Not every TV series gets to plan its ending. While some shows know they’re airing a final season, others continue writing without knowing whether they’ll be renewed. “New Girl” fell squarely into the latter category during Season 6.
While “New Girl” got off to a strong start ratings-wise during its freshman season, the numbers had tailed off dramatically by Season 6, leaving Fox with a decision to make about the show’s future. As a result, creator Liz Meriwether was given a difficult task. “We were told to prepare for both versions,” Meriwether told The Hollywood Reporter. “So we decided to create a finale that we would be happy with either way — and just hope for a season seven. It’s tricky.”
While the episode tied up a few loose ends, it also left the characters in a satisfying place in case audiences never saw them again. The writers did decide to reunite Nick (Jake Johnson) and Jess (Zooey Deschanel) at the end of the episode, though Meriwether said that didn’t necessarily wrap up their story. “Even if it feels like we’ve maybe backed ourselves into a corner … I still feel like there’s a lot we can do with the characters.”
Season 7 gave Nick and Jess’ story a proper ending
In the end, Fox decided that “New Girl” would get a seventh and final truncated season, thanks in part to cast members reaching out to them. That gave the writers room to further develop the characters’ stories. While Season 6 ended with Nick and Jess getting back together, Season 7 revolved around whether or not they would eventually get married (which they finally do).
The finale of “New Girl” involved a time jump with the characters playing a rousing game of True American with their children, which show creator Liz Meriwether said was a first for the show. “I think we were all feeling like, ‘How do we show that they stay friends even without living together?'” she told Entertainment Weekly. “[The writers] wrote that flash-forward in, and I was nervous about it because we’ve never done anything like that on the show. But it ended up, I think, working really well.”
Although the shortened final season wasn’t a ratings success, it received positive reviews from critics. Meriwether said she, too, was satisfied. “I feel like we did so much on the show that we wanted to do, and some stuff that I wish we hadn’t done,” she said in the same interview. “I just feel really grateful for the chance to do a show for seven years. It’s increasingly rare.”
