is the one for him, and he moves to Austin to be with her, which shows that he understands that committing to this relationship is the best thing that he could do. Peter also has a fair amount of intelligence in his job as an OB/GYN.

5 Ben

Ben is one of Mindy’s best love interests on The Mindy Project and he follows his biggest instinct of all: knowing that he has to leave Mindy because she doesn’t want to commit as much as he does.

While this is tough to say out loud, Ben knows that this is the smartest thing that he could do, as staying in a marriage that is one-sided is a recipe for disaster. Ben and Mindy’s growing relationship isn’t that much fun to observe as Ben is a nice but fairly dull character, but Ben does seem like he has a practical, logical side.

4 Colette Kimball-Kinney

Colette starts working with Mindy as a nurse, and while her brother Jody is an awful person who hurts people’s feelings all the time, Colette is the total opposite. Colette is also one of the smartest characters on The Mindy Project.

Whether Colette realizes that it would be fun to live with Morgan and that they can be great friends, or she’s standing up for herself and ignoring her brother, Colette shows her intelligence in every The Mindy Project scene.

3 Anna Kiev

Anna is educated, strong, practical, and intelligent, but she can be so rigid and strict with her routine and life that she realizes how unhappy she is.

Anna definitely has book smarts, and when she gets divorced and learns how to enjoy being on her own, she realizes what she has been missing for so long. It takes a fair amount of intelligence to follow gut instincts and leave a bad relationship.

2 Mindy Lahiri

After working at Schulman and Associates, Mindy founds her own practice called the Lahiri Fertility Center. Mindy is so good at her job and always puts her patients at ease, which is helpful since fertility and pregnancy can be stressful and overwhelming.

While watching Mindy and Danny’s tough relationship, fans see that Mindy is smart enough to know when Danny is being rude, unfair, and the opposite of compassionate. Mindy stands up for herself and finds more independence as she raises Leo and figures out her relationship with Danny.

1 Tamra Webb

Tamra is the most intelligent character on The Mindy Project, although at first, she has terrible taste in dates and seems to have had some awful relationships. As Tamra spends more time at the practice, she becomes a better judge of character and can tell when someone is worth getting to know.

Tamra realizes that she wants something more and fans love when Tamra and Morgan begin dating as they’re perfect together. Tamra enjoys working at the practice and loves helping babies come into the world. Tamra enjoys banter, makes a lot of jokes, and meets each day with confidence.

About The Author

Aya Tsintziras
(1757 Articles Published)

Aya Tsintziras is a freelance writer who writes about pop culture and TV. She has a Political Science degree from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Journalism from Ryerson University. She loves coffee, reading, working out, and watching TV. She lives in Toronto with her husband.

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