Episode guide
Essential New Girl Episodes
FOX, 2011 to 2018
Our 6 character guides for New Girl point to 25 key episodes across 7 seasons. Of those, 8 turn up in two or more guides, so they come first, followed by every episode in air order.
Season and episode numbers follow the original broadcast order.
The essentials(8)
Episodes that matter to more than one character, the most shared first.
- In 3 guides
Season 1, Episode 1
"Pilot"
- Jess Day: After catching her boyfriend cheating, Jess moves into the loft with Nick, Schmidt, and Coach.
- Cece Parekh: Cece meets the three men Jess has moved in with and joins their effort to get Jess dating again after her breakup.
- Coach: Coach is one of the three roommates who reluctantly let Jess move into the loft.
- In 3 guides
Season 2, Episode 25
"Elaine's Big Day"
- Jess Day: At Cece's wedding, Jess begs Nick not to give up on them, and they drive off together.
- Cece Parekh: Cece calls off her arranged wedding to Shivrang when she realizes she still loves Schmidt.
- Schmidt: Schmidt tries to stop Cece's wedding, and she ends up confessing her feelings for him.
- In 3 guides
Season 4, Episode 22
"Clean Break"
- Cece Parekh: Schmidt admits his feelings and proposes, and Cece accepts.
- Coach: Coach gets ready to leave the loft and follow May to New York.
- Schmidt: Schmidt admits his feelings to Cece and proposes.
- In 2 guides
Season 2, Episode 15
"Cooler"
- Jess Day: Jess and Nick share their first kiss during a game of True American.
- Nick Miller: Nick and Jess kiss for the first time during a game of True American.
- In 2 guides
Season 3, Episode 9
"Longest Night Ever"
- Cece Parekh: Cece goes on a date with Coach while a jealous Schmidt stews.
- Coach: Coach takes Cece on a date while Schmidt panics.
- In 2 guides
Season 3, Episode 20
"Mars Landing"
- Jess Day: Hung over and arguing about the future, Jess and Nick break up.
- Nick Miller: Nick and Jess break up after a hung-over fight about their future.
- In 2 guides
Season 5, Episode 22
"Landing Gear"
- Cece Parekh: Cece and Schmidt finally get married.
- Schmidt: Schmidt flies to Portland to bring Cece's mother to the wedding and gets stuck on a plane on the tarmac.
- In 2 guides
Season 7, Episode 7
"The Curse of the Pirate Bride"
- Jess Day: Despite an eye patch and a hospital hallway, Jess and Nick get married.
- Winston Bishop: Aly goes into labor and gives birth to Winston's son on the day of Nick and Jess's wedding.
Every key episode by season(25)
Season 1(5 episodes)
Season 1, Episode 1
"Pilot"
An essential, in the guides for Jess Day, Cece Parekh, and Coach. Read the notes
Season 1, Episode 2
"Kryptonite"
- Winston Bishop: Winston returns to the loft from playing basketball in Latvia and angles for Schmidt's bedroom.
Season 1, Episode 6
"Thanksgiving"
- Cece Parekh: Cece finds herself unexpectedly attracted to Schmidt while he cooks the holiday dinner.
Season 1, Episode 10
"The Story of the 50"
- Schmidt: Schmidt's big 29th birthday goes sideways when his party bus goes to Frankie Muniz instead, and Jess saves the night with a school bus.
Season 1, Episode 20
"Normal"
- Winston Bishop: Winston lands his dream job working for his favorite sports radio host, who turns out to be a jerk.
Season 2(4 episodes)
Season 2, Episode 13
"A Father's Love"
- Nick Miller: Nick's con-man father, Walt, comes to town and pulls Jess into a scheme involving a horse.
Season 2, Episode 15
"Cooler"
An essential, in the guides for Jess Day and Nick Miller. Read the notes
Season 2, Episode 20
"Chicago"
- Nick Miller: The gang travels to Chicago with Nick to plan his father's funeral and meets his eccentric family.
Season 2, Episode 25
"Elaine's Big Day"
An essential, in the guides for Jess Day, Cece Parekh, and Schmidt. Read the notes
Season 3(5 episodes)
Season 3, Episode 7
"Coach"
- Coach: Fresh off a breakup, Coach turns up for a guys' night out with his old roommates.
Season 3, Episode 9
"Longest Night Ever"
An essential, in the guides for Cece Parekh and Coach. Read the notes
Season 3, Episode 12
"Basketsball"
- Coach: Jess tries to bond with Coach by becoming a Detroit Pistons fan.
Season 3, Episode 20
"Mars Landing"
An essential, in the guides for Jess Day and Nick Miller. Read the notes
Season 3, Episode 21
"Big News"
- Winston Bishop: The gang celebrates Winston passing his police academy entrance exam.
Season 4(3 episodes)
Season 4, Episode 12
"Shark"
- Winston Bishop: Winston graduates from the academy and is partnered with Aly.
Season 4, Episode 15
"The Crawl"
- Coach: Coach meets May, a cellist, during the gang's bar crawl.
Season 4, Episode 22
"Clean Break"
An essential, in the guides for Cece Parekh, Coach, and Schmidt. Read the notes
Season 5(1 episode)
Season 5, Episode 22
"Landing Gear"
An essential, in the guides for Cece Parekh and Schmidt. Read the notes
Season 6(3 episodes)
Season 6, Episode 16
"Operation: Bobcat"
- Winston Bishop: With help from Jess, Winston proposes to Aly on Valentine's Day.
Season 6, Episode 21
"San Diego"
- Schmidt: Schmidt's long-secret first name, Winston, is revealed.
Season 6, Episode 22
"Five Stars for Beezus"
- Jess Day: Jess and Nick finally realize they still love each other and reunite.
Season 7(4 episodes)
Season 7, Episode 1
"About Three Years Later"
- Schmidt: Three years on, Schmidt is a stay-at-home dad throwing a birthday party for his daughter, Ruth.
Season 7, Episode 6
"Mario"
- Nick Miller: Nick proposes to Jess on the night of a dog adoption home visit.
Season 7, Episode 7
"The Curse of the Pirate Bride"
An essential, in the guides for Jess Day and Winston Bishop. Read the notes
Season 7, Episode 8
"Engram Pattersky"
- Nick Miller: In the series finale, Nick and Jess say goodbye to the loft with one last game of True American.
Seen them all? Test yourself with the New Girl trivia quiz, or meet the New Girl characters.
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