Question: How many episodes of New Girl will Zooey Deschanel miss next season due to her maternity leave? —Joanne
Ausiello: Originally, the mom-to-be was slated to miss four episodes. But then Fox pushed New Girl‘s Season 5 premiere to midseason, so that number has subsequently been cut to just one.
Do you know how New Girl will write out Zooey Deschanel during her pregnancy? — Sandra
Yup: jury duty! “She goes away for four episodes because she’s sequestered on a celebrity trial,” executive producer Liz Meriwether says, teasing that we’ll still see Jess via courtroom sketches. “John Cho is the prosecutor of the trial that she’s on the jury for. There’s a little bit of sexual tension between them in the episode where she leaves, but we don’t know what’s going to happen with that when she comes back. He was amazing. He would be a really interesting, cool guy to be on the show for a while.”
Question: Any hope of Nick and Jess getting back together on New Girl?! —Amy
Ausiello: Nick-Jess ‘shippers will get a tiny bone thrown their way in the form of brand new, never-before-seen post-breakup flashbacks in the May 5 finale. [AAditor’s note: The “tiny bone” thing was not a subtle dig at Nick’s manhood.]
Question: How long will we have to be without New Girl‘s Zooey Deschanel when she goes on maternity leave? –Rita
Ausiello: “She’s missing four episodes next season,” series creator Liz Meriwether tells TVLine. BONUS SCOOP: Meriwether says that Season 5 guest star John Cho, whose character Jess will meet while on jury duty, is playing a prosecutor at the courthouse.
Question: Is Zooey Deschanel going to miss any episodes due to her pregnancy? It would be weird to have New Girl without the new girl. —Tarik
Ausiello: She may need to skip a few episodes next season, but the show’s writers have come up a really funny/clever way to both explain Jess’ disappearance and ensure that she has a presence in every episode. And it’s not CGI. Nor is it a puppet.
Leah: Got any New Girl scoop, possibly about Schmidt?
Want to learn more about why Schmidt is the way he is, douchebag jar and all? Maybe meeting his mother will answer some of your burning questions! Nora Dunn will guest star in the March 10th episode as Mrs. Schmidt, and Zooey Deschanel says it's one of her favorite episodes yet! "It's such a great script," she says. "Basically, she expects a lot from Schmidt. She has very high standards for him and she still hasn't given him his Bar Mitzvah money. She's been withholding it for about 20 years. He starts to talk her into giving it to him and it's just so funny."
Lily: Any New Girl scoop?
Get ready for the return of not one but two of Jess's exes! Both Josh Gad and Justin Long are set to return in an upcoming episode of the Fox comedy. "Josh is awesome! He's just so, so funny," Zooey Deschaneltells us. "And we also have Justin Long coming back as Paul Genzlinger in that same episode. That's a terrific episode." So how do these two blasts from the past return to Jess's present? "Jess and Cece get blowouts and they get so cocky about it so they decide to go out and show off their hair," Deschanel explains. "They get invited to a party at Bear Claw's [Gad] apartment and they wake up the next morning in his apartment, they're crazy hungover, and Jess accidentally leaves her purse there. Their cell phones are dead, their car's been towed, and they have to walk of shame home. They end up running into Paul on their way and it's just hilarious. I think it's one of our best scripts yet."
Question: I’m dying to know whether the Jess/Nick ‘ship has sailed on New Girl, or if there is still a chance of them getting back together. I love the character of Ryan, but I love Jess and Nick! —Ganga
Ausiello: The ‘ship actually hit an iceberg and sank, this according to Jake Johnson. “Nick is really happy for Jess and Ryan, they’ve got a nice thing going,” shares the actor. “Nick and Jess are friends, and I think [the romantic relationship] is done. You can’t keep flipping back and forth, because the show needs an identity. They went back to just friends, and they’re happy with that. And I’m happy to do it.”
Is there any chance that New Girl‘s Nick and Jess will get back together? –Abi
We chatted up Jake Johnson just the other day, and his feeling is that the two shan’t reunite anytime soon, and possibly not even this season. “I think [showrunner] Liz Meriwether wants more fun between them. I think she doesn’t want it to feel heavy anymore, [with] them getting together and fighting,” he shared. “I think she wants to bring back the kind of fun of Season 1.” So, as Season 4unfurls, Nick’s new fixation will be… the apartment’s new land-line telephone? “He gets really excited about it,” previews the actor. “I start taking messages for Schmidt and Winston, kind of like a secretary.”
