Rewatching New Girl and wondering what everyone’s up to IRL? Yeah, fans tend to do that a lot. The Fox loft closed its door in 2018, but the cast has been busy acting, directing, parenting, podcasting, TikTok-ing, and generally living their best weird lives. Here’s your quick update!
1. Nasim Pedrad (Aly)
SNL vet and deadpan assassin Nasim voiced a bunch of characters (Big Mouth, Young Jedi Adventures), had a few movie roles, and then created/starred in Chad, playing a painfully earnest 14-year-old Persian boy. It was a “chase the joy” project. She missed the crack-up energy of the New Girl set and wanted to feel those vibes again. Even when shows are short runs, Nasim stays booked and busy in the voice booth and beyond. Someone cast her and Lamorne as bickering detectives already!
2. Lamorne Morris (Winston)
Speaking of Lamorne, the king of pranks wanted to stretch post-Winnie the Bish, and he did. Morris went darker, weirder, and more topical. He headlined Woke, a comedy with teeth that tackled race and identity, and he kept experimenting across TV, film, and even narrative podcasts. Lamorne’s been open about turning down roles that didn’t say anything; when he does sign on, it’s because the piece has meaning, a challenge, or at least a great bit. Cat names remain elite, and bird shirts are likely still in rotation.
3. Hannah Simone (Cece)
After a couple of pilots didn’t go, Hannah’s big follow-up was Not Dead Yet, playing bestie opposite Gina Rodriguez. The show, while warm and witty, was unfortunately short-lived, but Hannah embraced it with grace. If earlier gigs had worked out, she wouldn’t have met the friends and storytellers she’s with now. Expect more comedy from her with another ABC project in the mix, and yes, she can still shut down a room with a single Cece look.
4. Damon Wayans Jr. (Coach)
Coach sprinted in, sprinted out, and then tag-teamed episodes like a chaotic Peloton class, thanks to Damon’s other hit, Happy Endings. Post-New Girl, he kept the comedy train rolling with Barb and Star, Long Weekend, and animation cameos like Bob’s Burgers, and moved into hosting with CBS’s game show Raid the Cage. Aside from that, he’s building his own thing behind the camera, too. Offscreen, he’s a family guy married to Samara Saraiva, with a full house of kids and jokes.
5. Jake Johnson (Nick)
Nick Miller’s human raccoon energy lives on, but Jake’s career choices got very selective and picky after the pandemic reset. He’s popped up in Stumptown, Lost Ollie, and the delightfully thirsty Minx, plus he kept voicing Peter B. Parker in the Spider-Verse films. He’s also pivoted towards directing. He made his feature debut with Self Reliance and has been open about how tricky it is to get projects made unless you’re also starring.
6. Max Greenfield (Schmidt)
From “chut-ney” and “youths!” to sitcom dad mode, Max vaulted straight into CBS comfort food with The Neighborhood, racking up 100+ episodes as Dave. He also slid into prestige and genre projects (Promising Young Woman, A Series of Unfortunate Events). Off-camera, his most viral role is “Dad who reluctantly appears on his kid’s TikToks,” a part he plays with unnerving skill. He calls The Neighborhood “old-school sitcom” in the best way, and his real family actually watched it together.
7. Zooey Deschanel (Jess)
America’s twee queen still acts, but she’s leaned harder into music and voice work. You’ve heard her as Bridget in the Trolls movies, and she keeps touring/recording with She & Him (they even dropped a Beach Boys covers album). Zooey’s also been vocal about retiring the “manic pixie dream girl” label. She’s a fully dimensional adult now, so enough is enough. Zooey’s happily engaged to Property Brothers’ Jonathan Scott. And yes, she still speaks about New Girl like a proud parent: the secret sauce was the writing and the cast chemistry, not the premise.