New Girl came to an end in 2018 after seven seasons, with the gang leaving the loft 4D to continue with their lives – but why did the series end? Created by Elizabeth Meriwether, New Girl premiered in 2011, quickly becoming very popular among viewers and critics thanks to its witty writing and the undeniable chemistry between the main cast.
New Girl followed a bubbly teacher, Jess (Zooey Deschanel), who moves into an all-guys apartment after a painful break-up. Her new roommates Nick (Jake Johnson), Schmidt (Max Greenfield), Coach (Damon Wayans Jr), and Winston (Lamorne Morris) struggle with her arrival, but eventually form very strong bonds. New Girl went through a lot of ups and downs in seven years, but why didn’t it make it to season 8?
Like in most cases, ratings were an important part of this decision. Season 6 didn’t do as well as the previous ones, but as New Girl was Fox’s longest-running live-action comedy on the air at that time, it was important to give it a final season instead of just canceling it and leaving season 6 as the finale – although it wouldn’t have been a bad one. At the end of the season, Cece and Schmidt were expecting their first child, Aly and Winston were engaged, and Jess and Nick got back together. New Girl Season 6 was believed to be the last one, and the production team planned accordingly by shooting a season finale that could also serve as the series’ ending.
Prior to the renewal and cancelation of New Girl, the cast and crew didn’t know what the future of the series was going to be, with Elizabeth Meriwether suggesting that the cast reach out to Fox executives to ask for one more season. Jake Johnson later confirmed that he had been one of the cast members that wrote to them, saying they weren’t given enough time to finish the show “the right way”, and a final goodbye would be appreciated. Season 7 was granted so that they could give the series a proper ending, hence why it’s a much shorter season than the rest (with only eight episodes, while the rest had over 20) and had a time jump at the beginning and a flash-forward at the end, so viewers could see that everything turned out well for the gang.
Although a short one, the final season of New Girl gave the characters the ending they deserved with a dose of fan service by bringing back some memorable characters in small roles or cameo appearances, such as Dr. Sam Sweeney and Nick’s friend Tran. Viewers also got a glimpse into their futures, showing that no matter what they all go through, they remain close friends and will never lose that silliness that made the audience stay with them for seven years.