In 2011 New Girl burst onto our screens as the much needed splash of colour and dash of kooky humour that was missing from our lives. Zooey Deschanel’s impossibly relatable Jess enchanted viewers with her dorky antics and often cringe attempts at dating. But all good things must come to an end, and it’s been confirmed that next season, number seven, will be the last. Here’s what we know about it so far.
It's time to put on your cowboy hats and get down, #NewGirl fans. The loft-mates are coming BACK for Season 7! ? pic.twitter.com/l3AiA5PLc5
— New Girl (@New_GirlTV) May 14, 2017
When will New Girl return?
New Girl will return on Tuesday April 10th for, with the final, one-hour special episode showing airing on Tuesday, May 15th. There hasn’t been a UK release date yet.
How many episodes will there be?
There’s set to be 8 episodes (as confirmed by several of the stars on their social media accounts) – much shorter than the usual which have been at least 22 episodes.
What’s the cast looking like?
The entirety of the core cast are returning for the season, with Zooey Deschanel (Jess), Jake Johnson (Nick), Max Greenfield (Schmidt), Hannah Simone (Cece), Lamorne Morris (Winston) and Nasim Pedrad (Aly) all confirming their appearances.
The stars have been sharing behind the scenes pictures of them on set during the filming process.
TVLine have also confirmed that Dermot Mulroney, who played Jess’ ex Russell Shiller in the first season of the the show, will be returning for the final season. Jess and Russell met when Jess was teaching his daughter, dated for a short while before breaking things off, with Mulroney appearing last in the second season of the show. Damon Wayans Jr., who played fellow flat-mate Coach, will also be returning for the final season.
And it’s been confirmed that Winston’s estranged father will also appear, being played by JB Smoove, and guest appearances from Rebecca Reid (Nadia), David Walton (Sam) and Nelson Franklin (Robby) are also set to happen, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Rob Reiner reappearing as Jess’s parents.
Any trailers yet?
The first mini-trailer was revealed on the 28th February, watch it below:
https://www.facebook.com/NewGirlonFOX/videos/2094333127259995/
What can we expect from the plot of New Girl season 7?
The end of season 6 saw a tonne of loose ends being tied up – with Zooey Deschanel’s lead character Jess finally rekindling her on/off romance with room-mate Nick – before moving out of the loft they shared; Cece (Hannah Simone) and Schmidt (Max Greenfield) becoming expectant parents, and Winston (Lamorne Morris) calling his estranged father – so what next?
Deadline have reported that there will be a time jump, with the final season picking up three years on from the finale of season 6. Adding “I hear Season 7 would feature major milestones for all main characters over the period of one year, including a big one in the series finale.”
TVLine have confirmed that there will be a four year time hop, and that when we return Schmidt is loving life as a stay at home Dad for his and Cece’s daughter Ruth and that “Winston and Aly’s relationship is on the precipice of a major change” – so could this mean a second New Girl baby is on the way?
What else do we know about Cece and Schmidt’s daughter?
Ruth has been cast, with Hannah Simone (who plays Cece) sharing several photos of her behind the scenes with the young actresses who will be playing her on screen daughter.
Speaking to TV Line Max Greenfield spoke about the character development Schmidt will go through, saying: “Schmidt is a stay-at-home-dad now…He really enjoys being a dad. He’s also a control freak and he wants to control the environment — because the environment’s gotta be right. He’s sort of like, ‘I think it’d just be better if I was here.’”
And what about the Nick and Jess relationship?
With the finale of season 6 reuniting the yoyo-ing couple, what’s next for Jess and Nick? TVLine asked co-showrunner Brett Baer how they were planning on keeping the saga of their relationship fresh in the final season, with Baer explaining: “We have options in a potential Season 7 to keep some level of [excitement] in that relationship… We’ve been talking about creative solutions to that dynamic and how to move forward in a way that wouldn’t just be like a one-directional approach.”
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/?bctid=71419329001
Executive producer David Finkel also hinted that change was on the horizon, telling EW: “Obviously, Jess and Nick ended where they ended and we want to look at that and figure out how to make that play in some more interesting way. I think there’s still stuff that has to be done with all the characters. Nick, as an example, has grown so much and gotten to a place where he’s become sorta successful. He’s the one character over the course of the series that I think required the most growth and where he is now is exciting, but I don’t think we’ve mined as much as we could possibly mine out of it. In a world where Schmidt and Cece and Winston and Jess have all sort of found the thing that they’ve been looking for, at least in their work lives, that Nick’s still on his road is interesting. I think there’s a lot of fun to be had there.”
But will they still be together? The answer is – yes! TVLine confirmed that four years in the future the duo will remain an item. And there is now speculation that the season finale will feature the duo getting married – after Jake Johnson (who plays Nick) shared a photo of himself, and Zooey Deschanel decked out in a white dress.
Zooey has previously teased the possibility of Nick and Jess getting married, telling TVLine that they’ll be dealing “with the decision to get married or not get married… Jess wants him to propose, and then she decides she’s happy with the way it is. So, we’ll see.”