May 28, 2026 3:00pm IST
Jake Johnson on Why He Hasn’t Rewatched ‘New Girl’: ‘Watching it would feel more like watching home videos’
Jake Johnson was Peter Parker in the animated “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and its sequel. He has played several interesting characters, like Karl in Apple TV’s new series, “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed,” a not-so-great ex-husband to Tatiana Maslany’s Paula. But the character he’ll be best known for is Nick Miller on Fox’s sitcom, “New Girl.” The yearning and chemistry between Nick and Zooey Deschanel’s Jess Day have long been loved by fans.
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Ask him whether he ever re-watches “New Girl” as fans often do, and he says, “I haven’t really rewatched much of ‘New Girl’. I feel like I’m still living it with the interaction with the cast. Lamorne Morris (Winston) and I are in constant touch. Max Greenfield (Schmidt) and I are always talking. Zooey (Deschanel) and I are close, as is Hannah Simone (Cece). Damon Wayans Jr. created a fake business and ripped off Lamorne and me. And so it feels like that show has lived on for all of us. Watching it would feel more like watching home videos.”
That being said, Johnson does leave one of his “New Girl” costars, Damon Wayans Jr., aka Coach, with a hilarious mock threat.
“But what I’d like from Damon Wayans Jr. is this. You owe me $25,000, brother! And I want my money back. And if it doesn’t come from you, I’m going to your family to get it!”
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It’s been eight years since “New Girl” ended its seven-season run from 2011 to 2018, and fans have been clamoring for a reunion. At the SXSW film festival in March this year, Jake Johnson, who was there for the premiere of his film, “The Sun Never Sets,” expressed his enthusiasm about a cast reunion. He joked how Lamorne Morris was the only one holding it up because the latter’s Supporting Actor Limited Series Emmy for “Fargo” season 5 had “gone to his head.”
Morris features alongside Nicolas Cage in Prime Video’s “Spider-Noir” series. As for Johnson, he has the Apple Original film “The Dink” and the third installment in the “Spider-Verse” franchise coming up. But Nick Miller and his humor are safe with Jake Johnson and ready to return at the drop of a hat.
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