Fall TV 2015: 7 South Asian Stars to Watch Out for this Season

Mindy Kaling as Mindy Lahiri in “The Mindy Project”

Season: 4

Premieres: Tuesday, Sept. 15

Network: Hulu

When Fox cancelled the show earlier this year, it was uncertain whether fans would get a chance to see Mindy’s parents in the fourth season of “The Mindy Project.” But with Hulu picking up the series, fans will get to see them and much more in the 26-episode Season Four.

Season Three left off with Mindy pregnant and Danny in India on his way to see her parents, who will be played this season by “House of Cards” actress Sakina Jaffrey and “Royal Pains” actor Ajay Mehta.

Kunal Nayyar, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Freida Pinto are also expected to be guest stars.

Though a few changes have been made to the show’s structure and cast, allowing for ensemble cast members to be featured in more episodes, the migration to the digital platform has not affected the show’s direction much.

Kaling, incidentally, can be seen in theaters later this year in Jonathan Levine’s holiday comedy film “The Night Before,” starring Seth Rogan and Gordon-Levitt, set to hit theaters Nov. 25.

Kaling’s new book “Why Not Me?” is also releasing the same day as the premiere of the show, Sept. 15.

Kunal Nayyar as Raj Koothrappali in “The Big Bang Theory”

Season: 9

Premieres: Monday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m.

Network: CBS

The award-winning sitcom about a group of socially awkward academics and their outgoing neighbor is returning for a ninth season after the eighth season ended with several cliffhangers.

For instance, after Emily proposed having sex in a graveyard, Raj decided he wanted to break up with her, but instead ended up telling her he loves her.

The show’s creators recently tied up one cliffhanger, letting fans know that Penny and Leonard will indeed tie the knot after deciding to elope to Las Vegas. However, the future of the rest of the characters is uncertain.

Nayyar, now among the highest paid actors in television, earning $800,000 per episode, according to Forbes, is also releasing his book, “Yes, My Accent is Real,” the same day as Kaling, Sept. 15, just six days before the premiere of “The Big Bang Theory.”

Janina Gavankar as Meredith Bose in “The Mysteries of Laura”

Premieres: Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m.

Network: NBC

After rocky reviews and low viewer ratings for the 22-episode first season, “The Mysteries of Laura” is returning for a shorter second season — 13 episodes — featuring Indian American actress Janina Gavankar as by-the-book detective and closet gamer Meredith Bose.

Adapted from the Spanish TV series “Los misterios de Laura,” the show stars “Will and Grace” actress Debra Messing as New York homicide detective and mother of two Laura Diamond.

The first season ended with the detectives figuring out who shot detective Laura’s ex-husband and the precinct captain, Jake, and Meredith planting a public kiss on detective Billy Soto (Laz Alonso) after realizing how easy it is to lose the people she cares about.

Gavankar previously acted in Showtime’s “The L Word” as Papi, HBO’s “True Blood” as Luna Garza, and the CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” as Tessa.

Priyanka Chopra as Alex Parrish in “Quantico”

Season: 1

Premieres: Sunday, Sept. 27 at 10 p.m.

Network: ABC

“Quantico” marks Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra’s American television debut as Alex Parrish, an FBI recruit training at the FBI’s Quantico Base with the best and brightest.

But when an explosion hits New York City — the most devastating terrorist attack since 9/11 — Parrish becomes the prime suspect and must go on a mission to clear her name.

Though this is her television debut, Chopra has been involved with the U.S. media for some time, including as the first Indian Guess Girl and as the voice of the NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football franchise for the 2012 to 2013 seasons.

The former Miss World is the only Indian-origin actor to be the lead in a show on network television this fall, with “The Mindy Project” migrating to Hulu.

In addition to acting, Chopra is an active humanitarian, serving as the United Nations Children’s Fund Goodwill ambassador, among other things, and writes a monthly column on Elle.com, “Pret-a-Priyanka.”

Chopra will still continue to act in Bollywood films and can be seen later this year in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s biopic “Bajirao Mastani” with Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh. The film is set to release Dec. 18.

Ravi Patel as Chef Ravi in “Grandfathered”

Season: 1

Premieres: Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 8 p.m.

Network: FOX

This is a big year for Ravi Patel, who made his directorial debut with the comedic documentary about his search for a wife, “Meet the Patels,” Sept. 11 and is now returning to the TV screen as Chef Ravi alongside “Full House” actor John Stamos in the new comedy series, “Grandfathered.”

The series follows Jimmy Martino (Stamos), a successful restaurateur and Casanova who goes from being single to being a grandfather with the surprise appearance of his son Gerald, played by Josh Peck of “Drake and Josh.”

Chef Ravi is part of Jimmy’s restaurant family, along with assistant manager Annelise (Kelly Jenrette), who keep tireless tabs on how Jimmy is dealing with the situation.

Patel will also be seen later this year on Aziz Ansari’s new Netflix series, “Master of None,” set to premiere Nov. 6.

Raza Jaffrey as Neal Hudson and Melanie Chandra as Malaya Pineda in “Code Black”

Season: 1

Premieres: Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 10 p.m.

Network: CBS

Based on the documentary of the same name, “Code Black” follows four first-year residents, including Melanie Chandra as Malaya Pineda, as they try to navigate the country’s most notorious emergency room in the Angels Memorial Hospital.

Senior nurse Jesse Sallander (Luis Guzman) and residency director Dr. Leanne Rorish (Marcia Gay Harden) guide Malaya and the other residents as they try to keep up with the high volume of patients with their limited resources.

Coming off of stints in CBS’s “Elementary” as Andrew Paek and Showtime’s “Homeland” as Aasar Khan, Indo-British actor Raza Jaffrey will play Neal Hudson, one of the more seasoned doctors in the ER who sometimes disagrees with Leanne’s approach.

Chandra, formerly Melanie Kannokada, was most recently seen as Fareeda in HBO’s “The Brink” alongside actor-comedian Asif Mandvi.

The Stanford graduate is also a co-founder of the non-profit Hospital for Hope, India, which provides healthcare to more than 1,000 Indian villagers per month.