The second season of the American television sitcom ''

New Girl ''New Girl'' is an American television sitcom created by Elizabeth Meriwether and produced by 20th Century Fox Television for Fox that aired from September 20, 2011, to May 15, 2018. The series revolves around quirky teacher, Jessica Day ( Zo ...

'' premiered on

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

on September 25, 2012, and concluded on May 14, 2013, consisting of 25 episodes. Developed by

Elizabeth Meriwether Elizabeth Hughes Meriwether (born October 11, 1981) is an American writer, producer and television showrunner. She is known for creating the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'', and for writing the play ''Oliver Parker!'' (2010) and the romantic comedy film ...

under the working title ''Chicks & Dicks'', the series revolves around offbeat teacher Jess (

Zooey Deschanel Zooey Claire Deschanel ( ; born January 17, 1980) is an American actress and musician. She made her film debut in ''Mumford (film), Mumford'' (1999) and had a supporting role in Cameron Crowe's film ''Almost Famous'' (2000). Deschanel is known f ...

) after her moving into a Los Angeles loft with three men, Nick (

Jake Johnson Mark Jake Johnson Weinberger (born May 28, 1978) is an American actor. He has starred as Nick Miller in the Fox sitcom '' New Girl'' (2011–2018), for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Come ...

), Schmidt (

Max Greenfield Max Greenfield (born September 4, 1979) is an American actor and author. He appeared in recurring roles in ''Veronica Mars'' and ''Ugly Betty''. He co-starred as Schmidt in the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'', for which he received nominations at the Pri ...

), and Winston (

Lamorne Morris Lamorne Lionel Morris (born August 14, 1983) is an American actor and comedian. He has played the roles of Winston Bishop in the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'' (2011–2018), Daniel in '' Call Me Kat'', Darrin Morris in the National Geographic docu ...

); Jess's best friend Cece (

Hannah Simone Hannah Simone (born 3 August 1980) is a British-Canadian actress from London, television host, and former VJ and fashion model. She portrayed Cece Parikh on the Fox sitcom ''New Girl''. Early life Simone was born in London to a British India ...

) also appears regularly. The show combines comedy and drama elements as the characters, who are in their early thirties, deal with maturing relationships and career choices.

Production

On April 9, 2012, Fox renewed ''New Girl'' for a second season, which premiered on September 25, 2012.

Parker Posey Parker Christian Posey (born November 8, 1968) is an American actress. Known for playing eccentric characters in independent films, she was named "Queen of the Indies" by ''Time'' in 1997. She has received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Awa ...

guest starred as a "shot girl" at a party thrown by Schmidt in the season premiere episode "Re-Launch";

Leslie Mann Leslie Mann (born March 26, 1972) is an American actress. She has appeared in numerous films, including '' The Cable Guy'' (1996), '' She's the One'' (1996), ''George of the Jungle'' (1997), '' Big Daddy'' (1999), '' Orange County'' (2002), '' ...

was originally cast in the role, but pulled out due to a scheduling conflict.

Raymond J. Barry Raymond John Barry (born March 14, 1939) is an American film, television, and stage actor. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the film '' Steel City''. Personal life Raymond John Ba ...

guest starred as "Old Nick" — an older drunk man who frequents Nick's bar, claiming to be Nick — from the future.

Niecy Nash Carol Denise Betts (previously Nash, née Ensley; born February 23, 1970) (), known professionally as Niecy Nash, is an American actress. Her career began in the late 1990s, with appearances in the films '' Boys on the Side'' (1995) and '' Cooki ...

, David Walton and

Eric Winter Eric Barrett Winter (born July 17, 1976) is an American actor. He has appeared in the television roles of Sergeant Tim Bradford on the ABC show '' The Rookie'' (2018-present), Rex Brady on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', FBI Specia ...

all signed on as guest stars for the second season. However, Walton was the only actor out of three that appeared in the series, he appeared in a recurring role as Jess' love interest, Sam, first appearing in the episode "Katie".

Rachael Harris Rachael Harris (born January 12, 1968) is an American actress and comedian. The accolades she has received include nominations for an Independent Spirit Award and a Saturn Award. In film, Harris has had lead roles as Susan Heffley in the ''Dia ...

reprised her role as Jess' boss, Tanya Lamontagne in episode "Re-Launch".

Maria Thayer Maria Christina Thayer (born October 30, 1975) is an American actress and comedian. She first earned public recognition for her portrayal of Tammi Littlenut on the cult series '' Strangers with Candy'' in 1999. Thayer has also had supporting rol ...

guest starred as Amelia in the Halloween episode, a woman from Nick's college days.

Carla Gugino Carla Gugino ( ; born August 29, 1971) is an American actress. After early roles in the films '' Troop Beverly Hills'' (1989), '' This Boy's Life'' (1993), '' Son in Law'' (1993), and '' Snake Eyes'' (1998), Gugino received wider recognition fo ...

guest starred in a three-episode stint as Schmidt's new boss, Emma.

Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, and children's author. Known for List of Jamie Lee Curtis performances, her performances in the horror and slasher film, slasher genres, she is regarded as a scream qu ...

and

Rob Reiner Robert Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and liberal activist. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael Stivic, Mike "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitc ...

guest starred as Jess' parents in the Thanksgiving episode.

Rob Riggle Robert Allen Riggle Jr. (born April 21, 1970) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and retired United States Marine officer. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, joining the Marines in 1990 and later attaining the rank of lieutenant colone ...

also guest starred as Schmidt's cousin in the Thanksgiving episode.

Olivia Munn Lisa Olivia Munn (born July 3, 1980) is an American actress. After an internship at a news station in Tulsa, she moved to Los Angeles where she began her professional career as a television host for the gaming network G4, and on the series '' ...

guest starred in a three-episode arc as Angie, a love interest for Nick.

Brenda Song Brenda Song (born March 27, 1988) is an American actress of Hmong and Thai descent. Born in Sacramento, California, Song began her career at the age of six, working as a child model. She made her screen debut with a guest appearance on the ...

appeared in a recurring role as Daisy, a love interest for Winston.

Brooklyn Decker Brooklyn Danielle Decker (born April 12, 1987) is an American model and actress, perhaps best known for her appearances in the ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue, including the cover of the 2010 issue. In addition to working for Victoria's ...

also guest starred in Song's introductory episode, appearing as Holly.

Nate Corddry Nathan Harris Corddry (born September 8, 1977) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles as Adam Branch in the NBC drama series ''Harry's Law'' and for his role as Gabriel in the first two seasons of the CBS sitcom '' Mo ...

also guest starred in an episode.

Odette Annable Odette Juliette Annable (; born May 10, 1985) is an American actress. She is known for various roles in film and television, including as Dr. Jessica Adams in the Fox medical drama series ''House'', Beth McIntyre in the monster film ''Cloverfi ...

guest starred as Nick's new boss and love interest, Shane, in the episode "Quick Hardening Caulk"; It was previously reported that Annable's role would be recurring, however, she only appeared in one episode.

Margo Martindale Margo Martindale (born July 18, 1951) is an American character actress who has appeared on television, film, and stage. In 2011, she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for her recurring role as Mags Bennett on '' ...

Nick Kroll Nicholas Kroll (born June 5, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for the FX (TV channel), FX comedy series ''The League'' (2009–2015), creating and starring in the Comedy Central series ''Kroll Show'' (20 ...

and

Bill Burr {{Infobox comedian , image = Bill Burr by Gage Skidmore.jpg , alt = , caption = Burr in 2018 , birth_name = William Frederic Burr , birth_date = {{birth date and age, 1968, 6, 10 , bi ...

guest starred as Nick's mother, brother and cousin, respectively.

Dermot Mulroney Dermot Patrick Mulroney (born October 31, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is known for his roles in a wide variety of genres, including romantic comedy, western, and drama films. After making his film debut in ''Sunset'' (1988), Mulro ...

reprised his role as Russell from the previous season.

Merritt Wever Merritt Carmen Wever (born August 11, 1980) is an American actress. She had roles in the Showtime television series '' Nurse Jackie'' (2009–2015), ''The Walking Dead'' (2015–2016), '' Godless'' (2017), '' Welcome to Marwen'' (2018), '' Unb ...

played Elizabeth, Schmidt's old girlfriend from college, in the last four episodes of the season.

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

guest starred in the season finale "Elaine's Big Day", playing the episode's titular character.

Cast and characters

Main cast

as Jessica "Jess" Day *

as Nick Miller *

Schmidt Schmidt may refer to: * Schmidt (surname), including list of people and fictional characters with the surname * Schmidt (singer) (born 1990), German pop and jazz singer * Schmidt (lunar crater), a small lunar impact crater * Schmidt (Martian c ...

as Winston Bishop *

as Cece

Recurring cast

as Tanya Lamontagne * Kali Hawk as Shelby *

as Russell *

Nelson Franklin Nelson Franklin (born July 2, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles in ''The Millers'', Traffic Light (TV series), ''Traffic Light'', ''The Office (American TV series), The Office'', ''New Girl'', ''Black-ish'', a ...

as Robby * David Walton as Sam *

as Emma *

as Bob Day *

as Angie *

as Daisy *

Satya Bhabha Satya Sorab Bhabha (born 13 December 1983) is a British actor known for his role as Matthew Patel in the 2010 film '' Scott Pilgrim vs. the World'' and the 2023 animated series '' Scott Pilgrim Takes Off'', and for his recurring role as Shivran ...

as Shivrang * Merritt Weaver as Elizabeth

Guest cast

Episodes

Reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the season holds an approval rating of 88% based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 6.56/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''New Girl''s terrific ensemble cast remains its most valuable asset, and the show is buoyed by a deeper, more relatable central performance from lead Zooey Deschanel in its sophomore season."

References

External links

* * {{New Girl New Girl 2012 American television seasons 2013 American television seasons