Adam Taylor/FOXBrace yourself for one adorkable baby bump!
New Girl star Zooey Deschanel announced today she is pregnant with her first child with Jacob Pechenik. The twosome have been dating since mid-2014, and their baby is due in summer.
Such happy news—especially since her sister, Bones star Emily Deschanel, is also pregnant (with her second child), and the mind boggles with all the cute cousin playdates to follow on the Fox studio lot.
But what does this mean for New Girl? You know, the Fox comedy that pulled an impressive 180 after its slightly underwhelming third seson, and is cranking out consistently incredible episodes once more? How will Zooey's series be affected by her impeding motherhood, if at all?
Fox isn't releasing any info yet, but according to multiple insiders close to the show, here's what you need to know:
Zooey's pregnancy is not expected to affect the production schedule of the current fourth season. I'm told she's not showing yet, and there are only seven weeks left of production, and five episodes of New Girl left to shoot. Production is currently scheduled to wrap beginning of March, and then all the actors have a four to five month hiatus. It is possible the start of season five could be delayed next fall, but that will be determined at a later date.
No decisions have been made storyline wise, since execs just found out the news, but according to one insider, the most likely scenario is that the pregnancy will not be written into the show, and Zooey's character Jess will not be pregnant.
On the show, Jess is curently dating Ryan (Julian Morris), who is a guest star, and the show's core couple—Nick (Jake Johnson) and Jess—broke up last year.
So...perhaps that adorable pregnancy glow can just be explained by a little post-True American drinking game bloat? (Any time we get to see another True American episode, it is a good day.) Or she might just pull an Olivia Pope and fall in love with a lamp. (Note to writers: ANYTHING but that.)
New Girl returns tonight with a very funny episode in which Winston (Lamorne Morris) graduates the police academy, Schmidt (Max Greenfield) meets his most hilarious love interest to date (a councilwoman), and Jess and Ryan make their relationship official.
In case you missed, make sure you read our take (with thoughts from New Girl boss Liz Meriweather) on how and why New Girl got so good again!
Congrats, Zooey!