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Press Kit By:

Krystina PuleoColleen Wormsley

Table of ContentsStrategy StatementAirdate ReleaseFeature Bio Zooey DeschanelBios Jake Johnson MaxGreenfield Lamorne Morris Hannah SimoneProduction Notes Fountain of Inspiration The Douchebag Jar Jake Johnson’s Two Left Feet The “True American” Drinking GameWhich Roommate Are You? QuizDouchebag Jar App

Strategy StatementThe new Fox comedy New Girl will target millennial women ages 18 to 30. This demographic will be able to relate with the characters on the show and their relationships, ambitions, and social life. In order to reach our target audience, we will pitch relevant media outlets including Marie Claire, Allure, and Entertainment Weekly. In addition, we will pitch relevant online media outlets including HelloGiggles.com, eonline.com, and Mashable Entertainment.

Airdate ReleaseFOX ANNOUNCES PREMIERE OF NEW SERIES “NEW GIRL” ON MAY 8

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – May 1, 2012 – Fox’s new original series New Girl from executive producer Elizabeth Meriwether, shows the amusing scenarios that result when an unconventional female roommate moves into a small apartment with three men. Each of the characters bring their own set of goals, beliefs, and qualities, which adds to the unique living dynamic. The show premieres on Tuesday, May 8 (9- 10 p.m. ET).

New Girl demonstrates the realities of living on a low-income budget and sharing a space with four very different personalities. Jess (Zooey Deschanel) is the “new girl,” dealing with a difficult break-up and determined to start anew by responding to an ad on Craigslist for an apartment. Her bubbly and charismatic persona brings a new energy and point-of-view to the apartment of three young men. Nick (Jake Johnson) is the poorest and handiest of the four roommates working as a bartender after dropping out of law school. Although he hasn’t figured out what he wants to pursue professionally, he has high aspirations to someday become wealthy. Schmidt (Max Greenfield) is a young professional, “Type A” personality, who is very concerned about his personal appearance and the sanitation of the apartment. As the romantic of the group, he considers himself to be a modern day Romeo and prides himself on his ability to pick up women. The fourth roommate, Winston (Lamorne Morris), is an aggressive basketball player who peaked as a point guard for the Latvian Basketball League. His competitive spirit carries through in all of his life experiences, yet he is still scrounging for a full-time position to replace his job as a nanny. Jess’ unlikely best friend, Cece (Hannah Simone), is a self-obsessed diva who thrives off the attention she gets from men as a successful model. Cece brings out a new side to the men of the apartment who are not quite mature enough to handle her beauty.

Jess’ free spirit is an inspiration for everyone around her, but her limitless imagination can sometimes make her seem naïve. Her lovable charm has helped her make friends who appreciate her disregard for social norm. However, normalcy comes into question as the group begins to emerge as friends, and challenges present themselves putting relationships at risk. Unlikely love interests arise as each of the roommates explores their youth and sexuality. All of the roommates are determined to find their place in life, with little direction, but a common passion for adventure.

New Girl was created, produced and written by Elizabeth Meriwether. Jake Kasdan, Peter Chernin, Katherine Pope, Dave Finkel, and Brett Baer all serve as executive producers. Fox television studios serves as the production company for the series.

Zooey DeschanelJess

“I’m having the best time working on this show. It’s a dream come true,” said Zooey Deschanel about her role in the new Fox comedy New Girl.

Deschanel stars as the quirky and “adorkable” middle school teacher Jess, who finds herself living with a group of guys after she discovers her boyfriend is cheating on her.

Deschanel, best known for her roles on the big screen including the films “Elf,” “Failure to Launch,” “Yes Man,” and “(500) Days of Summer,” admits that switching to a lead role on a television show has been a transition, but she loves having the constant stimulation. “I like going to set every day and working with the same awesome people and I

really like that, even though it’s really long hours and it’s a lot to memorize, it’s really exciting and it’s really fun.”

