Gigi Hadid has gone from runway regular to scripted-comedy newcomer with a guest spot in Mindy Kaling’s new Hulu series Not Suitable for Work. The model appears in season one’s third episode, which premiered June 2, as Catherine, the girlfriend of Bill Gibson, an investment-bank boss played by Jay Ellis.
It is a small role, but not a quiet one. Catherine enters with an anniversary grievance, a casserole dish, and the kind of timing that suggests no one in this office is getting back to spreadsheets anytime soon.
What role does Gigi Hadid play in the series?
Hadid’s character, Catherine, storms into Bill’s workplace while he is scolding AJ, played by Ella Hunt, over a risky business decision that happened to work out. Bill is trying to reassert authority. Catherine has other priorities, mainly why her boyfriend vanished on their anniversary without saying goodbye.
When Bill asks, “What are you doing here?” Catherine fires back, “What are you doing here? It’s our anniversary and you left without saying goodbye.”
Bill, not exactly choosing emotional intelligence as his strongest quarterly metric, responds, “I have to work, Catherine. I am not a Romanian prince like your last boyfriend.”
That does not help. Catherine tells him she has been awake since 4 planning an elaborate morning involving chilaquiles and sex, adding, “I guess that’s it. But both of those would have been mind-blowing.”
Why does Catherine’s office confrontation matter?
The scene works because Catherine is not written as background decoration. She is there to puncture Bill’s self-importance in front of the very employees he is trying to intimidate. He wants to move the conversation into his office. She refuses.
“No, actually,” she says. “We’re done. My heart cannot survive on luxury travel and designer bags and orgasms alone.”
It is a breakup speech with a very specific tax bracket.
Bill then calls her irrational, which proves to be another poor decision in a scene built almost entirely out of poor decisions. Catherine throws the chilaquiles at him. She briefly hands her purse to AJ, then reclaims it after deciding she can sell it on eBay.
For Hadid, the sequence is an efficient introduction to onscreen comedy: enter fast, escalate faster, exit with the bag.
Hadid has worked with Mindy Kaling before
While Not Suitable for Work marks Hadid’s first onscreen acting performance, it is not her first scripted television credit. She previously lent her voice to Kaling’s Netflix series Never Have I Ever, narrating the inner thoughts of Paxton Hall-Yoshida, played by Darren Barnet, in season two.
The narration was a switch from the show’s usual format, where retired tennis star John McEnroe voiced the thoughts of Devi Vishwakumar, played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.
Hadid’s explanation in the episode was knowingly self-aware: “You may be asking yourself, ‘Why is old Gig-ers taking time out of her busy skedge to narrate the story of a 16-year-old boy?’” she said. “Believe it or not, I relate to this kid. We’re both constantly underestimated because people only see us as sex symbols.”
She continued, “When scientists declare your face to be perfectly symmetrical, that’s all everyone thinks you have to offer the world. But we’ve got brains too, and feelings,” before Paxton, shirtless and spilling water on himself, undercut the point. “Paxton, dude, put a shirt on! I’m trying to make a point here!”
What comes next for Not Suitable for Work?
Hadid’s appearance gives Not Suitable for Work an early guest-star pop, while keeping her in Kaling’s TV orbit. The series is still rolling out on Hulu, with more episodes on the way.
For viewers, the appeal is not only the novelty of seeing Hadid act onscreen. It is also watching her play a character who arrives with a casserole, a breakup, and a very clear understanding of resale value. Efficient, really.
