From 2011 to 2018, Zoey Deschanel played Jess Day, the only female roommate in a loft apartment full of guys.
After breaking up with her long-time boyfriend, Jess moves in with Schmidt (Max Greenfield), Nick Miller (Jake Johnson) and Coach (Damon Wayans Jr). After the creators couldn’t decide what to do with Coach’s character, they moved in Winston (Lamorne Morris) — a cat-loving, prank master. Each character all with their own idiosyncrasies and distinctive personalities.
Jess, an adorkable school-teacher, is supported by her best friend and model, Cece Parekh (Hannah Simone) and together, the entire crew give some of the best one-liners, hilarious quotes, relatable storylines and even an addictive and confusing (made up) game — True American.
Even though we’ve seen every single episode of the seven series, now that Netflix has released it on its platform in Australia, it’s time to relive the show.
If we haven’t sold you solely on the story alone, here are all the reasons you must watch every season of New Girl.
The Story and The Writers
The overall premise of New Girl may sound a little cliché, but it is far from it. For anyone who is living or has lived through their 20s, it’s a genius depiction of life when you’re just trying to “adult”.
Elizabeth Meriwether may not be a household name, but she’s behind some pretty epic content and was even nominated for a Writer’s Guild Award of America for the show.
Meriwether also went on to write the film No Strings Attached (starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher) and create US sitcoms Single Parents (starring Leighton Meester and Brad Garrett) and Bless This Mess (starring Dax Shepherd and Lake Bell).
The series is peak American Sitcom without the canned laughter.
The Cast and the Characters
The core cast is what makes this show so special and while we’ve already given them a shoutout they deserve their own category. Deschanel is perfect as the floppy, flighty and excitable Jess, while Greenfield’s Schmidt is equal parts douchey and endearing. (Lest we forget the “douchebag jar”.)
Johnson’s Nick has the best ride of a character in our opinion — and it’s nice to see him grow throughout the series.
Winston’s (Bishop) love for Ferguson the cat is so incredibly cute and his love of a prank — which gives him the master title of Winnie the Bish — is just perfect.
The entire cast is filled with talented comedians, who have all gone on to do other fun projects of note since the show wrapped — ultimately being the springboard for some excellent careers.
There’s a Whole Lot of Heart
Like most sitcoms, New Girl has some serious heart. Watching a bunch of misfits come together as a true ensemble, is the pure essence of the series.
It’s also a relationship comedy, so like all good TV shows, there is a lot of “will they, won’t they”. Made even better by the insane chemistry of the actors, you won’t be able to look away.
The Guest Stars
Throughout its seven-year run, New Girl had some amazing guest stars.
From Jamie Lee Curtis and Rob Reiner as Jess’s parents, Linda Cardellini as her sister, Adam Brody as her cheating ex, Dermott Mulroney as a love interest, Megan Fox as a love interest for Nick and finally, a cameo from Prince.
True American
One of the main highlights was a game in which the housemates and their various friends played throughout the series called True American.
Based on the game “the floor is lava”, the cast would jump on furniture yelling names of Presidents.
As an audience, many wanted to join in on the fun and play the game for themselves, and because “there are no real rules”, people just made them up.
If you’re keen to play yourself, check out Spoon University’s very detailed version. Looks legit.
New Girl is one of those comedies that ages well, is a whole lot of fun and is just waiting for you to binge it (all over again).
Watch New Girl on Netflix in Australia from October 1, 2020.