Beyond will-they/won’t-they: New Girl, Mindy, and the state of the rom-sitcom

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http://www.avclub.com/article/beyond...d-state-252996

But despite all of its pitfalls, the romantic comedy sitcom (the rom-sitcom, if you will) has seen a resurgence as of late. In the fall of 2014, many of these series suffered the same fate as Bridget Loves Bernie, as Manhattan Love Story, A To Z, Marry Me, and Selfie all failed to survive past their initial seasons. But two current relationship-based series have lasted several seasons, although both now face impending happily ever wrap-ups: New Girl and The Mindy Project. As New Girl concludes its sixth season tonight (with the potential for a seventh season still up in the air), it’s poised to relieve several years of on-again, off-again tension between protagonist Jessica Day (Zooey Deschanel) and her roommate Nick Miller (Jake Johnson). In last week’s episode, “San Diego,” Jess finally came to grips with her rekindled feelings for ex-boyfriend Nick, just as Nick sheepishly broke up with his girlfriend, Reagan (Megan Fox).

A hangout comedy about a group of late-blooming weirdos, New Girl has always had plenty of material to fall back on, but it hit an early creative high (and an all-time peak for ’shipper-made fan videos) when it zeroed in on the potential romance between eccentric educator Jess and underachieving bartender Nick. A thrilling courtship in season two led to a messy, muddled relationship in season three, and the breakup that followed allowed the writing staff and showrunners Elizabeth Meriwether (who also created the show), Brett Baer, and Dave Finkel to reassess who these characters were as individuals, and what they meant to one another in a non-romantic context.

“To some degree, that was what we were doing in season four and season five,” Baer recently told The A.V. Club. “Allowing these characters to get back to ‘Hey, who were we before this event happened between us, that led to a relationship? What are the positive aspects of this relationship that we can’t do without?’ And, then individually, just watching them grow, specifically in the way that the other needed, so there was the possibility that it could actually happen again, and maybe the second go-around is the charm.”

“One of the things that we learned in season two, and certainly in season three, was that they just weren’t ready,” Finkel said. “And now that they’re becoming more fully realized human beings, and owning up to their problems, and being a little bit more responsible, maybe they’re ready for a bigger thing right now. Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t know.”

One challenge in writing a couple’s afterglow involves portraying other characters as viable romantic prospects, and not just obstacles to the inevitable. While Jess has wrestled with her feelings for Nick, Nick has carried on a long-distance and long-term relationship with Reagan, played by Megan Fox. Reagan’s steely professionalism and Fox’s deadpan were new speeds for New Girl, and the storytelling potential they presented led to the show bringing her on as a recurring character following a guest arc in season five. Something similar occurred this season with Nelson Franklin, a frequent New Girl guest whose character, Robby, became a so-compatible-it-might-be-illegal love interest for Jess. Baer admitted that although Meriwether sees Jess and Nick as destined to be together, there have been times like Jess-Robby episodes where the show could’ve changed course.

“Sometimes the audience, having the Nick-Jess thing in the back of their heads looks at what we’re doing and goes, ‘All right, all right: When are they going to break up? We know it’s coming,’” he said. “But there was a moment there where we thought, ‘Maybe [she ends up with Robby].’ Hopefully there’s a season seven to come, but we still have to play that game with ourselves and figure out what that dynamic is that keeps the engine of the show going in a season seven.”

“The other part of it is, for us, it’s much more fun, and I think it’s more provocative, to be able to dive into the dynamics of these characters by not putting them together,” Finkel said. “Because then you get to play a couple different dynamics at a time. Which, again, is just better storytelling. You’re able to see, ‘Okay, in the back of his head, Nick has a thing for Jess. But how does that work when he’s really invested in Reagan?’ It’s a more interesting nuance that you don’t get if you’re just putting them together in the first episode.”