Watch ‘New Girl’ Star Max Greenfield Debunk Wild Fan Theories
At the outset of the Fox sitcom New Girl (which just started its sixth season on Fox), free-spirited teacher Jess (Zooey Deschanel) moved into a sort of Four’s Company arrangement with a trio of bachelors: grouchy slacker Nick (Jake Johnson), hapless Winston (Lamorne Morris), and serial ladies’ man Schmidt (Max Greenfield). So if a curious party was on the hunt for the latest hot gossip around the show’s fictitious L.A., they couldn’t possibly find a better inside source than its resident man-about-town. Greenfield stopped by the Rolling Stone offices for an exclusive “Fan Theory Exploder,” fielding questions about Schmidt’s fluctuating waistline and the writing staff’s possible endgame for the series.
Last season concluded with Schmidt’s wedding to longtime beau Cece (Hannah Simone), and the fans demand to know where their marital bliss is headed next. “There will be an entirely silent episode, focusing on Schmidt and Cece’s married life during an argument,” claims the first card. “I’d be into that,” Greenfield says, “I wouldn’t have to memorize any lines! It’d be one of my favorite episodes.” When asked whether “the comfort of married life will lead to Schmidt gaining weight and losing his sense of self,” Greenfield says, “I don’t think he’s gonna lose his sense of self, but there’s definitely a good chance he’s gonna gain some weight.”
Drawing on the time-tested doppelganger sitcom trope, one theory posits that “to get over Nick, Jess will look for a new group of friends. She’ll end up in a new loft with a mirror version of the gang.” Greenfield likes this idea: “It’d be cool to see them cast everyone. You remember, they did that on Seinfeld? They got Jeremy Piven to play Costanza? I’d be very into that.”
The final theory speculates on the identity of the new girl referred to in the show’s title. “Nick and Jess drunkenly hook up, and Jess ends up pregnant. The baby is a she, becoming the titular ‘New Girl’.” “Great ending,” Greenfield says. “Great ending. I never thought about this, but that’s a great ending.”