Claim: New Girl was made under the working title Chicks & Dicks.

New Girl is an American sitcom television series that premiered on Fox on September 20 , 2011 . Developed by Elizabeth Meriwether under the working title Chicks & Dicks , the series revolves around a kooky teacher Jess -LRB- Zooey Deschanel -RRB- after she moves into a Los Angeles loft with three men , Nick -LRB- Jake Johnson -RRB- , Schmidt -LRB- Max Greenfield -RRB- , and Winston -LRB- Lamorne Morris -RRB- ; Jess ' best friend Cece -LRB- Hannah Simone -RRB- and on-again-off-again loft mate Coach -LRB- Damon Wayans Jr. -RRB- also appear regularly . The show combines comedy and drama elements as the characters , who are in their early thirties , deal with maturing relationships and career choices . The sixth season premiered on September 20 , 2016 .   Produced in Los Angeles as a single-camera comedy , New Girl is an ensemble show aimed at a general audience . Most episodes are anchored around Jess , who according to series creator , Meriwether , would have played a side character on other shows . The show 's first marketing push was on Zooey Deschanel and the promotional tagline `` Simply Adorkable '' , a portmanteau of `` adorable '' and `` dork '' . The producers rejected early criticism of Jess ' girlishness , insisting that Jess was not meant to be emblematic of all women . Instead , they aim to portray realistic , emotionally driven characters , and to approach the show from that angle rather than simply firing off punchlines .   New Girl has received favorable responses from critics , who named the show one of the best new comedies of the 2011 fall season . The pilot episode drew 10.28 million U.S. viewers and a 4.8 adults 18 -- 49 demo rating , making it the highest-rated fall debut for a Fox scripted show since 2001 . Particular praise has been given to the performances of Deschanel , Greenfield , Johnson and Morris . Max Greenfield was considered the show 's breakout star in season 1 , before critics named Jake Johnson the breakout star of season 2 . The show has been nominated for several awards , including five Golden Globe Awards and five Primetime Emmy Awards . On May 14 , 2017 , FOX renewed the series for a seventh , and final season consisting of eight episodes .