The Love and Hilarity of New Girl

Almost through its third season, New Girl has easily become one of my all-time favorite shows on television. The humor is smart, random, and crude at times, but most importantly it is fantastic. It is one of those shows you don’t have to watch everything episode in order to understand the series. You can literally jump in at any time and have just as much fun.

I have heard it compared with the television show Friends, which I can see similarities with, but I feel that Friends was a much more structure show. While New Girl does have an ensemble of characters that have their own quirks, the show can easily focus on just one character and take them out of the group. Friends relied on the fact that these people were friends. I think the only storylines on that show that broke away were always concerning Ross, who was kind of the lone wolf due to him not living in one of the two featured apartments in the beginning seasons when the show was establishing.

The tile of New Girl can be a bit misleading to what the show actually is, and honestly the only thing that I have a problem with. When the show was originally advertised, it looked like it was going to be this quirky comedy about this girl named Jess played by Zooey Deschanel. It frankly looked girly. I was going to check it out because I am a big fan of Zooey Deschanel, and honestly that was the only reason I did. What the show turned out to be was about the everyday lives and shenanigans of the people that live in this one apartment that the Jess character just moved into. Jess moves in with three guys, Nick, Schmidt, Coach, at the time, and Winston. The guys get as much focus as Jess does, and all of their personalities vary. This is one of my brother’s favorite shows as well, because of the focus they put on the other characters.

Jess, played by Zooey Deschanel, brings in this naïve and sweet quality to the group. While she can think of things that seem juvenile, she brings in this heart and love to the group that the boys clearly needed. She does bring some mother aspects in as well, but she is not these men’s mother. She has truly been accepted by the boys and is officially one of their roommates, but now one of their close friends as well.

Nick, played by Jake Johnson, is the lost man that works in a bar and doesn’t really know what he wants in life. While on one hand he knows he needs to figure it out, he just doesn’t want to do it now. I have come to my own conclusions as to why his character is like this especially after seeing some episodes that focus on his family. His personal quirks usually focus on his lack of motivation, cheapness, or what the group has called his “old man” tendencies.

Schmidt, played by Max Greenfield, is that friend that everyone has that says the most atrocious and completely unacceptable things, because he truly doesn’t fully understand the meaning behind what he is saying. He is just saying it because he thinks it will make him socially acceptable. His whole focus is about what will make him socially acceptable. That is the reason no one hates him. He may have to be educated on why he can’t say things, but he is still a true friend that loves you and will do anything for you. The show has always made it clear as to why the Schmidt character acts the way he does, so you as the audience also will also overlook these faults.

Winston, played by Lamorne Morris, first comes off as the normal and level friend in this apartment, but Winston is the one that will just take something way too far which is his hilarious quirk. His character kind of replaced Coach’s in the second episode. Honestly Coach’s character made such an impression in the first episode that you as the audience were constantly a little weary of Winston when he first showed up, but he makes a good play and becomes just as favorable as everyone else.

Coach, played by Damon Wayans Jr., was originally in the pilot episode, but I believe since another pilot Damon Wayans Jr. worked on got picked up before New Girl, they had to work around the loss of his character by adding Winston. I like that they never replaced his character, because he was very memorable in the first episode. Since Damon Wayans Jr’s other show recently ended, he has come back to New Girl this season and has moved back into the apartment. His return has been a very welcomed edition. He is very sensitive and caring, but doesn’t like to show it, choosing overly masculine routes instead, which brings in the hilarity.

This show has become my weekly cleanser. If I have had a tough or rough week, I know that a half an hour of this show will have me rolling. That is really a precious commodity for me. I want to move into this apartment with these people, because I love this show so much. They remind me of my friends and the random things we do or get into. It is a great show about people my age that don’t really know what they are truly supposed to be doing, but feel the pressure of having some kind of answer and proof to support that answer. Honestly, it would heaven to work on this show, and who knows maybe I will someday. Definitely check this show out if you haven’t. Currently, Netflix users can access the first two seasons.