‘New Girl’ Cast: Where Are They Now? Zooey Deschanel, Jake Johnson and More!

Created by Elizabeth Meriwether, the comedic series ran for seven seasons on Fox from 2011 to 2018. Zooey Deschanel (Jessica Day), Jake Johnson (Nick Miller), Lamorne Morris (Winston Bishop), Max Greenfield (Winston Schmidt), Hannah Simone (Cece Parekh) and Damon Wayans Jr. (Ernie “Coach” Tagliaboo) starred. In the later seasons, Nasim Pedrad joined the show to play Winston Bishop’s colleague and eventual love interest. Megan Fox, meanwhile, stepped in during Deschanel’s pregnancy leave in season 5. She continued to be a part of the series on a recurring basis until the latter half of season 6. Wayans Jr. left the series after the pilot episode but returned part-way through season 3. He departed New Girl for the second time after season 4. From there, he would reappear as a guest star. [jwplayer ocEj3ah5-l3ahXupL] “Working with this incredibly talented and funny cast and crew has been one of the best experiences of my career,” the Happy Endings alum said in his 2015 exit statement, per The Wrap. Just before the series finale aired in May 2018, Deschanel spoke exclusively to Us Weekly about how she was feeling ahead of saying goodbye. “[It’s] definitely emotional for me. I can’t speak for anyone else but it will definitely be emotional for me,” she explained in November 2017. “It’s been seven years of my life and we’ve all been through so many changes. It’s bittersweet. It’s a huge accomplishment but it’s also sad to move on.” Greenfield also spoke to Us about parting ways with the project after seven years. “For us, it’s over. It is bittersweet. We had such a great run,” the Neighborhood actor said in March 2018. “We’re so grateful and, I guess, onto the next now.” As for the cast revisiting New Girl down the line, Greenfield said there’s “always a chance” of that. “I don’t know what they would be doing together,” he continued. “Maybe they’d move back into the loft for fun!” In November 2021, Deschanel, Simone and Morris announced that they had teamed up for an iHeartRadio podcast, "Welcome to Our Show," where they would rewatch all seven seasons of the beloved sitcom and share behind-the-scenes memories and stories. The first episode premiered in January 2022.

Deschanel had a successful movie career prior to joining New Girl and throughout the duration of the comedy series. After the show, her biggest onscreen project was voicing a character in 2020’s Trolls World Tour. However, she embarked upon the A Very She & Him Christmas Party Tour in 2019 with her band, She & Him, the other half of which is M. Ward. She began the New Girl rewatch podcast, "Welcome to Our Show" in January 2022, alongside Simone and Morris. 

As for her personal life, the 500 Days of Summer actress finalized her divorce from Jacob Pechenik — with whom she shares daughter Elsie and son Charlie — in June 2020. She began dating Property Brothers star Jonathan Scott in September 2019, the same month she announced her split from Pechenik. Deschanel continues to run The Farm Project with Pechenik.

“I just think Jonathan is just the nicest person in the world,” Deschanel exclusively told Us in June 2021. “So, I'm just really lucky. I just try to be as nice back as, you know, he is. And it works.”

After New Girl, Johnson nabbed starring roles in movies including Tag and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. In the fall of 2019, he landed another TV gig as a primary cast member on ABC’s Stumptown. The Illinois native starred in and produced the series Hoops, and and was meant to revisit the role of Lowery Cruthers in Jurassic World: Dominion in 2022.

In July 2021, Johnson confirmed to Us Weekly that due to the coronavirus pandemic, he wasn't actually able to make his return to the Jurassic World universe.

“The sad thing about the third one was, I was in it in [the] script and I was going to go do it, but then the pandemic happened. I mean, it's fine. It was really disappointing,” the writer exclusively told Us at the time. “[Director] Colin [Trevorrow] honestly tried everything in his power to make it work, but it was really tricky with the quarantines and leaving home at that time. It just, the math wasn't adding up." 

In August 2020, Johnson produced and voiced the Coach Ben Hopkins in the Netflix animated series Hoops. He currently stars in the HBO Max 70's comedy Minx opposite Ophelia Lovibond, which premiered in March 2022. 

