More than any other art form, the sitcom changes drastically over time. Most commonly, an original premise reveals itself to be unsustainable and the show has to compensate for it. Cheers couldn’t just be a show about Sam and Diane’s relationship, Community couldn’t just be a show about Joel McHale learning to be less cynical, American Horror Story couldn’t continue completely disregarding the conventions of coherent linear storytelling.
Okay, that last one was a joke (and not a great one), but TV comedies often undergo pretty drastic changes over the course of their first season. FOX’s New Girl fits nicely into that category, having changed for the better throughout its run thus far.
Originally marketed as a star vehicle for professional manic pixie dream girl Zooey Deschanel, FOX infuriatingly threw the word “adorkable” up on promo spots in an attempt to charm viewers. Because apparently the viewing public loves mashing two dumb words together to make an exponentially dumber word.
Much like its unfortunate preliminary ad campaigns, New Girl labored through its first few weeks not so much as a TV show as much as it was an excuse for Deschanel to mug for the camera and for her roommates to pout at her for being so damn quirky. It was a textbook example of a one-note premise attempting to be stretched into a sitcom. But the New Girl writers seemed to come to the same realization that many critics and viewers did: Deschanel can’t carry a whole show just by mugging. They needed to expand the comedic potential of the show by developing the supporting cast-and that’s exactly what they did.
Now midway through its second season, New Girl boasts one of the most consistent comedic lineups on TV. Sometimes straight man Jake Johnson (playing Nick) is a perfect foil for Deschanel. He’s not just a Jim Halpert clone there to be confused about the goofy things that Deschanel does. The show’s breakout star and Emmy nominee is Max Greenfield as lovable hyper-douche Schmidt. Greenfield brings a strange energy to the role that instantly makes a generally well-worn character trope feel fresh. There have been plenty of douchebags on TV, but Schmidt is a different breed with whom I have no problem spending time on a weekly basis.
New Girl learned a lesson that most sitcoms (give or take an Arrested Development) have to learn in the early goings. Sometimes, the initial plan just doesn’t work and the show has to adjust. The smart shows make that adjustment and run with it. The dumb ones fade away. Lucky for us, New Girl will stick around as one of broadcast TV’s most reliable comedies.
