The moment we’ve all been fearing has finally come to pass— the hit sitcom, New Girl, iwastaken off U.S. Netflix on April 6. It’s now available on Hulu and Peacock, as a result of the shared agreement between Disney and NBCUniversal. Since the show started in 2011 and was put on Netflix in 2013, its portrayal of an unlikely but lovable friend group has provided comfort and comedy to many, myself included.
New Girl is the definition of a comfort show to me. It has all of my favorite things: a cast of characters who openly love one another, running repeated jokes throughout the series, and the promise that because it is a comedy show, nothing too horrible can befall my comfort characters. With the notable exceptions of using some forms of fatphobia and South Asian racism as comedy, New Girl is far less problematic than some other shows of the same type.
I have spent hours doing homework or household chores with New Girl on in the background, letting the soothing repetition of my favorite episodes hover at the edge of my thoughts. As someone who has been watching the show repeatedly since I discovered it during the pandemic, I feel qualified to share my favorite episodes.
Here are five can’t-miss episodes to watch in honor of its leaving Netflix.
- “DICE'” (Season 4 Episode 2)
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In this episode, Schmidt instructs Jess on how to use the new hit dating app, Dice. Meanwhile, Coach, Cece, and Nick get high and attend a party with Winston’s friends from the police academy. I love this episode because it gives me one of my favorite friendship duos: Schmidt and Jess. Their life passions and beliefs are opposite in nature but equally intense and this is usually demonstrated through playfully antagonizing each other. In this episode, however, the pair teams up and the results are both hilarious and heart-warming.
- “Thanksgiving 1” (Season 1, Episode 6)
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In this episode, Jess invites her crush from work to spend Thanksgiving with them, despite the guys’ wishes to have a laid-back night in. Before this episode, it was easy to see Jess as an overly quirky “manic pixie dream girl” type, but this episode adds substance to her character and demonstrates the beginning of the love the whole group feels for her.
This episode lays the groundwork for some of the main relationships in the show. Jess’ date and Nick immediately don’t get along and the romantic undertones between Nick and Jess are finally questioned. Although Schmidt has been in love with Cece since they met, this episode is the first time Cece admits that she may be into him as well. Their interactions in this episode are also the first time that Schmidt has been himself around her, despite Cece’s best attempts at flirting.
- “Road Trip” (Season 5, Episode 17)
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The mildly cringe-worthy comedy elements are the only thing preventing this episode from getting a perfect score, as it is one of my all-time favorites. The episode is set during Schmidt’s bachelor party and serves as a resolution for his player-douche bag to tender-hearted husband arc. The episode addresses Schmidt’s longstanding hyper-femininity, something that had previously only been gently poked fun at. In “Road Trip”, Schmidt diverges from himself in fear of not fulfilling his “husbandly” role to Cece and is gently reminded by those who love him that he will be a perfect husband, exactly as he is.
- “Landing Gear” (Season 5, Episode 22)
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This is one of the sweetest episodes of the show by far: Cece and Schmidt’s wedding. In order to attempt to convince Cece’s mom to come to the wedding, Schmidt sneaks away and ends up stuck on a flight during the ceremony. The episode is a perfect tribute to the pair’s complicated love story, and the end has me crying every time.
- “Background Check” (Season 4, Episode 6)
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I had to save the best for last, as this is my absolute favorite episode of the show. In fact, I would go as far as to say that this is a perfect episode. Every moment of this episode is comedic gold and I couldn’t explain it all if I tried. Just go watch it— I promise it’s worth your time.