One would be hard-pressed to find a more beloved modern sitcom ensemble than the roommates on New Girl. Though the FOX half-hour comedy was never a huge ratings hit over its seven-season run, it nevertheless has become a popular streaming option and its cast members have now become well known comedic commodities. Every character in the core ensemble is beloved and endearing in their own way, but Schmidt arguably takes the "breakout" title.
Max Greenfield's prickly republican metrosexual breadwinner of the loft had lots of highs and lows in the show's narrative. Here are ten ways the character's decisions continued to deteriorate.
Ruining an Entire Wedding
Schmidt's ongoing on-again-off-again relationship with Cece was a major overarching storyline throughout the series. Many of the most frustrating moments of the character's screentime are related to his behavior about or to Cece.
One of Schmidt's more annoying traits is his overzealous assumptions of grandeur when it comes to his romance with Cece. On her wedding day, Schmidt decides to ruin the whole affair based solely on an "eye conversation" he interprets between him and Cece. Funny, but too much.
Telling Cece That Nick Was Cheating on Jess
In season three, the major storyline was the relationship between Jess and Nick. However, close behind was the mind-numbing arc of Schmidt cheating on both Cece and Elizabeth, his college girlfriend, with the other.
Truly the character's ethical low-point in New Girls's seven-seasons, a major forehead-slapper came when he elected to lie to Cece and tell her Nick was cheating on Jess instead of just telling her the truth. Sleazy and cowardly, it was an icky incident for the two, and one that would have major repercussions for the couple.
Moving Out
During the show's midsection, Schmidt loses it a little bit. His behavior clearly, and comedically, reflects a man in inner turmoil. After one of the series' best episodes, "Keaton," Schmidt decides to move out of the loft, and down the hall.
An idea that likely seemed funnier on paper than in filmed execution, removing Schmidt from the show's home base only isolated the character's worst facets. An interesting experiment, no doubt, but it was extremely nice when he moved back to the old stomping grounds a few episodes later.
Dashing Any Hope of Cece and Coach
Never one of the show's most "shipped" couples, Cece and Coach's brief, and admittedly awkward, fling still showed potential in the two's similar outlooks on life and confident ways of carrying themselves. Schmidt's inevitable jealousy for the pairing was irritating because it demonstrated the character's fundamental lack of maturity and acceptance of both Cece and Coach's autonomy and freedom to explore.
Unfortunately, the writers abandoned the idea to develop Schmidt and Cece's recoupling and eventual marriage. The single date Coach and Cece endeavored on remains a curious detour in the show's arc, especially in regards to the unflattering light it put on Schmidt.
Everything With Abby
Late into the show's third season, during the period when Schmidt still lives across the hall, he begins dating Jess's sister, Abby. Even though Linda Cardellini is an extremely talented actress, however, the Abby character didn't work at all.
Schmidt's bizarre behavior in the relationship verged on off-putting, and his eventual decision to dump his savings into one of Abby's half-baked business plans is alternately annoying and pitiful to watch. Thankfully the end-result is Schmidt moving back into the loft. Curiously, Abby never reappears and is hardly mentioned again in the rest of the series.
Getting Everyone Beaten Up Over His Ego
A ton of comedy was pulled from Schmidt's fragile ego over the years. There are innumerable examples of times when Schmidt's arrogance blinded him, and the other roommates, into stumbling upon precarious situations.
Perhaps the greatest, certainly grandest, example comes in the Season Five episode "Road Trip." After he is humiliated/emasculated in front of Cece, Schmidt goes above and beyond to prove his masculinity, culminating in his provoking of a bar fight with biker-brutes. Schmidt's inability to let the minor incident go turns into a whole existential crisis he feels can only be solved with fists.
Kissing Jess
After Nick kisses Jess for the first time, Schmidt elects to bring up a "No Nail Oath" that the male roommates signed agreeing not to have sex with Jess, lest they all do. A plot device that hasn't aged particularly well, even in the relatively short time since airing, the bit nevertheless pays off when Jess and Schmidt share the world's most platonic kiss on the lips.
The fact that Schmidt was banking on the move restoring normalcy to the upended loft shows his near-sightedness, amongst other narcissistic characteristics.
Fawn Moscato
Fawn Moscato was Schmidt's multi-episode love interest in Season Four. In the grand scheme of things, Fawn only really served to push Schmidt and Cece back together, however, her short term effect was profound.
Fawn and Schmidt's relationship allowed viewers to see Schmidt in a more docile and subservient position, as opposed to his usual confident swagger. Though Moscato gave the writers room to have fun with the politics of local government, her presence rendered Schmidt somewhat neutered and, consequently, his comedic moments didn't hit as much or as hard.
Trying to Break-Up Nick and Jess
Schmidt reached his most unlikable point during the middle seasons of the series. His childish outbursts and genuinely spiteful treatment of his fellow roommates, especially Nick and Jess, made him something of the show's antagonist for a while.
Schmidt's unwillingness to confront his adultery leads to him lashing out at the newly minted couple, and a torrent of churlish attempts to break them up. Schmidt had never been such a bad friend to the two, especially Nick, and it was a terrible look for him.
The Cheating Plot
Without a doubt, the biggest example of the character's ethical nosedive is when he tries to juggle dating two women at the same time without either of them knowing about it. Many of Schmidt's problems stem from this single decision to disregard both Cece and Elizabeth.
The show seemingly struggled to redeem the character after this disaster blew up in his face, eventually allowing him to gain another chance from Cece. Though his immature aggressiveness could rub some the wrong way, up until this point Schmidt had never been downright cruel. Unfortunately, for Elizabeth, it was unforgivable.