Mindy Kaling’s Comedy Hits Its Sophomore Stride

“The Sex Lives of College Girls” picks up pretty much where it left off. Following Fall break, the girls return to Essex with all sorts of drama to traverse. After jumping ship from The Catullan, Bela is struggling with the creation of her own female-fronted comedy magazine — but in typical Bela fashion, she makes things extra messy by starting a casual fling with “nerd prince” Erik (Mekki Leeper). As the co-editor of the school’s premier comedy publication, Erik also doubles as her competition which makes for a complicated dynamic (both in and out of the bedroom).

Elsewhere, newly out-of-the-closet Leighton has some catching up to do and spends her free time sleeping with, I swear, every queer woman on campus. Need I unpack the many drawbacks of this game plan? Luckily, if anyone’s composure can withstand the weight of the unending awkwardness this will create, it would be Leighton.

Whitney starts the season with the most stable romantic endeavor of them all — continuing her (still very fresh) relationship with Canaan (Chris Meyer). But that’s not all! In the wake of soccer season coming to an end, Whitney is also grappling with every college student’s existential nightmare: the question of what she wants to do with her life. Who is she outside of the sport that she came to Essex to play?

Then there’s Kimberly, who is saddled with the biggest and most obvious problem of them all. Telling the truth about last season’s cheating scandal came at the cost of her financial aid. Her scholarship officially revoked, Kimberly must find a way to pay for college that — in an ideal world — doesn’t involve telling her parents about the time she almost got expelled for cheating. Not that they could afford to solve her problem, anyway. Those simple starting points are all we need for an excellent (and once again hilarious) season of TV.  After all, why overcomplicate something so close to perfect?