New Girl was pretty consistent with its brand of comedy till the very end. One way the show kept its audience guessing was by introducing an array of interesting secondary characters, all of whom had really exciting and well-designed character arcs.
In fact, most of the recurring secondary characters on the show were celebrated names from the comedy spectrum who already have a steady fan base, including Justin Long, Ben Falcone, Rob Riggles, Linda Cardellini, etc. However since the show rang for seven whole seasons, fans may have forgotten some of the best secondary characters. Here are some of the best secondary characters from New Girl fans need to remember.
Paul
Paul was a music teacher at Jess’s school who had so many things in common with her that her roommates basically referred to him as the male version of Jess. Like Jess, Paul also had a sunny personality and was easy to get along with.
But Paul and Jess’s relationship did have some issues, and they eventually broke up. Jess would go on to share a rebound fling with him right after she broke up with Russell. She also discovered that Paul was dating someone who looks and dresses a lot like her, which would mean Paul was never entirely over Jess.
Fawn
Fawn's character was a crucial one in New Girl. Her relationship with Schmidt made him realize that he was tired of having wonky, emotionally unbalanced relationships with women and that he wanted to actually be in love. So, in a way she led to an important awakening in Schmidt.
Fawn was a superbly ambitious councilwoman who viciously wanted to get ahead in her political career. She decided to use Schmidt as a political asset to help her image and had also wanted to marry him purely for political reasons.
Angie
The New Girl fandom unanimously wanted Angie to have more screen time on the show, but Olivia Munn’s stint as the fierce, sexually adventurous stripper was cut short after just three episodes. Angie is fun, independent, and has great chemistry with Nick.
They both clearly enjoy being with each other and though Nick is initially anxious about Angie’s approach to sex, he works hard to adapt to their relationship. However, their relationship never really developed into something solid. It’s possible that for Angie, her fling with Nick was kind of a rebound relationship since she had just broken up with her boyfriend Robbie.
Gretchen
Most people probably don’t remember this but Russian Doll star Natasha Lyonne was a part of New Girl and starred as Gretchen Nelson. Schmidt and Gretchen had an arrangement where they would have sex at every wedding, even if Schmidt was very aware that she was a terrible person.
The fact that Schmidt would get sexually involved with someone he detests is something that plays along really well with his psychology, especially since he also shares a similar dynamic with his bosses. Schmidt does ask Gretchen if she would like to go on a date with him, but she explains that she is just interested in their physical connection.
Shivrang
Shivrang and Cece decide to marry each other in an arranged marriage set up by their parents. He and Cece clearly have a lot of chemistry and Cece likes him, but in the end, they don’t marry each other.
As it turns out, Cece was not the only one having second thoughts about the wedding, as Shivrang himself stops the ceremony to declare that he is still in love with his first love Elaine (Taylor Swift). Among all of Cece’s boyfriends, Shivrang was perhaps the safest best.
Rhonda
Rhonda is Winston’s ex-wife and the only person on the show who shares his intense love of pranking, besides Nick. In fact, Rhonda has only ever made appearances on the show to prank Winston or the gang collectively.
It’s obvious that there is no tension between her and Winston as they often work together to come up with their pranks. However, it’s not entirely clear how they both feel about their divorce since they rarely talk about their failed marriage.
Berkley
Berkley and Jess had a good relationship, so much so that they were on good terms and could actually be friends after their breakup. Berkley visits Jess when she’s in a relationship with Nick, which makes the latter jealous because he believes that exes can never be friends.
This was an important moment in their relationship that was kind of a forecast of things to come, as Nick and Jess remain close friends even after their own breakup. Nick also believed that the married Berkley still had feelings for Jess. While she denied this, Nick eventually turned out to be right.
Ruth
Most fans probably don’t remember that Medical Police star Erin Hayes also starred in the show as Ruth, a nurse in Jess’s school. Fans loved the casting on many counts; firstly because they have long wanted Coach to have a valid, substantial storyline and arc.
Secondly, Erin is a favorite in the comedy circuit and she completely aced her hilarious stint as Ruth. She had a fling with Coach but could not pursue the relationship because of the school’s no fraternization policy.
Big Schmidt
Comedy sensation Rob Riggle had a great recurring role on the show as Big Schmidt, who was Schmidt’s obnoxious older cousin. His role was a refreshing plot device because Big Schmidt was a bully and used to intimidate his younger cousin.
His ridiculous antics brought out the contrast between the ideals of masculinity the two men adhered to. As Schmidt pointedly remarks to his cousin, “Your caveman ideas about manhood are so over. Manhood today is about exfoliation, cheese courses, emotional honesty, and Paxil.”
Mike
One of the best secondary characters on the show was Mike who was portrayed by none other than comedian and filmmaker Ben Falcone. Mike is a gay bartender who works at the bar with Cece and Nick. He doesn’t like Cece a lot, mostly because it becomes very clear that Cece doesn’t really have bartender skills.
Mike’s character is funny on many levels because he’s not vengeful or a nasty person. He is just overly critical and usually very transparent about how he feels about everyone around him