We’re still awaiting the first cancellation, but FOX has made “New Girl” the fall’s first series to receive a full-season order.
It took only two airings for FOX to decide not only to extend “New Girl” with a traditional back-nine order, but to actually request an addition 11 episodes for the Zooey Deschanel comedy, bringing its first season to 24 episodes.
“We love the charming Zooey Deschanel and the entire cast, we’re knocked out with the work that Liz Meriwether and the whole staff is doing and we are really psyched about the upcoming episodes in the pipeline,” states FOX Entertainment President Kevin Reilly. “It’s great that audiences have responded so positively so far and we’re confident that even more people will embrace the show — and more comedy on FOX — this season.”
“New Girl” premiered last week as FOX’s highest-rated fall sitcom debut (i.e. not to be confused with sitcoms boosted by “American Idol” in the spring) in 10 years. This week’s second “New Girl” episode experienced only minor declines and still ranked as Tuesday’s top show in the key 18-49 demographic and in a slew of additional young-skewing and female-friendly demos. “New Girl” has also boosted “Raising Hope” to a pair of solid performances among young viewers (though the second-year comedy’s half-hour declines may be a concern eventually).
In addition to Deschanel, “New Girl” stars Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield and Lamorne Morris. Upcoming guest stars include the return of Mary Elizabeth Ellis, plus Katie Cassidy, Natasha Lyonne, Lake Bell and Justin Long.
Now we can turn our attention to the contenders to be the fall’s first cancellation. Early odds would appear to favor NBC’s “The Playboy Club” and “Free Agents,” plus The CW’s “H8r.” Stay tuned!