Although Deschanel is new to being a leading lady on a television show, she’s used to balancing multiple projects at once. In addition to her work in film, she is also known for her music with the band She & Him, and in 2011 she helped launch the entertainment website HelloGiggles.com.

Deschanel confessed that although the part wasn’t initially written for her, she finds it to be a perfect fit. “You know, you go to a store and you see a dress and it just looks like it was made for you, but it wasn’t? That’s sort of like what it was like. And now that

I am on the show, it is written for me and it’s wonderful to have all these great writers writing stuff for me.”

Although Deschanel admits that she isn’t quite as eccentric as Jess in real life, she admires her character and what she stands for. “I really love that she’s totally herself, even though she’s awkward at times and kind of nerdy at times. I think that’s really nice to see in female characters, because a lot of times female characters are just reacting to the men. Especially in comedies, I think a lot of time the female characters are there to provide a balance for guys. And, I really don’t feel that’s true with this character. I really feel like she’s equal to all the guys. I really, really love that. She’s a real true modern woman.”

Jake JohnsonNick

Jake Johnson stars in the Fox comedy New Girl as the law school dropout turned bartender, Nick Miller. Nick, although often pessimistic about his current situation, always finds a way to make ends meet with the support of his eclectic roommates.

Johnson recently appeared as Principal Dadier in the comedy 21 Jump Street alongside Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. Johnson also has a starring role as Jeff in the upcoming film Safety Not Guaranteed.

Prior to New Girl, Johnson played Eli in the film No Strings Attached starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman. Johnson’s other credits include A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas, Get Him to the Greek, and Paper Heart.

Johnson, a native of Chicago, now lives in Los Angeles with his wife, artist Erin Payne. In his free time, Johnson enjoys playing basketball and tennis as well as rooting for the Chicago Cubs. His birthday is May 20.

Max GreenfieldSchmidt

Max Greenfield stars in the Fox comedy New Girl as the “douche bag” young professional Schmidt. Schmidt, the wildly inappropriate, yet somehow irresistibly loveable womanizer, quickly makes a move when he finds out that Jess’ best friend, Cece, is a model.

Greenfield recently starred in the television movie The Indestructible Jimmy Brown alongside Kevin Christy and Cameron Richardson. Greenfield has also had reoccurring roles on the television series Veronica Mars as Leo D’Amato, Ugly Betty as Nick Pepper, and Greek as Michael.

Prior to New Girl, Greenfield landed guest roles on a variety of television series including: Happy Endings, Hot in Cleveland, No Ordinary Family, and, Lie to Me.

Greenfield, a native of Dobbs Ferry, New York, currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Tess Sanchez, and their 2-year-old daughter Lily. His birthday is September 4.

Lamorne MorrisWinston

Lamorne Morris’ role as Winston on the Fox comedy New Girl marks his first big acting break. Winston, the twenty-something, ex-basketball player, spends his time looking for his place in the professional world. Winston copes with his struggles with the support of his three roommates who are facing similar situations.

Morris became a familiar on-air personality for his hosting abilities, specifically for his comedic coverage in his own show called “HotWyred” on BET. In addition to hosting his own show, Morris also co-hosted the daily music and entertainment news show BET Now. He is also credited for hosting a Cartoon Network game show called “BrainRush.”

Morris began his career starring in numerous commercials for brands including; McDonald’s, Ford, State Farm Insurance, Taco Bell, Twix, Miller Lite, Las Vegas, 7 Up, Sears, Microsoft Windows, Chili’s and Edge ActiveCare. In addition, Morris had acting roles in award-winning independent and short films including “April Fools,” “One World” and “Urban Group Squirrels.”

Morris was born in Chicago, where he grew up with aspirations of becoming a basketball player. He went on to study theatre at the College of DuPage and became the recipient of the Chris Farley Memorial Acting Scholarship. Morris now resides in Los Angeles where he is developing film and show concepts.

Hannah SimoneCece

Hannah Simone plays Cece on Fox’s new series New Girl. Cece, the smart and sophisticated model, is always there to check on her childhood best friend Jess (Zooey Deschanel).

