New Girl has been off the air since 2018, but Dermot Mulroney, who portrays Jess' love interest, Russell, recently told Screen Rant he would be on-board for a revival of the series. While fans would certainly be thrilled for a continuation of the series after the finale that found the friends embarking on new chapters and becoming parents, there are storylines that should be addressed or corrected.
Though there are some obvious plot holes like Jess' volleyball skills fluctuating, some are not as obvious as Reddit fans have realized some major and minor plot holes in the show. Only avid viewers would realize the mistakes and continuity errors presented season to season.
Winston’s Character Progression
In season 1, Winston is shown as a very capable person. He claims he’s a fast learner, able to pick up the hand bells quickly when Jess is trying to teach troubled youth. However, UnparliamentaryTea notes as the series continues, “Winston is shown to be a lot more clumsy and not particularly good at a lot of things.”
He fails his exam for the police academy on his first try and appears to be no longer naturally good at picking up skills and hobbies. Winston as a character becomes more comedic and ridiculous. He’s no longer the capable person introduced in season 1 but is used only for silly situations where he’s not taken seriously. There’s no reason for Winston to become incompetent.
Jess' Claustrophobia
In season 2 episode “Elaine’s Big Day,” Nick and Winston are crawling through air ducts with the intention of pulling a prank to ruin Cece and Shivrang's wedding. Jess shows up in the air ducts to stop them, but ttaylorannee points out, “Jess shows Winston how claustrophobic she is just being in her closet, yet crawls through a duct at Cece’s wedding a few episodes later without mentioning it.
This may be an inconsistency with Jess’ personality, or it could be something more. Cece is Jess’ best friend, and she was trying to stop a prank from ruining her day even though she already revealed she didn’t want to marry. It is entirely plausible that Jess sucked it up to stop the boys because of her love for Cece.
Priyanka Parekh
Fans know that Cece’s dad passed away during her childhood, but her mother, Priyanka, is alive and well. Audiences never see Priyanka until season 5 for Schmidt and Cece’s engagement party despite Cece’s wedding to Shivrang in season 2. In episode “Tinfinity,” Shivrang discovers their mothers have met and agree to their arranged marriage, so it would make sense for audiences to see her during their elaborate celebration and her reaction to everything going awry.
However, bethereinthemorning notes an odd plot hole, writing, “Nick didn’t know what she looked like when he went to pick her up at the airport.” If Priyanka was present for the first wedding, Nick wouldn’t pick up the wrong woman. Despite Cece and Schmidt being relationship goals, Priyanka’s feelings for the ruined Cece and Shivrang wedding should have been a bigger deal.
Schmidt's Sales Skills
In the season 4 episode "Swuit," Nick and Schmidt are prepared to pitch a new business venture to Shark Tank's Lori Greiner. Nick completely botches the pitch as Schmidt stands next to him, never taking over. Fan thesearemychanclas notes, "It’s so out of character of him to not jump in...he has over nearly 10 years in marketing."
Schmidt works at a marketing firm and is competent at his job as the only man in an office full of women. No viewer would guess he has experience in marketing considering the terrible pitch. However, this moment is not technically a plot hole. Schmidt cannot be expected to jump into the pitch when he cannot even follow what Nick is trying to talk about and is clearly at a loss for words.
Winston Forgets About Cops
After a leg injury ends his basketball career in Latvia, Winston moves back into the loft and goes through a slew of careers before graduating from the police academy. Upon accepting a position with LAPD, he and Coach proceed to sing the theme song for the television series Cops.
However, Reddit user Friday_Night_Vibes noticed a plot hole, writing, “when Winston has to prove his job is harder than Nicks, Nick mentions they should make a show about what Winston does.” He agrees despite knowing the show already exists. Winston never mentions Cops again. Winston is one of the funniest characters, so he could just be humoring Nick, but it seems unlikely as he’s so excited to become a cop in the first place. The existence of Cops is simply written out of the series.
Nick’s Cell Phone
There’s a considerable inconsistency between Nick and his cell phone. Fan 20frvrz points out the plot hole, writing Nick “doesn’t have a cell phone and can’t get one.” In season the 1 episode “Fancyman, Part I,” Jess takes him phone shopping, but he is unable to obtain a phone due to his credit score being terrible.
He tells Russell he has no phone because he “doesn’t want to be tied to a corporate system” and is gifted a brand-new phone. However, in the eason 3 episode “Double Date,” Nick tells Jess that he cannot help her call Cece because he is out of minutes that he purchased in 1999. If he had a new phone in season 1, he shouldn’t still be using minutes on an old phone from the ‘90s.
Coach & Women
In season 1, Coach enters Jess’ room and reveals that his boss says he is terrible at talking to women. However, fan InternetAddict104 points out that “it was a whole plot point that he grew up surrounded by sisters, so he knows women," and therefore, him being terrible with women makes zero sense.
After moving back into the loft, Coach helps defuse an argument between Jess and Cece because he’s good at understanding women. Coach may be one of the best characters, but claiming he’s terrible with women goes against his portrayal. Considering Damon Wayans Jr. left the show after the pilot, this isn't necessarily a plot hole as Coach was not fully developed until his return in season 3.
Nick’s Old Roommate
Nick and Schmidt have been roommates since college. However, in season 1 episode, “Fancyman, Part II,” the audience is introduced to Nick’s old law school roommate, Dirk. While there certainly could have been a break in Nick and Schmidt living together while he attended law school, there is no explanation as to why none of the roommates know Dirk.
Reddit user JessicaFreakingP points out the plot hole, writing, “The math doesn’t math.” Certainly, if Dirk had been rooming with Nick after he met Schmidt, Dirk and Schmidt would have met at least once. The timeline of Nick and Schmidt living together is inconsistent throughout the series.
Gavin Schmidt’s New Family
Fans are aware Schmidt’s dad abandoned him and his mom as he went on to start an entirely new family. In season 5, Gavin reappears after his son and Cece get engaged. He flirts heavily with Jess as she scouts wineries for the couple. Reddit user Ok-Shop8256 questions Gavin’s history, writing he “later reconciles with his dad and no mention is made of these people?”
As Gavin and Schmidt work on their relationship, there’s never a mention of his other family. Obviously, he most likely divorced since he’s dating multiple women, but he makes no mention of any half-siblings. If he was going to repair his relationship with his father, it would make more sense to have Schmidt also grow into the idea of meeting and forming relationships with half-siblings. Gavin is just a side character who could’ve had a bigger arc for Schmidt.
Abby Day
In season 3, Jess’ sister, Abby appears for three episodes to wreak havoc on her life, fool around with Winston, and never return. At the end of “Sister III,” she leaves to live with their mom in Oregon. However, when Jess returns to Portland for her father’s wedding in season 4, her sister isn’t even present.
Reddit user PSSalamander writes, “even if she had moved out by then, wouldn't she still come to her dad's wedding?” Though Abby is never present for major events like their dad’s wedding or Jess and Nick’s wedding, Bob Day briefly mentions he has another daughter when Jess is visiting to care for him in season 6. Abby Day seems to have zero relationships with her family following her character arc in season 3.