New Girl may be one of the most popular sitcoms of recent years, but that doesn't mean it's perfect. Like so many other 'attractive 20-somethings living together and figuring life out' series, New Girl has some issues with jokes that don't land, stereotyping, and often getting just a little bit too ridiculous.
Of course, none of this takes away from the fact that fans absolutely adored the adventures of the loft-dwelling crew, their drinking games, career choices, and romantic drama. However, when looking back at Jess and her roommates, it's hard to keep overlooking some of these issues.
Financially Nonsensical
Compared to many TV series that see twenty year olds living lavish lives on presumably minuscule incomes, New Girl does actually occasionally touch on the cost of living - and that is why so many people are sharing the loft in the first place. However, for all the occasional 'Jess has to take on a minimum wage job' storylines, most of the time it seems that money is no object. Especially when it comes to wacky adventures, the gang appear to have more than enough money... even Nick, who has an entire episode devoted to his inability to deal with finances - never actually has any real consequences to deal with.
Zany For The Sake Of It
Part of the charm of New Girl is that it is all kinds of quirky, and most of the time, that lands pretty well. However, there are moments where this 'kooky fun' vibe veers into out and out lunacy. Chasing runaway badgers through air ducts? Getting married as a 'prank'? It's this kind of storyline that turns the sitcom into a parody of itself.
Jess Is Frustratingly Boy-Crazy
Jess is, for the most part, someone who seems relatively adult. Sure, she has the same twenty-something flaws and quirks as everyone else, but she has a solid job that she likes, hobbies, and good friends. It's strange, then, that on top of her more realistic flaws, Jess is completely defined by her desire for a boyfriend.
While everyone else has periods where their romantic storylines are not the most important part of the show, Jess is constantly looking for a man, dating, or breaking up.
Wacky Adventures Are Consequence-Free
This has some crossover with the lack of financial realism, but it goes beyond that. The gang are constantly doing things that are 'wacky' to the point of being potentially flat-out illegal, or that would (at the very least) have some kind of longer-term impact on their living situation or jobs... but the main characters rarely seem to face any consequences for their capers. Admittedly, this is something that most sitcoms struggle with, but given how over the top a lot of these adventures are, it's particularly noticeable in New Girl.
Disappearing Side Characters
Another sitcom regular issue is that side characters, including family members, really just show up to help along a plotline, and then disappear again. It's a frustratingly unrealistic situation, and one that means the characters appear to have no real connection to their families (most of them, anyway). It's something that makes sense for the way that sitcom stories are told, but having fewer disappearing characters (like Jess's sister, or Cece's mother) would make for a better show.
The Characters Are Often Pretty Terrible People
Fans are supposed to find all the characters funny, sure, but also sympathetic. We are supposed to be rooting for Jess and her friends to get what they want in life, but sometimes, their behavior can make this difficult, as some of them are just flat-out terrible people at times.
From Nick being utterly incapable as an adult and making others take care of him to Winston literally stealing a woman's pet, all of the characters have some black marks that feel unrealistic, exaggerated, and a barrier to really loving them.
Wildly Unrealistic Drinking
While there's no denying that a bunch of twenty-something friends all living together are likely to enjoy a few drinks, the New Girl characters take this to a fairly disturbing level. Their games of True American leave them all blackout on a regular basis (even right before a wedding), and they drink pretty much every episode... but their hangovers are shockingly light. They do exist (thankfully, otherwise it would be completely unrealistic), but these guys are leaping out of bed to go to parties after being up all night completely trashed.
Jess And Nick
Jess and Nick are supposed to be the will-they-won't-they of New Girl, the two that everyone is rooting for, despite their ups and downs. However, as a couple, these two actually make very little sense - and it's proven in the show because they break up for good reason. Instead of rooting for them to get together in the end, the series would have been much better off if they grew up and fell for other people.
Laughing With, or Laughing At?
New Girl likes to make jokes of a range of issues - including racist stereotypes (who can forget Schmidt heading to a wedding fair in a literal turban?), slut-shaming, treating Cece and her model friends like sex objects, etc etc. Most of the time, it is clear that the show is intentionally highlighting these issues to show how awful they are, but at times, it's not entirely clear if the show is laughing at them... or laughing with them. Sometimes, that line is just a little too blurry, and it can come across as problematic.
Written For Jess - Then Replaces Her
New Girl was essentially written as a vehicle for Zooey Deschanel to show off her quirky comedy as Jess, so when the show wrote her out in the fifth season, it was a big issue. Megan Fox appeared as the super-sexy (and pretty two dimensional) new roommate, but the show would have been much better off simply taking a little pause between seasons. New Girl simply isn't New Girl without Jess.