New Girl is one of those shows that keeps defying the odds. Despite halving its ratings from season 1 to season 2, the show has a loyal fanbase and is critically-acclaimed. The 22 minute weekly comedy focuses on Jess (Zooey Deschanel) and her three flatmates Nick (Jake Johnson), Schmidt (Max Greenfield) and Winston (Lamorne Morris). Jess’ childhood best-friend Cece (Hannah Simone) completes the unlikely group who are navigating the murky waters of love, friendship and growing up.
The second season of the show features 25 episodes spread over 3 discs and is as quirky and funny as the debut season of the show. Opening with Re-Launch the season finds Jess coming to terms with being fired from her teaching job and the early part of the season is about Jess trying to figure out who she is and what she wants to do with her life. The will they/won’t they relationship between Jess and Nick continues throughout the season is complicated by Nick’s string of different girlfriends and Jess’ new relationship with blind date Sam (David Walton). There’s also the continuation of Cece and Schmidt who have broken up but still clearly want to be together.
More often than not Schmidt steals the show with his bizarre antics and ridiculous behaviour. In Fluffer he pretends to be one of Mitt Romney’s sons in order to attract a Republican girl, in Cabin he tells Winston to stop holding back on his ‘blackness’, and Bachelorette Party finds Schmidt desperately trying to get a plus one for Cece’s wedding.
There are lots of big name guest-stars over the course of the second season. Jamie Lee Curtis and Rob Reiner star as Jess’ parents in Parents, Carla Gugino appears in three episodes as Schmidt’s boss Emma, and Taylor Swift pops up in the season finale Elaine’s Big Day. It’s Merrit Wever who steals the show though in the final four episodes as Schmidt’s old college girlfriend Elizabeth. We love her in Nurse Jackie and we loved her in New Girl too.
Extras on the 3-disc boxset include an extended version of the episode Virgins, a gag reel, an audio commentary on episode Cooler, deleted scenes and a featurette called Full of Schmidt.
New Girl: The Complete Second Season is a good watch but the show isn’t the type of laugh-out-loud comedy that we enjoy the most. Zooey Deschanel is adorable and the cast works well together but there’s something about the show that doesn’t completely click for us. If we were to rank it against other shows we’d file it under How I Met Your Mother but above The Big Bang Theory. It’s the kind of show we’ll tune into to fill the void when our favourite shows are off air.
