Summary

• Zooey Deschanel left New Girl in season 5 due to pregnancy, leading to a storyline with Megan Fox's character Reagan joining the group.
• The show went against typical sitcom tropes by having Jess and Reagan become friends instead of romantic rivals, adding a unique dynamic.
• Deschanel juggled motherhood with her role on New Girl, bonding with Megan Fox over the challenges of being a working parent.

As Zooey Deschanel was the lead of the popular sitcom, many fans wonder why Jess left New Girl temporarily in season 5. Created by Elizabeth Meriwether, New Girl followed Jessica Day (Deschanel), a bubbly, young teacher who, after discovering her boyfriend cheated on her, moved into a loft with three complete strangers: Nick Miller, Schmidt, and Coach, who was quickly replaced by Winston, though he did return. Aside from that, the main cast remained the same – except in season 5, when Jess left for a string of episodes.

In the third episode of New Girl season 5, “Jury Duty,” Jess is summoned for jury duty. As it was a high-profile case, the jury had to be sequestered for a month. Her absence brings in a new roommate, Reagan Lucas. While she stays at the loft, she develops friendships with the gang and becomes Nick's love interest. Although Jess' departure is only for six episodes and Reagan also exits New Girl, it still seems unusual for the show's star to leave mid-season. However, there's a behind-the-scenes explanation for why Jess left New Girl.

New Girl is available to stream on Hulu and Peacock Premium.

Zooey Deschanel Left New Girl Because She Was Pregnant

Showrunner Elizabeth Meriwether Considered An Alternate Storyline Where Jess Moves Back To Oregon

The reason why Jess left New Girl in season 5 comes down to some real-life developments. Deschanel was heavily pregnant in the first few episodes of New Girl season 5. The show proceeded to production immediately after finishing season 4 to maximize her presence before she went on maternity leave. Even though the costume department did what they could to dissimulate her pregnancy, she still had to go on leave after giving birth to her daughter, Elsie Otter, in July 2015.

Initially, showrunner Elizabeth Meriwether considered a different storyline to cover for Deschanel's absence, which involved her moving back to Oregon and staying with her family. However, dropping everything to spend time with her family (and possibly Jessica Day's missing sister Abby) did not seem plausible for Jess' character, as she was portrayed as often calling and emailing her parents. Although it initially felt strange without Jess around, the writers of New Girl handled Deschanel’s absence quite well by bringing in Reagan.

Megan Fox's New Girl character was more than just a replacement or fill-in as she played an active part in the storylines of Nick and Jess, which allowed her to come back in season 6. Ultimately, Jess’ absence in season 5 also helped her relationship with Nick and made it possible for them to get back together for good by the end of season 6.

Reagan Was A Welcome Addition To The Show

Megan Fox Returned For Another Season Of New Girl

The addition of Megan Fox's character created the possibility that Jess and Nick might not end up together in the end, adding an extra layer of suspense to the will-they-won't-they trope.

New Girl's Megan Fox stepping in is exactly what the show needed to end the series on a satisfying note. The Jennifer's Body star returned to New Girl in the following season due to popular demand, and the writers gave her character a great arc. Nick's relationship with Reagan caused enough drama to keep the series afloat in the absence of its main character — something not many sitcoms can accomplish. Reagan's part in the show was to create tension among the housemates, and because of Reagan, New Girl was able to keep going despite Jess leaving.

It was a smart choice to add Reagan back into the mix, rather than continuing the season with the existing cast without Jess. The addition of Megan Fox's character created the possibility that Jess and Nick might not end up together in the end, adding an extra layer of suspense to the will-they-won't-they trope. Nick and Jess do end up together by New Girl's finale, but it's clear that the narrative needed the push from Reagan to get there in a way that felt fresh and engaging, rather than a tired repetition of other on-again-off-again sitcom couples throughout TV history.

Jess & Reagan Becoming Friends Went Against Expectations

New Girl Went Against Typical Sitcom Tropes

The question of why did Jess leave New Girl in season 5 left the door open for Reagan to join the cast, but there would be some overlap when Jess returned to the show while Reagan was still part of the storyline. However, the show managed to avoid the typical sitcom tropes by going against expectations and making Jesse and Reagan friends. It was clear that the Jess and Nick relationship on New Girl was popular among fans and something the show could return to eventually.

In that respect, it made sense to create tension between Jess and Reagan. Plenty of sitcoms have gone down this route. Nearly every boyfriend that Rachel had on Friends became a rival for Ross and vice versa. Perhaps one of the best examples of this trope is The Office introducing Jim's new girlfriend Karen as a way to recreate the love triangle with Pam. That show then had to awkwardly get rid of Karen so Jim and Pam could be together.

Thankfully, New Girl defied that trend and made Jess and Reagan form a quick bond. There is even a sweet moment where they discuss the strange and unexpected attraction each has had to Nick. It allowed these women to be seen as mature adults rather than just the typical romantic rivals audiences have seen countless times.

How Zooey Deschanel Juggled New Girl And Parenthood

The Two Actors Bonded Over Giving Birth & Changing Diapers

Though the first few episodes of season 5 were filmed before Zooey Deschanel left for maternity leave, there was a break between those episodes and the start of filming the rest of the season, giving her more time to spend with her family. With Fox joining the series for part of the season before Deschanel returned, it gave Deschanel what might have seemed like an extended leave for fans. For new parents, juggling a full-time job and an infant is more than just double the workload though, and returning to set gave Deschanel another parent to trade stories with.

However, Zooey Deschanel and Megan Fox know something about having to keep up with kids and on-set demands as working actors. Fox had two children when she was cast in New Girl and had practice finding that work-life balance. When Fox joined the series, she joked in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that Deschanel had already read “every book” and that there was “nothing [she] could teach her.” Though Deschanel might not have been with her daughter every moment on set, she talked about her all the time with Fox, the two telling stories about giving birth and changing diapers.