Despite concluding its run nearly four years ago, the Fox sitcom New Girl remains exceptionally popular on Netflix, where it continues to attract new audiences that were somehow not exposed to the hysterical and heartfelt series as it originally aired.
The more passionate New Girl fans virtually study the show rather than passively viewing it, and many of them have identified subtle messages, jokes, and shoutouts during their repeated viewings that more casual audiences have likely not identified. Less-obsessive New Girl viewers who have overlooked these hidden details may find them amusing, interesting, and heartwarming.
Bears Are Shown Or Mentioned In Every Episode
The New Girl writers' eccentric sense of humor is clearly evident in the characters' dialogue, but the writers also channeled their penchant for the bizarre into less-obvious facets of the show.
sunshine_yellow mentioned a rumor that each episode contains some sort of reference to bears, saying, "I read somewhere that the writers of New Girl put in a bear reference (weather (sic) it's a sculpture, painting, animal, etc) or the characters mention bears or something in every episode." Such off-kilter humor established the series as one of the most passionately-followed sitcoms of recent years.
The Stars' Body Doubles Make A Cameo Appearance In The Series Finale
As the central five characters leave their loft in the series finale – a heart-wrenching sendoff for some of the best TV roommates – a group of younger people who bear a striking resemblance to them are shown moving into their former living space. According to Redditor SwampFlowers, "That group was their body doubles."
The New Girl writers likely wanted to include the theme of rebirth in the final episode, and the inclusion of the stars' body doubles achieved this objective while also providing recognition to these underappreciated crew members. This indicates a degree of thoughtfulness that many television writers don't appear to apply to their work.
One Of The Show's Directors Is Included In An Airport Standby List
In one scene from an episode in which the characters are waiting at an airport, Nick notices his and Winston's names at the bottom of a standby list. An extremely subtle detail that only the most avid of New Girl fans would notice is that the name at the top of the list belongs to Jake Kasdan, one of the show's directors.
Commenting on the photo they posted of the list, ilovesitcomsandshrek said, "Even though Jake Kasdan didn't direct all of the episodes, it's still a pretty cool breaking of the fourth wall."
Nick Goes To Coachella Secretly
It may be difficult for many fans to imagine the New Girl characters pursuing their own interests independently – as they are virtually inseparable throughout the series' 7 seasons – but dontbastapasta concluded that Nick attended the music festival Coachella on his own without the rest of the group's knowledge.
They say, "In 'Spiderhunt,' Schmidt asks who in the loft has been to a single Coachella, let alone three, and Nick has multiple Coachella posters in his room! So this leads me to believe that Nick is secretly going to Coachella lol." Nick's connection to the music festival is one of many unsolved things New Girl fans still want to know.
Jess Predicts Winston's Obsession With Birds Before It Develops
One of Winston's defining eccentricities is the fondness for birds that he develops in the later seasons – a trait that would serve as the highlight of some of Winston's funniest New Girl episodes. Reddit user ambouldin noticed that Jess predicted this running gag in a season 4 episode, quoting Zooey Deschanel's character as saying, "I just see a really old Winston. Just eating handfuls of food (sic) birdseed right out of the bag. He gets really into birds."
Whether or not the writers intended to realize this prediction in future seasons, Jess' comment makes for an interesting detail upon repeated viewings of the series.
Jess' Glasses Don't Have Lenses
As is standard on film and television sets, the glasses that Zooey Deschanel wears on camera have no lenses. Reddit user bettersafethen- explained the reasoning for this seemingly-illogical practice, saying, "The lights on set are really bright and the reflection can ruin a shot. Even with a good anti-reflective coating, it still shows green or blue over their eyes."
Costume choices such as this are generally minor enough to be overlooked by viewers, but shows with followings as feverish as that of New Girl are often unable to shield any detail, regardless of its subtlety.
Nick's Name Change Was Based On That Of One Of The Writers
According to dreamsofaninsomniac, the scene in which Nick briefly mentions that his real name is Jamile is directly based on the lived experience of one of New Girl's writers. The Redditor says, "In 'A Father's Love' when Nick says his real name is Jamile, that seems like a writers' in-joke since one of their writers actually did change his name from Jamile to Nick."
While such nods aren't discerned by the majority of any show's viewership, dedicated fans particularly enjoy such references when they manage to identify them.
Jess References A Movie That Zooey Deschanel Was In
In one episode, Jess makes a brief reference to the 2007 film Bridge to Terabithia. Hyper-observant fans who are particularly in tune with popular culture would notice that Zooey Deschanel – who plays Jess – was a star in the aforementioned movie. alwayscamerahappy was evidently one such viewer, saying, "Jess says Bridge To Terebithia (sic) makes children cry and Zooey was in that movie."
This line may have been the writers' attempt to humorously acknowledge that Jessica Day is a fictional character without distracting most audiences from the unfolding scene.
The Show's Creator Made Several Cameo Appearances
While not formally an actor, New Girl creator Elizabeth Meriwether makes multiple minor appearances throughout the series that dedicated fans who have researched the show may have noticed. okandaokand mentioned that they are one of the New Girl fans who particularly enjoyed Meriwether's brief appearances, saying, "It's so fun just seeing her pop up here and there, I saw her just now in season 5 ep 6 'Reagan'.'"
Her creative brilliance behind the scenes has evidently been adequately appreciated, based on the extent to which fans have noticed and enjoyed her work in front of the camera.