To get audiences prepared for more Mindy Kaling this fall, Fox has released the season two premiere for The Mindy Project early. The episode is the first of James Franco’s short two-episode arc.
Franco’s guest role was announced in July. He will play Dr. Paul Leotard, who fills in for Mindy while she is in Haiti on her goodwill trip with her boyfriend. Leotard used to be a model, but he decided to switch careers to help pregnant women.
According to Deadline, the episode is already available on a variety of platforms, including Hulu, Fox.com, Fox On Demand and XBox 360.
This has become standard operating procedure for the networks for new shows before the fall season kicks off to gather support from fans before they air. It’s an unusual step to do this for a sophomore show, but it could pay off for Fox if it hopes to keep viewers watching Mindy. It was one of the network’s few successes from last season and will keep its Tuesday, 9:30 p.m. slot. It debuts on Sept. 17.
NBC has also posted several of its new pilots on Hulu. You can catch the pilot for Blair Underwood’s Ironside below:
image: Fox