List of New Girl characters
New Girl is an American television sitcom created by Elizabeth Meriwether. The show, set in Los Angeles, depicts the interpersonal adventures of offbeat teacher Jess after her spontaneous move into an apartment loft with three men: Nick, Schmidt, and Winston. Jess' best friend [|Cece] and their former roommate Coach regularly visit them. The show also features a number of characters that appear as love interests, acquaintances, or family members for the characters in multiple episodes in a season or across multiple seasons.
Main characters
Jessica Day
Jessica Christopher Day is introduced as a bubbly, offbeat teacher in her early thirties who is originally from Portland, Oregon. After the shocking discovery in the pilot episode that her live-in boyfriend, Spencer, is cheating on her, she moves into the guys' apartment where Nick, Schmidt, and Winston help her move on from her break-up, with the help of her childhood friend, Cece, a semi-successful model. From there, Jess embarks on a journey of self-discovery and growth as she navigates through a series of relationships and jobs.During season 1, Jess casually dated, the most memorable of those men being her music teacher co-worker Paul Genzlinger and Russell Schiller, a divorced father of one of her students. In Season 2 of New Girl, Jess gets laid off from her teaching job and takes up part-time work while searching for a new teaching position. She ends up teaching creative writing in adult education. At first, she's not looking for anything serious and hooks up with Sam Sweeney, who prefers open relationships. But things change when she discovers Sam is a successful pediatrician with a good heart, and she starts wanting something more serious. Eventually they begin dating, but their relationship is short-lived; in the episode "Cooler", she and Nick share a spontaneous kiss during a game of True American. Towards the end of Season 2, Jess lands a job as a substitute teacher at Coolidge Middle School. Eventually, she and Nick have sex in the episode "Virgins". They finally decide to become a couple in the Season 2 finale. In Season 3, She and Nick continue their relationship, but their life goals differ too much, and they spend more time arguing. They break up in the Season 3 episode "Mars Landing". In Season 4, she gets promoted to Vice Principal, but the job gets complicated when she starts dating a new science teacher named Ryan, and they face challenges due to a school policy against administrator-teacher relationships. They attempt a long-distance relationship when he moves home to England, but eventually break up. In Season 5, she starts dating Sam again. Towards the end of the season, Sam breaks up with Jess because he is in love with a friend from medical school, and he leads Jess to realize she still is navigating her feelings for Nick. In Season 6, Jess joins a singles group and begins dating Cece's ex, Robby, to avoid her feelings for Nick, who is dating former on-again/off-again roommate Reagan. However, in the episode "The Hike", she and Robby learn that they share relatives in Massachusetts. They realize they are third cousins and end their relationship. Jess is promoted to principal. At the end of the season, she and Nick get back together after he breaks up with Reagan.
In the Season 7 premiere, Jess and Nick return to the loft after Nick's book tour. They are still not engaged or married. Jess takes a job with Russell's education foundation, and is discouraged by the fact that Nick has not proposed. On the night they were supposed to adopt a dog, Nick proposes to Jess, and she accepts. Jess and Nick decide to move to a smaller apartment. But before they leave the loft, they gather everyone for a special farewell. They play one final game of "True American," and during the game there's a glimpse into the future, where it's revealed that Jess and Nick will eventually become parents to a son.
Nick Miller
Nicholas Sean "Nick" Miller, who is based on a person Meriwether knew from college, is one of Jess' roommates who works as a bartender. He and Winston are childhood friends. He and Schmidt shared a dorm room together at the Syracuse University and became life-long friends. It is implied by Schmidt that he dropped out of law school. At the start of the series, he struggles from having broken up with his long-term girlfriend Caroline. At a wedding event, he almost reunites with her. In the episode "Bells", it is revealed that he is fairly frugal and prefers to repair things in the apartment by himself rather than hire outside help. Out of everyone at the loft he is the worst with money, keeping all of his cash in a box and has never paid taxes, although ironically he is the most financially successful member of his family. Later on, in the episode "Clavado En Un Bar", it is revealed that he took and passed the California bar exam to prove he could do it, but decided he'd rather be a bartender instead. In the episode "Secrets", it is shown he is not good at keeping secrets, and sweats on his lower back. He is also not good with taking care of plants. He is laid back, messy, and avoidant of his feelings. He frequently seeks out advice from Tran, an elderly man he meets in a public park.In season 1, he initially is hesitant about having a female roommate; however, he eventually develops a genuine friendship with Jess and is immediately supportive of her when she is treated poorly by people or goes through emotional turmoil. He dates Julia, a lawyer. He briefly has a cancer scare, and also develops a platonic infatuation with Jess' older boyfriend, Russell. Nick tries to rekindle his romance with Caroline and almost moves in with her at the end of season 1. They break up, and Nick returns to the loft.