If New Girl’s Jess doesn’t have a lot of moves, how does she stand a chance with Reid Scott? — Jarett
Look, it’s not going to be everlasting love or anything—she does have another guy lined up already, after all. Shockingly, Jess will take love advice from the last person you’d expect. “She ultimately decides to do something that Winston suggests, which is called the ‘Joe Biden,’ which is to just be there,” executive producer Liz Meriwether says. “She just tries to stay in the game.”
I'm really curious to see how Nick and Jess are doing after their break-up last season on New Girl. What will their dynamic be like when the show returns? — Lindsay
Four months have passed since Nick and Jess were last romantically involved, but unfortunately for Jess, it's been a bit of a slow summer in the love department. That doesn't mean Jess will be running back to her ex though. In fact, Nick turns out to be a decent support system when Ms. Day attempts to get back out on the dating scene. But ultimately, it will be another housemate — and pretty much the last one most would expect — who will give Jess some great advice on how to pick up a dude. Living with boys isn't all bad after all!
The Once Upon a Time and Pretty Little Liars star will play Ryan, a distractingly handsome teacher who replaces Jess in the classroom now that she’s the vice principal. His confidence and swagger rub her the wrong way as she attempts to assert her authority.
As we first reported in Spoiler Room, Jess will end up falling for him. “The complication is that she’s very much his boss,” executive producer Liz Meriwether says. “Jess is fighting her feelings for this teacher at work.”
Casey: I still have hope that Nick and Jess will work it out on New Girl! Please tell me there's hope.
I don't want to burst your bubble, so I'll just let Jake Johnson so that instead. "As of now, Nick and Jess are not together," he definitively says. Boo! Hiss! However, there is a silver lining, as he also spills, "She's chasing other guys and Nick is not doing that." We're pretty sure he meant he's not chasing girls either? But we'll take it!
Do you have any Nick and Jess scoop for New Girl? — Diane
Jess won't be the only one going through a revolving door of dates. "There's an episode where Nick cycles through a lot of girls," executive producer Liz Meriwether tells me. "[Also], later on in the season, he's going to start dating one of Tran's granddaughters." But will she also be mute?
Laura: I'll take any scoop you've got on New Girl's next season!
Grab some boxes because someone may be on the move! "I think that would be smart, I hope some does," Zooey Deschanel said of one of the roomies moving out of the loft next season. "I think it would make sense. They did that on Friends…then you can have two different areas." Two roommates staying put? "I know they are putting Nick and Schmidt in bunk beds," Jake Johnson revealed, adding he's excited to see the duo "relive the college days."
Should I take it as good news that Nick and Jess are going on a cruise together on New Girl? — Micah
Unfortunately, I hear the ex-lovers booked the romantic (and non-refundable) getaway before their breakup. (However, they find a loophole that allows them bring the rest of the gang along.) So, no, you shouldn't expect Nick and Jess to rekindle their romance. To the contrary, I hear next season will explore whether they can even still live together. Gulp!
Please tell me that New Girl‘s heartbreaking Nick/Jess breakup wasn’t final. –KSP82
All I am at liberty to tell you is that this season’s final three episodes – airing April 15, April 29 and May 6 — will chronicle with the fallout of the break-up. Next Tuesday, for example, Jess and Nick go to tell the others about their split the morning after, but get derailed when Winston passes his police academy exam and they don’t want to ruin his special day.
Question: Are there any signs of trouble ahead for Nick and Jess on New Girl? —Lu
Ausiello: Well, I can confirm that they wake up in bed with four other people in the March 25 episode, although that may have something to do with the new version of True American that they partook in the night before. Scroll down for an exclusive first look at the morning after! (Fun fact, this is the same episode that features a guest turn by a certain True Detective beauty.)
Chad: How about something about New Girl?
When we caught up with the lovely Zooey Deschanel, the adorkable actress revealed some brand-new information about the highly anticipated debut of Jess' sister. "We're going to meet Jess' sister played by Linda Cardalini," Deschanel said. "She's Jess's opposite. She's like a wild, crazy and rebellious girl." But for all those at home who are doubting the extreme level of pyshco that Jess' older sis will bring to the mix, Zooey has a warning for you: "No, seriously. She's totally crazy."
