Actress Mindy Kaling Inks Exclusive Deal With Warner Bros. To Create Original Content Including for Upcoming Streaming Service
Mindy Kaling, the actress who’s best-known for her roles on TV shows like The Office and, later, The Mindy Project, has just agreed to an exclusive, six-year deal with Warner Bros. to step into a huge role with the company to help develop and execute original content. According to the press release from Warner Bros., the terms of Kaling’s contract include developing, writing, and producing original comedies, dramas, longform/event series, unscripted programming, digital content, and more for cable channels and streaming outlets.
Following her role as Kelly Kapoor on The Office, in which she was an executive producer, Mindy Kaling created The Mindy Project for FOX, with the show eventually moving to Hulu for three seasons. Given Kaling’s experience in both cable and streaming original content, the move by aligns with WarnerMedia’s soon-to-be-released streaming service.
The new WarnerMedia streaming service is set to launch in late-2019, and will include content from HBO, as well as WarnerMedia films, television series, libraries, documentaries, and animated content. However, the company’s also open to licensing third-party content for the service, meaning there could be films and series outside of those from WarnerMedia’s Warner Bros. and HBO.
The addition of Mindy Kaling to Warner Bros. — which is expected to pay her $8 million per year — is the latest example of traditional media companies and streaming companies working at acquiring big-name talent.