The New Girl season 6 finale is a huge question mark. "Five Stars For Beezus" wraps up some huge storylines (SPOILER ALERT: Nick and Jess are finally together for good), announces there’s a baby on the way for the very stable Parekh-Schmidts, and gives the real Winston some closure on his missing dad. All of that definitely signals this is the perfect closer for TV’s favourite roommates, amid sagging ratings, a sharp downturn in buzz, and cast members themselves saying this could be the end.
Despite being a New Girl fan from the very beginning, I’m not crying over the possibility last night’s episode was a fanfare-free series finale.
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When New Girl began it was part of the wave of female-led comedies taking over network TV in 2011. That year’s freshman class included Whitney, Are You There God, It’s Me Chelsea, and Don’t Trust The B---- In Apartment 23. Where all of those shows failed, New Girl succeeded by being being genuinely funny, warm, and engaging for viewers.
But TV is a totally different landscape these days. There are now more winning female comedies and dramedies than I can keep up with, from Jane The Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend to Broad City and Insecure out there. And it’s not like this trend is going stop, since Girlboss’s Netflix premiere is imminent.
In 2011, millennial comedies about young women were a rarity, so anything was appreciated and seriously necessary. But now when I turn on New Girl — and still do, every week — the stories don’t have the same snap, crackle, and pop of their genre competitors. The hangout comedy definitely feels like something that was conceived when How I Met Your Mother and Cougar Town still roamed the Earth.
New Girl has also officially re-entered old territory by sensibly reuniting soulmates Nick (Jake Johnson) and Jess (Zooey Deschanel) after three long years apart. We know what these two are like as a couple because we’ve literally seen it before.
Although I’m at peace with New Girl ending, I do actually hope FOX gives the series a shortened season 7 order, if only to give Winston (Lamorne Morris) the over-the-top wedding he deserves. Winnie The Bish’s proposal plan had 21 steps, so please imagine just how extravagant his wedding prep will be.
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