When fans think of easter eggs in movies and television, they tend to think of them as part of projects that belong to wider universes or rebooted franchises. Riverdale has Archie Comics Easter eggs while the Marvel Cinematic Universe references its movie and TV projects in small ways. Sitcoms aren't particularly known for their Easter eggs, but New Girl has quite a few.
Most of the easter eggs in the series actually reference real life events or outside properties the cast was involved in, but others create some interesting foreshadowing for the series, or callbacks to the start of the show. Fans who love to binge watch will enjoy going back to search for Easter eggs they might have missed when the watched the series the first time around.
Jess And The Number 42
When Jess first references this number in the series, it's while explaining to Nick that she's always the person who loves more in a relationship. She tells him about how she once gave a guy her ATM code even though she didn't know him that well, and Nick jokingly tries to get it out of her, but she only says, "four, two" before she realizes. When first meeting Sam, Jess also tells him she's attended 42 Creed concerts, even though she's not actually a fan.
42, as fans of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy will know, is the answer to life, the universe, and everything. Zooey Deschanel actually starred in the movie adaptation, making the 42s in Jess' life a reference to the real life work of the actress.
Cece Doesn't Work For The United Nations
The episode "Models" sees Cece and Jess get into their first real argument on screen. Jess wants to spend Cece's birthday with her the same way they always do, but Cece already has plans to go out with other models. Jess calls Cece dumb, though she doesn't mean it, but also makes the comment about modeling, "it's not like you work at the U.N."
That is also a real life reference, but this time to Hannah Simone. While Simone is an actress, model, and producer, she's also worked outside of the entertainment sector. She worked for the United Nations in London as a human rights and refugee officer.
The Series Likes To Reuse Names
Plenty of fans were shocked to find out that Schmidt's first name is Winston, but they really shouldn't have been. The series likes to reuse names for characters a lot.
When Schmidt pretends to be on the phone outside of the elevator early in the series, he says, "thanks, Ferguson," before hanging up. Ferguson is later the name of Winston's cat. Likewise, Schmidt talks on the phone with a woman named Denise in the seventh season, and Ruth starts to call the color green Denise not long after. Jess even chats with a rhinoceros at the zoo whose name is Rhonda long before Winston starts dating the prank-loving Rhonda.
A Creator Cameo
Liz Meriwether wrote the pilot that would become New Girl after penning the script for the movie No Strings Attached. The series creator hadn't worked in television before, and she ended up getting to be heavily involved in a lot of parts of the series. She helped write the theme song, directed two episodes, and wrote several in addition to coming up with the concept for the series. Meriwether also appears on camera.
She appears in the season five episode "Reagan" when Megan Fox joins the show. Fans can spot her when she cameos as the employee at the nautical themed hotel where Reagan is staying.
Music Bookends Jess And Nick's Relationship
Fans already know that music is an important part of Jess' life, but it's also an important part of her relationship with Nick. Two big moments for her and Nick at the end of the series utilize the same songs that provide a jumping off point in their friendship in the first season.
When Jess first moves into the loft after her bad breakup, she watches Dirty Dancing on repeat. Nick knows that's her comfort movie, so when she gets stood up, he leads Schmidt and Coach to sing "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life" to her in the restaurant. The song is also playing when he proposes to her in season seven because he does so right outside of a movie playing in the park - Dirty Dancing. Likewise, even after telling her he doesn't dance in the third episode of the series, he does the chicken dance to "Groovy Kind Of Love" with her at a wedding. That same song is the one that plays as they get married six seasons later.
The Jennifer's Body Reference
In seasons five and six, Reagan becomes a recurring character on the show, and sometimes roommate at the loft. Played by Megan Fox, the character ends up in a relationship with Nick just as Jess realizes she still has feelings for him.
Jess and Reagan actually get along really well though, and it leads to things like Jess jokingly asking her how she can still look so good after just getting off a long flight. Reagan jokes that she, "made a deal with the devil." Plenty of Fox fans have taken that as a reference to her role in the horror movie Jennifer's Body in which a band makes a deal with the devil, which leaves the title character possessed by a demon.
Police Officers
Not a lot of fans saw Winston becoming a police officer on the show's radar early in the series, but maybe they should have. It's potentially foreshadowed in the second season. When the gang goes out for Halloween, Winston dresses as a police officer for the night, though he does get into an altercation with a real police officer when thinks the other man is also in costume.
Though not an Easter egg per say, it's also an interesting detail to note that all of the main male cast members have played police officers in other projects. In addition to Winston, Lamorne Morris plays a police officer in the movies Insanity and The Christmas Chronicles. Max Greenfield previously played one in Veronica Mars. Damon Wayans Jr. played one in both Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Let's Be Cops, the latter of which also starred Jake Johnson.
Welcoming Baby Otter
Season five sees Jess sequestered on jury duty, leaving her room open to sublet for a while. That's when Reagan joins the series, but it's also when Zooey Deschanel takes maternity leave. The birth of her daughter is actually acknowledged in the show.
While a news broadcast is playing, they announce that "in otter news," there's been a new baby otter born at the zoo. That's a nod to Deschanel's daughter, Elsie Otter Pechenik being born during the time the actress is away from the show.
A Friday Night Lights Nod
When Jess first meets Russell, it's just after teaching the sex education portion of her science curriculum. During their entire meeting, there's a list of things on the board behind her to encourage different activities amongst her middle school students. Among them are some gems like, "get to know your neighbor" and "change your email password."
Funnily enough, one of the last items on the list is, "watch Friday Night Lights." The television series, which was inspired by a book, and a movie of the same name, had just finished its final season when New Girl began. Clearly someone on staff was a fan, not just Jessica Day. It's one of the only items on her list that doesn't appear to have been erased and rewritten.
Bears In Every Episode
Fans who pay careful attention will notice that over the course of 146 episodes of the series, there is one constant. No, it's not the cast. It's bears.
Every episode of the series contains a reference to bears. That might include a character saying the word, like Coach in the pilot singing, "bears in my house," when he doesn't know the words to "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life." It might be a mention of the Chicago Bears by Nick. The reference could even be an actual stuffed bear. It's a running theme in the show that once fans notice it, it's hard not to look for.