Adam Taylor/FOXWe have discovered our new happy place and it is watching Damon Wayans Jr. scream terrible things at Jake Johnson on the set of New Girl.
"You look like a pillowcase full of burritos!" "A water balloon in a suit!" "An old lady who fell over!" "An unbaked cookie!"
Chances are, only one joke will make it into tonight's new episode, in which Wayans' character Coach tries to force his roommates to get in shape. But when E! News visited the set, Wayans spent a good 10 minutes ad-libbing a steady flow of one-liners, leaving us bent over, cry-laughing, as if someone had kicked us in the gut.
Girl and brought the three-year-old Fox comedy back to its season-one glory days. It's the OLD New Girl we fans so love.
Here are six reasons to get excited again about New Girl right now:
Damon Wayans Jr. Is the "Perfect" Fifth Member: The Happy Endings alum just extended his six episode arc to the full season, and for good reason. "He really kind of rounds out the energy of the cast," Zooey Deschanel tells us. "It's amazing. He's hilarious, so it's fun. It's just like having one more really hilarious person on set. We love his personality." Johnson admits that Wayans' return wasn't taken lightly. "We talked about it a lot," he explains. "We did a movie together this summer called, Let's Be Cops and so I spent a lot of time with him, and I was really glad he came back."
Lamorne Morris Tells Us How He Really Feels! The biggest scandal of Wayans' return? That there is, um, no scandal. Though some might assume that Morris, who was brought in after Wayans left the show, might be shaking in his high-tops, fearing for job security, the writers have expertly crafted a scenario in which Coach has taken Schmidt's (Max Greenfield) room—making it clear Lamorne (Winston) isn't going anywhere. Lamorne tells us, "I had somebody ask me once, ‘So now that Coach is coming back into the loft, is Winston moving out?' And I said, 'Did you just ask me if I was being fired?' Yes, I'm being fired. Yes, guy at the grocery store, let me drop some jewels on you!" Then he adds: "Damon is great. I've never worked with him before this and it's great… He is an insane person, I really had no idea he is an insane person. He's Winston in real life, he's crazy!"
Still, Lamorne Is Covering All his Bases: "I'mslowing trying to become a Wayans," he jokes. "I talked to my mom about that and she will not be offended if I change my last name to Wayans." Our only request? That Coach and Winston get paired up on screen together. A lot. Lamorne has long been New Girl's unsung hero and the chemistry between Coach and Winston in tonight's episode—in which Coach tries to train the rest of the roomies (determining they are all untrainable)--shows how explosively hilarious these two can be together. Win. Win.
Nick and Jess Will Stay Imperfect: Though fans were concerned the show might hit a rut after this will-they-or-won't-they couple became been-there-and-done-that, Zooey and Jake hint that their conflict—and hot new guest star Taye Diggs--will keep the storyline fresh. "I think they'll be happy for a while," Zooey teases, "but they're both a little bit flawed. Just a smidge." Jake adds: "I think it's fun when there are obstacles between them, but I think they've don't a really nice job so far. The relationship is still new but they're both dysfunctional people so we'll see what happens…It's an odd pairing."
Baby on the Way? Sound the shipper alarm because Max Greenfield (Schmidt) is gunning for a Cece and Schmidt reunion just as much as you fans! "I think some space needs to be created [before they get back together]," Max tells us, adding that he has pitched an idea to the writers of the show. "I think the only move for them next would be childbearing. Cece comes in and she's pregnant and you think the last person it would be is Schmidt because they are in just such a fight, but then it's revealed that they just snuck off one of these nights, a real mistake but now they're going to deal with it. I've been pitching Schmidt as a dad for a really long time."
The Best Guest Star of All Time Is Coming Back: Jake Johnson tells us he's heard rumblings that his former love interest Lizzie Caplan (Julia) may return. But it's a jaccuzzi scene Nick shared with someone else that goes down as the best New Girl scene of all time in our book… "I'm hearing rumors that Tran is coming back," Johnson tells us, referring to the mystical, silent, Asian healer who cured Nick of his rage in season two. "I can't wait to see him, he's one of my all-time favorites. Maybe there will be more hot tub scenes with Tran." Dare. We. Dream.
Check out our exclusive interviews with the cast below for much more scoop and good times!
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