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 favorite 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 Vodka, 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. 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.