New Girl is a sitcom about the kooky Jess Day (Zooey Deschanel) when she moves into a loft apartment in LA with Nick (Jake Johnson), Schmidt (Max Greenfield), Winston (Lamorne Morris) and the trio’s former roommate Coach (Damon Wayans Jr.). The show premiered in 2011 and ran for seven seasons until 2018, with 146 episodes. Though New Girl ended four years ago, it has maintained its popularity from the start. It’s funny, has a cast of lovable characters and plenty of celebrity cameos, and the episodes are short 20-minute bites, making it very binge-worthy.
There really isn’t a bad season of New Girl. The series is great from start to finish and is one of those shows you can always turn to when you’re having a bad day or just need some general comfort. Though all the seasons are great, here are all seven ranked.
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7 Season 7
A lot of New Girl fans have a love/hate relationship with the final season. Season seven is the shortest season in the series, with just eight episodes and an hour-long finale. Originally, the show was supposed to end after season six, and while it’s nice to have extra episodes of the show, it feels rushed and not fully fleshed out.
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The seventh season jumps three years after the sixth ends and sees all Jess, Nick, Winston, Ally, Cece, and Schmidt at different stages of their lives and dealing with big issues like parenting and impending proposals — or the lack thereof. The time jump is fun because it answers the “I wonder what happened next?” question that fans of TV shows often have after the finale, but with it being such a short season, it doesn’t add as much as it could’ve if it were longer and more in-depth. However, a New Girl reunion or reboot that catches up with where the characters are today could be interesting.
6 Season 5
20th Television
There’s a lot going on in season five. With Coach moving out and Zooey Deschanel on maternity leave — resulting in a lack of Jess — the writers introduced Reagan (Megan Fox) to the group. Reagan’s character is good and adds a bit of flair to the show in Jess’s absence, but it doesn’t totally mask it, and, unfortunately, Reagan’s character really doesn’t amount to more than a new romantic interest for Nick until he inevitably ends up with Jess later, though she was a fun addition during the season either way. Despite the weird work from the writing room to address a slew of absences, season five isn’t all bad. It finally sees the wedding between Cece and Schmidt, bringing all the loftmates together for the event.
5 Season 6
Season six’s biggest issue is its pacing. It just feels slow and drawn out. This season sees Winston and Ally build on their relationship, and Cece and Schmidt navigate house-hunting and life as newlyweds. This is also the season where Nick dives into his relationship with Reagan and tries to make long distance work out. In the meantime, Jess comes to terms with her feelings for Nick, but because he’s currently with Reagan, there’s a weird love triangle that forms.
It’s one of those instances where you can pretty accurately guess how things are going to end, but it takes forever for the season to actually get there — literally the end of the season. Despite the slow tempo, season six has a fun — yet brief — Brooklyn Nine-Nine crossover and is still packed with the humor New Girl is so loved for.
4 Season 3
Season three is full of twists for a sitcom. This season finally brings Nick and Jess together just to break them up, Schmidt cheats on Cece and Coach moves back into the loft. There’s a lot that happens in this season and at times it can feel like a little too much. However, for all that’s jam-packed into this season, it’s well-paced, well-written, fun to watch, and full of good humor. It comes at a point where the characters and their relationships with each other are well-established, so the writers just take off and have fun with the show, which results in a very enjoyable, season.
3 Season 4
Season four is another great example of what happens when you have a well-established cast of characters that have formed connections with the audience. Instead of each having separate character arcs, the characters start working together and become more of an ensemble. They go places, get into shenanigans and even have issues as a group, which highlights the electric chemistry of the cast and makes the show more fun to watch. Season four is full of hilarious, iconic episodes and moments, and also sees major plot points in the series, like Schmidt’s proposal to Cece. It’s a good season all around, and by far one of New Girl’s best.
2 Season 1
This is the season that gets you hooked, and it’s a great intro to the show and its characters. When New Girl premiered in 2011, it was hilarious from the very start. While the trope of “friends living together in an apartment doing things” isn’t new (think Friends, Big Bang Theory, even iCarly), New Girl managed to introduce it in a fun and fresh way. With a concept that’s rather unoriginal, it can be hard for some — namely critics — to believe the show not only lasted as long as it did, but managed to garner such a mass audience. But one of New Girl’s major triumphs is that it managed to keep getting better after each episode and each season, even despite its lulls.
1 Season 2
Following a strong introductory season, the second season of New Girl is one of the show’s major peaks. At this point, the audience is well-acquainted with the characters and is shipping their relationships like the will they/won’t they, back and forth relationships between Jess and Nick and Cece and Schmidt. These relationships are major focal points throughout the entire series and they’re both built up in such a strong way from the beginning that it’s easier to stay invested in them for the next five seasons.
Season two is also hilarious and has some of the show’s best writing. Some of New Girl’s best episodes come from season two, like “Parking Spot,” “Cooler,” “Chicago,” “Models” and “Cabin.” Season two also established New Girl as a show that’s highly capable of weaving in impressive guest stars like Jamie Lee Curtis, Bill Burr, Nick Kroll, Rob Reiner, Olivia Munn, and Dermot Mulroney. Season two really has it all, and while the entire series is fantastic and worthy of re-watch after re-watch, the second season is peak New Girl.
