New Girl kicks off with school teacher Jess moving into an L.A. apartment full of guys after getting out of a painful relationship. While this sitcom aired on Fox for seven seasons from September 2011 to May 2018, some of the show’s episodes gained more viewers than others.
The viewership scores below are based on the approximate number of people who watched the original New Girl broadcast. This means that while the episodes below might have gotten the most watchers, it doesn’t necessarily reflect their lasting popularity. It’s time to drive out to California; Here are New Girl‘s most-watched episodes.
Cece Crashes (S1E5): 6.84 Million
In this Season 1 episode, Cece goes through a breakup of her own and ends up crashing at the loft for a little while. This scares Jess, who knows that Cece is vulnerable and might easily latch onto one of the guys she lives with.
While Schmidt tries hard to win Cece over, Jess becomes nervous that Nick has feelings for her after his feet continually point in his direction.
Thanksgiving (S1E6): 6.91 Million
The first Thanksgiving episode in the series has Jess inviting her crush, fellow teacher Paul, to the loft for Thanksgiving dinner.
While some of the guys are worried that Paul won’t fit in with them, the entire gang is more afraid that the turkey — which is frozen solid — won’t cook in time. This leads to a few holiday mishaps.
The Story Of The 50 (S1E10): 6.97 Million
After Schmidt’s big birthday plans get canceled in “The Story of 50,” Jess decides to take matters into her own hands. She turns a school bus into a party bus and tries to put on the greatest bro-bash in history.
Unfortunately, things get out of hand, and Nick is especially nervous that the lawyer girl he’s dating won’t fit in with his friends.
Jess & Julia (S1E11): 7.29 Million
Though “Jess & Julia” couldn’t be more different, the two decide to team together to get Jess out of a traffic ticket.
Nick meanwhile frets about whether or not he is in a real relationship, and Schmidt sets out to solve the mystery of why his shower towel never dries. Additionally, Winston decides to call up an old lover, but soon discovers that he’s not the best person to be in a relationship with.
Naked (S1E4): 7.42 Million
Jess walks in on Nick dancing “Naked” in front of the mirror in this early episode. This causes his self-confidence to plummet and tension to bubble between the two.
Jess determines that the only way to make Nick comfortable again is to let him have a peek at her without clothes on, but this plan backfires when Nick brings a woman back to the loft.
Meanwhile, Winston tries to catch up on all the pop culture references, and Schmidt get jealous that Jess saw Nick nude when he hasn’t.
Bells (S1E7): 7.59 Million
In “Bells,” Jess is tasked with getting a troubled group of teens into handbells. Though she fails to unite them, Winston uses his hidden musical talents to get the gang going. However, he has a hard time keeping his competitive side restrained.
Meanwhile, Schmidt and Nick’s argument about how to fix the toilet spirals out of hand.
Wedding (S1E3): 8.65 Million
Nick is nervous that he’ll bump into his ex-girlfriend Caroline at a “Wedding,” so he enlists Jess to be his date instead. However, Jess struggles to keep Nick from getting hurt all over again.
While at the reception, Schmidt tries to score a girl and Winston tries to prove himself as the ultimate usher.
Kryptonite (S1E2): 9.28 Million
Fresh off of her breakup from Spencer, Jess must get up to courage to return to his place and take back all of her old stuff. The guys especially want her to bring back the TV after theirs breaks.
This episode also has Winston moving back into the loft after having played basketball in Latvia. He tries to trick Schmidt into giving him his old room.
Pilot (S1E1): 10.28 Million
New Girl kicks off with Jess being interviewed by Nick, Schmidt, and Coach in their apartment. Though she at first responded to their CraigsList add believing they were three single women, she is forced to determine whether she wants to continue with a bunch of dudes.
Unfortunately for Jess, she doesn’t have much of a choice, being that the boyfriend she lived with just cheated on her.
Prince (S3E14): 26.30 Million
The most-watched New Girl episode at the time of its release was Season 3’s “Prince.” The high numbers occurred because New Girl secured the TV time slot directly after Super Bowl XLVIII. Because of this, the writers decided to include Prince as a guest star in the episode.
In “Prince,” Jess and Cece are invited to a party at the music icon’s house. However, after Nick accidentally tells Jess he loves her right before she heads away, he tries to sneak into the party to clear up what he said. The other guys tag along.
