History YMMV / NewGirl

** {{Music/Prince}} approached the production team about guest-starring as himself because he was a massive Jess/Nick shipper, and wanted to act as a love guru to help them get together, but they were broken up before the end of season three and appeared to be done. Prince died mere weeks before the fifth season finale, where Jess realizes she still loves Nick and wants to get back together with him.

* HollywoodPudgy: Schmidt constantly calls Nick fat. Possibly justified since Schmidt was FormerlyFat and thus more critical of Nick. Other characters comment on Nick's weight a few times, which is less justifiable. Possibly Schmidt expressing concern for Nick since the reason Schmidt got fat was due to emotional distress.

* HollywoodPudgy: Schmidt constantly calls Nick fat. Possibly justified since Schmidt was FormerlyFat and thus more critical of Nick. Other characters comment on Nick's weight a few times, which is less justifiable.

** OfficialCouple Nick and Kai had a lot of fans hoping they'd last, as she was one of the few interests to really match Nick's personality. Plus, she's related to EnsembleDarkhorse Tran.

* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: Subverted, but this series was accused of being a copy of ''Series/MyBoys''; this show, however, is considerably a bigger success. They also don't share much beyond the "girl lives with boys" premise, considering PJ of ''My Boys'' was a complete tomboy and Jess most certainly is the antithesis of such.

* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: Subverted, but this series was accused of being a copy of ''Series/MyBoys''; this show, however, is considerably a bigger success.

* HilariousInHindsight: Stephen Amell was in a couple of episodes as Kyle, Cece's boyfriend. In his last episode Jess was trying to score a one-night-stand with a guy named Oliver, Cece's shows up with a loopy Kyle (from eating shrooms), and [[HilarityEnsues things getting really complicated from there]]. Amell later ended up starring on ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' as Oliver Queen. In this show, Oliver's ex-girlfriend makes out with Kyle, screaming "How does it feel, Oliver!?" The episode "Wedding" had Katie Cassidy as Brooke, who would be another ''Arrow'' cast member as Laurel. Both Brooke and Laurel ended up as Alcoholics Anonymous members.

* GeniusBonus: Winston thinking Crispin Glover was the first person to die in the Boston Massacre is funny. However, knowing that the name Winston meant to say was Crispus Attucks makes it hilarious.

** Schmece (Schmidt/Cece)

* HilariousInHindsight: Stephen Amell was in a couple of episodes as Kyle, Cece's boyfriend. In his last episode Jess was trying to score a one-night-stand with a guy named Oliver, Cece's shows up with a loopy Kyle (from eating shrooms), and [[HilarityEnsues things getting really complicated from there]]. Amell later ended up starring on ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' as Oliver Queen. In this show, Oliver's ex-girlfriend makes out with Kyle, screaming "How does it feel, Oliver!?"

** In season 3, Winston (who is black) acquired a cat named Ferguson and joined the police academy. After August 2014, the town of Ferguson was suddenly the epicenter of a debate on systemic racism on the part of police officers against African-Americans.

* GrowingTheBeard: General consensus is that season 2 is when the show transformed from "The ZooeyDeschanel Show" to a true ensemble with great chemistry from the main cast.

* FanPreferredCouple: Nick/Jess.
** Fortunately for said fans, they would also appear to be the OfficialCouple.

* HarsherInHindsight: Dennis Farina appeared as Nick's con-man dad only to die from a heart attack in a later episode. Farina would die later that year from a pulmonary embolism.
** Winston's cat is named Ferguson. After August 2014, the name took on a different context. Worse in the case that Winston is black.

* SeasonalRot: Many thought that Season 3 was a lot more mixed in its quality coming off of the acclaimed Season 2.

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: Several episodes in season 4 seem to have the aesop of "you should judge a book by its cover," as several times Jess tries to see the goodness in people after being initially turned off and winds up being unable.

* IdiotPlot: Jess and Winston's "methheads stole Schmidt's suits" cover-up. Yes, the audience is ''supposed'' to look at them like they're insane.

** If {{Tumblr}} is anything to go by, there is already a small fandom of people who ship Nick/Jess and a handful for Jess/Schmidt.

* DesignatedProtagonistSyndrome: Jess is one of the weaker characters in the show. As mentioned in GrowingTheBeard, once the show stopped seeming like "The ZooeyDeschanel Show" and spent more focus on other characters, its overall quality improved.