'New Girl' season 5 plot and cast news: Deschanel takes a maternity leave

By Jess Dailo, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, August 20, 2015

The upcoming season of "New Girl" may see less of Zooey Deschanel because of her pregnancy.

It was revealed by series creator Liz Meriwether that Deschanel will be absent for four episodes of season 5. Meriwether explained that they recently finished filming several episodes with Deschanel before she takes a break. Meriwether added that Deschanel will be back after the four episodes of her absence.

The first episode without Deschanel is titled "No Girl." The creator explained that at first she was unsure of how it will pull through, since it was under her direction. The episode plans to explore the characters of the guys deeper and let fans get to know them more.

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According to Hollywood Reporter, the season will have Jess, played by Deschanel, sequestered on a jury in L.A. Merriweather shared that while the situation is a bit strange, she and the writers are having fun with it. While Jess is there, the guys will still have the chance to check up on her.

Without Deschanel, fans will get to hear more about Schmidt, played by Max Greenfield, and Cece's, played by Hannah Simone, relationship after their proposal, instead of the usual focus on Jess and Nick's, played by Jake Johnson, relationship. Therefore, the premiere episode of the season will be about their engagement party and how their traditional families will handle it. It was reported that Schmidt's mother, played by Nora Dunn, and Cece's mother, Priyanka Parikh, will challenge their relationship. Nevertheless, Cece and Schmidt are still determined to keep their relationship strong.

President of FOX Entertinament David madden shared his excitement for the series. He said, "Four seasons in, New Girl continues to be one of the smartest and most relatable comedies on television. The writing is razor-sharp, the ensemble is consistently hilarious, and we couldn't be more proud of … the entire New Girl team. We absolutely love this show and we're so excited to bring it back for Season Five."