Morris had starring roles on Valley of the Boom and Human Discoveries after New Girl ended. In addition to guest-starring spots on shows including Squinters, he’s had roles in films such as Yesterday and Bloodshot. He also released a comedy rap album, Lamorning After Pill, in May 2020. 

In April 2019, Hulu green-lit a live-action comedy series with animated sequences starring Morris called Woke. The show was renewed in November 2020 and its second season premiered in April 2022. He was cast in Fargo season 5 in August 2022.

Greenfield had consistent work after saying farewell to his New Girl days. He returned to reprise his former role as Leo D’Amato on Hulu’s Veronica Mars revival and landed a starring role opposite Cedric the Entertainer on CBS’ longrunning sitcom The Neighborhood. He nabbed guest-starring spots on shows including A Series of Unfortunate Events and BoJack Horseman, but he also appeared in Taraji P. Henson’s film What Men Want and Carey Mulligan’s movie Promising Young Woman. The New York native founded DADZ, a father-focused parenting and baby goods company, in June 2020. He published his first children's book, I Don't Want to Read This Book, in 2021.

Simone was supposed to star in ABC’s reboot for The Greatest American Hero in 2018, but the network decided not to pick up the series. Nonetheless, she nabbed a recurring role as Dr. Monica Dewan on Single Parents in addition to other guest-starring gigs.

In January 2019, ABC ordered an untitled semi-autobiographical comedy from Simone inspired by her family. She cowrote and executive produced the project, but it doesn’t currently have a release date. Simone is one of the co-hosts of the "Welcome to Our Show" podcast, which premiered in January 2022. 

Simone married musician Jesse Giddings in 2016. They welcomed their son in August 2017.

After leaving New Girl for the second time in 2015, he appeared in films including How to Be Single and Super Troopers 2. He continued to guest star on shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Twilight Zone. He also briefly starred on Happy Together and in the mini-series The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair.

Wayans launched his own production company, Two Shakes Entertainment, in November 2018 and it scored a two-year first-look deal with CBS TV Studios. Through this endeavor, he will executive produce the series Glamorous for The CW.

He has been married to Samara Saraiva since 2016.

Fox didn’t have another onscreen gig post-New Girl until she produced, created and hosted the docuseries Legends of the Lost with Megan Fox in 2018. Her next acting role occurred in 2019 with the film Above the Shadows, followed by movies including Zeroville and Think Like a Dog. She was also in the midst of filming Midnight in the Switchgrass in early 2020 before the COVID-19 crisis commenced. Amid the pandemic, Fox appeared in Machine Gun Kelly’s “Bloody Valentine” music video.

Meanwhile, Fox separated from her husband Brian Austin Green — with whom she shares sons Noah, Bodhi and Journey — after nearly 10 years of marriage. She began dating Kelly thereafter. The couple got engaged in January 2022. 

The Saturday Night Live alum appeared in Aladdin and Corporate Animals after New Girl. She guest starred on Human Discoveries, but she also created and starred in the TBS series Chad. Pedrad starred in the Netflix film Desperados in July 2020, during which she reunited onscreen with her former TV husband Morris.

After serving as Jessica Day’s cousin (and one-time love interest), Franklin continued to reprise his roles as Connor Stevens on Black-ish and Will on Veep. He had a minor role in Captain Marvel and continued to land guest-starring spots on shows including #BlackAF, Arrested Development and A Million Little Things. He played Bill on Abby’s in 2019, but NBC canceled the sitcom after one season.

Franklin married actress Georgia Mischak in 2016. 

 

The Brown University graduate continued to pop up on TV with guest-starring appearances on Grace and Frankie, Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ and more. He had a recurring role in 2020 as Sam on the short-lived NBC drama Council of Dads. He also produced and starred in the 2019 TV film Awokened, during which he worked alongside Simone and Morris.

Walton married actress Majandra Delfino in March 2011. They share daughter Cecilia, born in 2012, and son Louis, born in 2013.

Two years after New Girl ended, Reid starred in and produced a short film called Soft. She also published a collection of short stories in 2019 called Back To You.