How ‘New Girl’ Characters Would Handle the Pandemic
Cece, Schmidt, Jess, Nick, and Winston showing how NOT to social distance.
by Jackie Lamb
New Girl fans rejoice! On January 13th, cast members Zooey Deschanel, Lamorne Morris, and Hannah Simone (who played Jessica Day, Winston Bishop, and Cece Parekh, respectively) announced the launch of their podcast Welcome to Our Show.
Each week, audiences can tune in for behind-the-scenes secrets from New Girl’s writers and guest stars. In addition, Zooey, Lamorne, and Hannah try out different versions of the show’s chaotic drinking game True American.
While the cast and writers of New Girl reflect on the sitcom’s seven year run, it’s also the perfect time to contemplate what the roommates in Apartment 4D would be up to today. Specifically, how well would they adjust to life in the pandemic?
Jess Day
Online school has caused teachers to find innovative ways to keep their students engaged, and we know Jess would rise to the challenge. As a naturally empathetic person, Jess would also act as an emotional rock for her students and her fellow teachers. However, it’s likely that Jess would overextend herself due to her tendency to put other people’s needs before her own. For her roommates, this will certainly mean a reappearance of the feeling stick.
Winston Bishop
Whereas Jess is more of an extrovert, Winston would cope with the isolation of the pandemic better than most. We could totally see him starting a puzzle with his beloved cat, Ferguson, after a long day of police work. However, Winston’s hobby would eventually cause an issue with his roommates when he ends up filling the apartment with one-thousand-piece puzzles. Not to mention his ~unusual~ pre-puzzle ritual that includes going shirtless and wearing a hoodie as pants.
Nick Miller
Everyone’s favorite curmudgeon-ly bartender is notorious for not taking care of himself. Nick’s distrust of institutions means that he has no bank account or medical insurance, which would make living through a pandemic even more complicated. Maybe lockdown would inspire him to finally write that zombie novel he’s been talking about for years. Who wouldn’t want to read The Pepperwood Chronicles featuring the hard-boiled Chicago detective (and Nick’s alter-ego) Julius Pepperwood?
Schmidt
As a proud clean-freak, the first thing Schmidt would do in lockdown is a thorough cleaning of the apartment. Having control over his environment would provide him with a sense of security that he would need in the uncertainty of the pandemic. With his love for trying new recipes and food in general, we could totally see him hopping on the sourdough trend of yesteryear. While cleaning and baking are excellent outlets, Schmidt would certainly struggle with the social isolation of the pandemic. He has a need to please people and to flaunt how well he’s doing, which is difficult to convey over a Zoom hangout.
While the roommates of Apartment 4D would each have their different coping mechanisms for dealing with the pandemic, their first (and most important) resource is each other. This chosen family might be a tad dysfunctional at times, but they’ve got lots of love for each other, even if they don’t always like to admit how they feel (we’re looking at you, Nick).