Zooey Deschanel has revealed why the theme song for New Girl was removed in later seasons. New Girl was a popular series that ran on Fox for seven seasons that focused on Jessica Day (Zooey Deschanel) who moves into a loft apartment with three single men: Nick (Jake Johnson), Schmidt (Max Greenfield), and Winston (Lamorne Morris) and adjusts to a new life of being single after breaking up with her long time boyfriend. Along for the ride is her childhood friend, Cece (Hannah Simone).

New Girl was a hit with critics and audiences, and one of the most iconic elements of the series was its theme song. Titled "Hey Girl," the song was performed by Deschanel herself, who has a strong musical background as the lead singer of the band She & Him, and helped cement the series' popularity with fans when it was introduced in the second episode. The catchy tune was removed from the opening credits early in season 4, replaced with a brief eclectic guitar instrumental version of the song and featuring a picture slideshow of the main cast, similar to other popular comedies of the time like How I Met Your Mother.

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In an interview with EW celebrating the best TV theme songs of the 21st Century, Deschanel reveals why Fox decided to ditch the theme song. According to Deschanel, the theme song was removed because the network thought it was turning off male audiences. Deschanel is grateful for how supportive Fox was of the series but did not agree with the network's decision. Deschanel said:

"I was kind of sad [about that], They were like, 'We think men are going to think the show is too female if it's this way.' It was somebody at Fox that made that decision, and I'm not sure if I remember who it was. They did a great job supporting our show, and I'm definitely not mad at that, but I did not agree with that [decision]...I just had to be okay with it. It wasn't something I probably had the bandwidth or energy to fight."

A slighlty surprised Jess talks to someone

One common reason cited for the change in the opening was to reflect the series' expanding cast. In the original opening, Cece is completely absent, and in season 4, Damon Wayans Jr. returned to New Girl as a series regular in the role of Coach after having to depart the series after the pilot due to commitments to the series Happy Endings. It also likely helped when Megan Fox joined the series for a short period in season 5, so Deschanel could take some time off for her real-life pregnancy.

The popularity of New Girl remains as the cast has discussed a reunion and a new podcast rewatching the series hosted by Deschanel, Morris, and Simone recently launched. Despite the theme song only being for part of the series' run, it still remained an iconic part of the show that fans still love and is so closely associated with New Girl. It is likely that when asked about iconic modern-day theme songs, "Hey Girl" comes to mind for many, and they start humming the simple yet effective tune.

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Source: EW