Minx, the new comedy series streaming on HBO Max, is Jake Johnson's best chance of escaping New Girl's shadow. Since New Girl ended, Johnson has had success acting in a variety of different projects. However, Minx is exactly the show to help Jake Johnson be known as more than Nick Miller and break free of the typecasting that has plagued him since that role.
Minx, set in 1970s Los Angeles, focuses on young feminist Joyce (Olivia Lovibond), who has ambitions to start a magazine focusing on feminist issues. However, no publisher will accept her proposal, until she meets Doug Renetti (Jake Johnson), who has a small business publishing smut magazines. He is game to help Joyce, but with a catch: he wants the magazine to also include full-frontal spreads of male nudity. These unlikely partners go on to create the first women's erotic magazine, Minx, possibly inspired by the true story of European magazine Suck.
Jake Johnson became popular with audiences as the schlubby, lazy, yet lovable Nick Miller in New Girl, but Minx is the project Johnson's career needed because it breaks him out of the mold he's been typecast in. In a recent interview, Johnson revealed that after New Girl ended, he would always receive scripts for the same types of characters: "late 30s; has not reached his potential; in between jobs; and is just not quite ready for adulthood." (via Thrillist) Basically, Johnson was being asked to play very similar characters to Nick Miller. For example, on ABC's Stumptown, Jake Johnson played Grey McConnell, who was a bartender just like Nick in New Girl. Even Johnson's beloved role in Spider-Man: In The Spider-Verse as Peter B. Parker, a likable loser and Miles's mentor, was a variation of the Nick Miller character, albeit one with superpowers.
However, Minx is something completely different for Jake Johnson. His character, Doug, breaks the Nick Miller mold. Unlike Nick, Doug is very business-minded; he is interested in working with Joyce on her magazine because he sees women as a new market of readers he hasn't yet reached. Doug is a little sleazy and cocky, but he does have a heart and sees potential in Joyce. He also encourages her to have fun and enjoy the process of creating an erotic magazine. Jake Johnson fits effortlessly into the role even though it's different from the usual types of characters he plays. Minx is also good for Johnson's career because it's an HBO Max show, one allowed to be more mature than New Girl, allowing Johnson to flex his acting muscles in a more adult role.
Minx has already proven itself to be a fun show with sharp commentary on feminism through a 1970s lens, but it's also turned out to be the type of project Jake Johnson needs to escape the shadow of New Girl. Doug is a distinct character that breaks away from the Nick Miller mold that Johnson had been stuck in after the Fox sitcom ended. Hopefully, this show proves to Hollywood that Jake Johnson has the range to play different varieties of characters in the future.
Minx releases new episodes Thursdays on HBO Max.