In season 2, he writes a zombie novel called Z Is for Zombie He begins dating a stripper named Angie, and reunites with his father. He and Jess become attracted to each other and they kiss in the season 2 episode "Cooler," despite the fact that Jess is dating Dr Sam. Afterward, he and Jess are confused as to how to deal with their relationship, but later have sex in the episode "Virgins". Nick's father passes away, and he and Jess later decide to date.
In season 3, Nick tells Jess he loves her. Caroline is suspicious Nick cheated on her with Jess, and Nick tells her that he fell for Jess the first time he saw her. Jess and Nick briefly live in his room together, and Nick also represents Schmidt in a civil suit. Nick and Jess break up after an argument about how they see their futures. They later go on a couples' cruise together with Cece, Schmidt, Winston, and Coach.
In season 4, he trains Cece to bartend. He begins dating Tran's granddaughter, Kai who eventually breaks up with him. He and Schmidt revive their business ventures, eventually investing in a share of the bar where he works.
In season 5, while Jess is sequestered on jury duty, Nick convinces the beautiful pharmaceutical rep Reagan Lucas to move in and flirts with her, but only get as far as kissing before she leaves. They start dating at the end of season 5, and Nick briefly moves to New Orleans with her. At the beginning of season 6, he returns from New Orleans and works on his novel The Pepperwood Chronicles while maintaining a long-distance, and later in-loft, relationship with Reagan. However, at the end of season 6 he and Reagan break up after Nick realizes he's ready for a mature, emotionally vulnerable relationship, and he reunites with Jess.
Three years later, in the season 7 premiere, Nick and Jess return to the loft after a European book tour for Pepperwood, although he is still waiting for the right time to propose to Jess. He eventually proposes to her in the episode "Mario", and they marry in the episode The Curse of the Pirate Bride". In the series finale, he and Jess move out of the loft to a two-bedroom apartment. A flash-forward reveals that he and Jess have a son in the future.
Schmidt
Schmidt, is one of Jess' new roommates and later Cece's husband. He is an overly confident ladies' man who is originally from Long Island, New York. While attending Syracuse University, he was very obese, and shared a dorm room with Nick and became life-long friends. He has OCD. Since college, he has worked hard to lose weight and to be seen as physically attractive and cool. Because of this, he often says offensive or cocky things, and every time he does, his roommates make him put money in the apartment's "douchebag jar". He is relatively wealthy compared to his roommates, having bought the couch and refrigerator, and splurging on things such as an $80 sushi plate; it was also noted that his family spent $40,000 on his Bar Mitzvah. Schmidt is a successful marketing associate, the sole male in a female-dominated office, and is known for his numerous flings with women. Schmidt's other quirks include a fear of feral cats, especially the one on their apartment's roof; being very controlling and a germophobe when it comes to preparing food; and organizing the loft.Schmidt meets Cece through Jess, and is immediately smitten. They begin hooking up in secret in the second half of season 1. In the season finale, he ends his relationship with Cece because he feels she deserves someone better. In season 2, he continues to have feelings for Cece, but she has moved on to date someone else. He has a brief relationship with a co-worker Emma who has him sign a sex contract, but later ends things. He rekindles his relationship with his college girlfriend Elizabeth in an attempt to move on from Cece, who is now engaged. In season 3, he tries to date both Elizabeth and Cece but he ends up losing both of them. He moves into neighboring apartment 4C, allowing for Coach to return as a roommate, but later moves back to 4D after he uses his savings to fund a storefront for Jess' sister Abby, whom he also briefly dates. He gives his blessing to Coach, who wants to date Cece. In season 4, he dates councilwoman Fawn Moscato, who uses him as a prop. In the season 4 finale "Clean Break", he realizes he cannot part ways with Cece; he proposes to her. Leading up to the wedding, Schmidt tries to repair his relationship with his father Gavin, while also trying to convince Cece's mother he is worthy of marrying her. They marry at the end of season 5.
In season 6, they purchase a fixer-upper house, and have it renovated. Towards the end of season 6, he is promoted to director of marketing, and in the final episode, he learns that Cece is expecting their first child. In the season 7 premiere, it is revealed that Schmidt has become a stay-at-home dad to their three-year-old daughter Ruth. In the series finale, a flash-forward reveals that he and Cece have a son named Moses.
Schmidt's first name is a long-kept secret of the series, until the penultimate episode of season 6 "San Diego" in which it is revealed to be Winston and his middle name is Saint-Marie. He agreed with Winston Bishop to be called by his last name to avoid confusion.