There are tons of reasons to love the gem that is Mindy Kaling’s The Mindy Project (2012-2017). It’s undeniably hilarious, it’s diverse, and it never takes itself too seriously. And despite being a doctor show, it never tries being as dramatic as Grey’s Anatomy or House.

It’s not perfect, but that’s exactly the point: Mindy’s life will never match the ending of a romantic comedy no matter how hard she tries. The finale drives that point home. (explain Danny)

Speaking of the finale, can we talk about the perfect shout out to the pilot episode? In the pilot, a drunk and disgruntled Mindy leaves her ex-boyfriend’s wedding by bike and promptly crashes into a pool, where a plastic Barbie tells her to get her shit together.

But that’s not even the best part. In the last few minutes of the entire show, Mindy runs (literally) to meet Danny and let him know they should get back together. It’s a scene out of every romantic comedy: she runs across the city to profess her love, finally summons up the courage to knock on the door, and just before she does, Danny comes up behind her, totally oblivious to her entire mission.

All the romantic-comedy magic created by the dramatic run across the city is gone, and we’re faced with real life: most of the time (more like all the time) relationships don’t pan out the way they do in John Hughes films.

So thank you, The Mindy Project, for being as realistic as you can, and for not fitting the protagonist into a traditional box. She doesn’t marry the father of her child, and when she finally meets a nice guy, things never work out. Danny isn’t perfect, but it just feels right for them to end up together.

Thank you for writing a female lead that doesn’t depend on the men in her life to move forward. The Mindy/Danny/Mindy’s career storyline is perfect here: when Danny expected Mindy to become a stay-at-home mom and she hated it after a few days, she told him so. Even though her career choices led to their breakup, it was for the best.

This is more than I can say for most comedies, but I truly learned something while watching your show. Thank you for 6 seasons of wisdom disguised as hilarious shenanigans.