Actor and director Jake Johnson is vowing that nothing unexpected has happened in the world of the hit rom-com New Girl after the finale. He believes that the heartwarming conclusion from 2018 — which saw Johnson’s Nick end up with Jess (Zooey Deschanel) — would still stand if there was ever a reunion or revival, Johnson said during a 2023 SXSW panel. The Self Reliance director noted that Nick and Jess would not break up since fans last saw the characters.
“I think they would definitely make it work. I don’t think they would break up,” Johnson said. “They have a kid, they’re jumping around on that bed, you guys know it way more than me. I don’t think Nick or Jess would ever fall out of the commitment to do this thing together.”
He continued, “Liz Merriweather has created a very optimistic show, it’s people who are sweet to each other. So if it’s real and they’re alive, they’re all still together. They’re just a little fatter, besides Schmidt, the hair is a little thinner besides Schmidt…If we did a reunion, Schmidt needs to be in a toupee.”
Schmidt was played by Max Greenfield on the Fox sitcom, which also starred Lamorne Morris and Hannah Simone. Between 2011 and 2018, the show was nominated for five Emmy Awards and was streaming on Netflix from 2013 to 2023. New Girl will be moving to Hulu and Peacock starting April 17. Here’s how you can watch the show on Hulu outside the US.
Johnson also mentioned in his SXSW discussion that he was thrilled and surprised to see that new generations of audiences discovered New Girl on streaming well after it aired, noting that while many people watched the show’s pilot and followed it for its first two seasons, many viewers dropped off as it progressed. But, Johnson pointed out that viewers as young as 19 are responding even more strongly to a show that has been off the air for five years.
But he also quipped that one of the reasons he wanted to make his directorial debut, Self Reliance, a film rather than a show was to actually engage fans rather than simply having it be something they watch and consume in the background.
“‘Hey, I love “New Girl,” I go, ‘Thanks,’” Johnson said of interacting with fans. “‘Yeah, it’s the best, I can do my laundry, I have you on in the background,’” he sarcastically added of audiences describing binging the series in the background. “‘You’re just a voice in our house in the background, always.’ ‘Thanks, nice to see you guys.’”
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While Jess and Nick are a beloved rom-com couple that has gotten a happy ending, they’re apparently one of the few.
The Devil Wears Prada screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna revealed that if the film were to have a follow-up, Anne Hathaway’s iconic character Andy Sachs would not still be dating Adrian Grenier’s unsupportive chef Nate.
“Andy and Nate are definitely not together,” Brosh McKenna said earlier this year. “That much I can tell you.”
She further noted that the 27 Dresses couple portrayed by James Marsden and Katherine Heigl would also most likely go their separate ways.
“I, controversially, am not sure that Jane and Kevin from ’27 Dresses’ are still married. Just a thought,” she said. “I mean, there was a lot of romantic idealization — I don’t really feel like they got the chance to know each other. That was a big ass wedding. I’m concerned.”
