FoxHey girl, whatcha doing? Hey girl, where you going, to the TV afterlife, forever to be streamed? Maybe! The future of New Girl is in question.
New Girl star Jake Johnson said, "Fox won't tell us [whether the show will be renewed]. But we shot a finale where, if this was the end, the core fan base would be OK."
Johnson told The Daily Beast that while promoting his new flick Win It All. When his comments picked up steam, Johnson took to Twitter.
"Let's be clear. I have no idea if NG is coming back. I was doing an interview for #WinItAll & was asked my guess. We've been told it's 50/50," he said.
In a statement to The Daily Beast, Fox said no decisions on the future of the show have been made.
New Girl is now in its sixth season on Fox. The comedy starring Johnson, Zooey Deschanel, Max Greenfield, Hannah Simone and Lamorne Morris has slipped consistently in ratings since its premiere in 2011. The season six premiere had 2.3 million viewers. Last season averaged 3.7 million viewers and a 1.8 rating in the coveted 18-49 demographic.
"I think a lot of people are watching the show later or on Hulu," creator Liz Meriwether told The Hollywood Reporter last May. "When you have a show that appeals to younger viewers, the live ratings just aren't indicative of who's watching the show. And I think Fox has been pretty savvy about that and incredibly supportive of our show."
It's one of the longest-running shows currently on Fox's schedule, anchoring the Tuesday line-up. Season six is currently slated to wrap in April. As for how the last episode could look, Meriwether told THR in May that she's "never been somebody to plan everything out."
"With Zooey's pregnancy, with losing Damon [Wayans Jr.], I think it's better to go into a show not saying, ‘This is what's going to happen.' Because we never know. I've always tried to stay in tune with what's happening on set. I like to be open to what's working there," she said. "That said, we knew Schmidt and Cece would get engaged last season and married this season. There are always big things we're working toward. But in terms of the end of the series? I don't know. It's sort of hard to think about it. We'll figure it out when we get there, but I might sort of disappear for a month in the Canadian wilderness."
New Girl airs Tuesdays, 8 p.m. on Fox.