Simone first gained interest in the public eye as a model at the age of 13 when she posed for the cover of a magazine in Cyrus. She also served as a radio host at her campus radio station, which led to a VJ position for MuchMusic in Canada. Simone then began to get hosting jobs on shows including HGTV Canada’s television show “Space for Living,” Canadian television newsmagazine “the NewMusic” and “WCG Ultimate Gamer” on Syfy.

Simone was born on August 3 in London, England. She has a diverse ethnic background including Indian, German-Italian, and Greek-Cypriot roots. Growing up, Simone lived on three different continents and moved often. She went on to receive a BA in International Relations and Political Science at the University of British Columbia, as well as a BA in Radio and Television Arts as Ryerson University. She now resides in Los Angeles working as an actress.

Executive producers Dave Finkel, Liz Meriwether and Jake Kasden are taking a story that has already been told about four roommates living together and creating something new, with the help of a creative cast and their own improvisation. As Kasden knows, from past experience with unsuccessful series, it is important to “hire people that make you want to write and tell more stories about them.” In doing so, they cast a diverse group of personalities who have the natural ability to let their creativity shine through. Finkel describes the process as; “we have a script ready for them, then we let them play and see how it organically forms.” The actors serve as a fountain of inspiration at each taping and respond to the writing in their own ways. While this process may seem like a nice way of saying, “disorganized,” they have fun while taping, which comes through in the final cuts as authentic and makes the story something unique.

Production NoteFountain of Inspiration

Production NoteThe Douche Bag Jar

The night after Max Greenfield auditioned for the role of Schmidt, executive producers Elizabeth Meriwether, Brett Baer, and Dave Finkel couldn’t help but notice the empathy that Max brought to his “douche bag” character. “Even though he’s a douche bag, you care about him,” said Meriwether. “Schmidt is the kind of character that can’t help being a douche bag. He’s aware of it and wants to improve on it. We didn’t want to call him out on it so we decided to create the “Douche Bag Jar” to be able to point and say put some money in it.” That night, the douche bag jar was born.

Production NoteJake Johnson’s Two Left Feet

In the recent interactive “Hey Girl” music video, users were able to watch Zooey Deschanel and the boys dance along to the show’s full theme song. However, Jake Johnson, who plays Nick on the show, had a hard time learning the choreography. “I was really bad,” admits Johnson. “I thought I was going to be able to hide in the back the whole time and they kept putting a path in between me and the camera. Then we saw the playback and I knew I was in trouble.” After the playback, Max Greenfield, who plays Schmidt, said that watching Jake dance was his favorite moment on the show. “I lost it. I was crying,” admitted Greenfield.

To watch the interactive “Hey Girl” music video, visit: fox.com/new-girl/heygirl/.

The improvisations from the dynamic cast that occur on set, and the natural spontaneity are what make this series so genuine. While filming late one day, the group came up with a game that ended up being integrated into the episode. The game, called “True American” is considered by the cast to be “50% drinking game and 50% Candy Land.” To play, the room has to be transformed by moving furniture into “zones,” and the objective is to reach the “castle” without touching the floor, which becomes lava. How does an intense imaginative game like this come about? Jake Johnson explains; “We were all reading the script and it said, ‘Now they all play a drinking game,” it is that simple. The rules of the game were never thoroughly conceptualized; “There’s a lot of flaws in the logic of the game. So in terms of the rules of playing it, you just have to get drunk and yell presidents and throw beer in corners. That’s it,” said Jake.

Production NoteThe “True American” Drinking Game

Online ComponentDouchebag Jar App

The Douchebag Jar App will allow fans of the show to “call out” their friends for being a douchebag online. The app will be available on the iPhone and iPad and will allow users to take a screenshot of their friends’ douchey Facebook statuses, tweets, and Instagram photos. Users can then send a message urging their friends to pay up! The app will create a running total so you will know how much money your friends owe you for being a douchebag.