A NEW GIRL AND A COUPLE OF GUYS
K. Haley
New Girl has emerged as my favorite new sitcom of last season – and should maintain its ranking as a sophomore on the upcoming fall roster. I thoroughly enjoyed the first season. The premise is simple; a group of 3 male friends/roommates, all in their late twenties to early thirties, rent a bedroom in their large L.A. converted loft apartment to a young and quirky female ex-junior high school teacher. She moves in and their lives are changed in ways that only television sitcoms can (sometimes) manage to successfully celebrate even the pitfalls of platonic friendships. Follow this link for the full show description www.fox.com/new-girl.
Why am I writing about this show in a column reserved for romantic pairings? Of course, any show that features a group of attractive young people is bound to have a potential romantic coupling, or two, lurking in the background. But on occasion, you run across a storyline that features a group of friends who come together in a ‘meet cute’ scenario and instantly form a bond. New Girl is one of those shows.
Besides the ‘friend-through-thick-and-thin’ bond between the roommates, New Girl features two romantic couples; at this writing, one of the couples has already consummated and their journey, although brief, was definitely cute and fun. I must admit the pairing of these two characters was a bit of a surprise to me, but they definitely had chemistry in a strange yet sentimental sort of way. The other potential couple, which I believe is the main one, is between Jess (the New Girl) and Nick. It was obvious to me from the premiere episode where the focus of the romantic tension would be. As the series progresses, I’m sure the, recently broken-up, other couple, Schmidt and CeCe will return to the classic will-they-or-won’t-they (get back together) phase of their romance; while the other potential duo, Nick and Jess, will continue to struggle to ignore what is obviously a mutual attraction.
I don’t know if this was done intentionally, but the writers have chosen a very subtle path to the potential romantic coupling of Jess and Nick. The creator, Elizabeth Meriwether, reportedly stated that this pairing could be in the offing – distance future, but she doesn’t want to bring the coupling about just yet because the characters have a lot of growing to do before it can happen. I’m inclined to agree with that reasoning. I like observing the journey to relationship-land, so I say take all the time you need. Anyway, with solid ratings and a second season in the can, we have another luxurious 22 episodes to watch them grow individually – and eventually together.
In the meantime, Nick and Jess continue their dance of attraction in the classic, will-they-or-won’t-they fashion – with plenty of combative, passionate and heartfelt moments that culminate in a totally hilarious perfect union. I’m not the only one fixated on the romantic potential between Jess and Nick.
Follow this link and check out this fan-edited video with some of the couple’s best shipper moments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aH7tdExWpA
Of course, whether the Jess/Nick storyline fully develops into a romantic pairing, only the writers know for sure. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to enjoy the build-up between these characters because they’re funny and oh-so-cute together. I think that the chemistry between the actors (Zooey Deschanel and Jake Johnson) won’t allow the creator to keep them apart for too long, but uncharacteristically, I hope it’s later than sooner.
In the spirit of the kind of heartfelt advice Jess might dispense: keep your heart open and your eyes peeled for that magic moment when you meet your soul mate. Yeah, kinda corny . . . I know.
Meet Cute 