I have to admit that I originally wasn’t so thrilled about the idea of Megan Fox joining the cast of New Girl . The decision, made to accommodate star Zooey Deschanel’s real-life maternity leave, seemed haphazard at best, with Fox’s character Reagan subletting Jess’s room while she was away on jury duty. And while I initially felt that Jess didn’t particularly need to be replaced — after all, Cece’s around and more than engaging enough to fill the gap, right?
Still, Fox’s five episode arc, which began with the aptly-тιтled episode “Reagan”, has been incredibly well-received by fans, and even won me over in the end. That’s probably a good thing, considering that Fox’s New Girl stint may be extended into further episodes. It’s all still up in the air, but it’s certainly in the realm of possibility, which is pretty exciting.
Executive producer Brett Baer told TV Line this week that there were “definitely” ongoing discussions about keeping Fox around for more than those initial five episodes, adding, “We love what her character brings to the table for the Nick-and-Jess dynamic — and for all the characters.” And I have to say, I actually totally agree with him on that one.
Speaking of the Nick and Jess dynamic, you’ve probably seen by now that Reagan and Nick shared a kiss, and given Nick and Jess’s complicated past, you’d expect things to get a little awkward between Jess and Reagan. Thankfully, New Girl has been smart enough not to play to such a tired and stereotypical dynamic by having the two women be at each other’s throats because of a guy. Instead, they actually formed an unexpected (and admittedly slightly bizarre) bond, which seems pretty perfect for laying the groundwork for Fox sticking around for more episodes.
“I didn’t want to write a story with two women at each other’s throats,” said series creator Liz Meriweather. “So we went the other direction with it. We kept all of the drama inside [Nick’s] head.”
And thank goodness for that. We have a bromance threesome between Schmidt, Nick, and Winston, but what about a female group of BFFs? Jess has Cece, but there’s always room for one more, and frankly, I’d love to see the scales evened just a bit more. I can’t think of anything that would make the show more fun than the possibility of having the three girls get into all kinds of trouble together, so frankly, I’m all for it. I guess time will tell!