What’s more fun than a rousing game of “True American“? Finding out that the dudes from “New Girl” are now dads — and each one somehow parents just like his character from the show.
That’s right. Nick (Jake Johnson), Schmidt (Max Greenfield) and Winston (Lamorne Morris) all have kids … who all seem to love poking fun at their dads in some way.
Though most of the Zooey Deschanel-helmed show revolved around dating, friendship and random hijinks, two of the characters did become parents toward the end of the sitcom’s run.
In the finale of Season 6, Schmidt and Cece (Hannah Simone) learn that they are having a baby. Season 7 picks up three years later, when their daughter, Ruth Bader Parekh Schmidt, is a very verbal toddler and Schmidt is an overly particular stay-at-home dad. Winston’s wife, Aly (Nasim Pedrad), is 7 months pregnant in the season opener and gives birth during the series finale.
The “New Girl” parenting peak occurs during the second episode of the last season, when Ruth refuses to sleep for 24 hours and Nick, Schmidt and Winston “do ‘Three Men and a Baby.’” Nick gets in a “diarrhea-head” insult battle with Ruth, Schmidt falls asleep with his eyes open and Winston gets to sing “Goodnight, Sweetheart” from the movie.
Very on brand.
Let’s take a look at the wacky antics these dads are up to with their real-life kids.
Jake Johnson (Nick)
In “New Girl,” Nick Miller was the directionless, jobless, sloppy roommate you’d hate to live with but love to drink with.
In real life, Jake Johnson has been married to his wife, Erin Payne, for a almost 20 years. The couple’s twin daughters, Elizabeth and Olivia, were born in 2014.
Johnson’s attitude toward his kids’ lost teeth is very, very Nick Miller.
On an episode of his “We’re Here to Help” podcast, Johnson told co-host Gareth Reynolds, “Throwing out your kids’ teeth is shockingly sad because you adore those teeth. You watched them grow and then they fall out and that means they’re not babies anymore.”
Schmidt might have bronzed each and every carefully saved baby tooth, but Nick … err, Johnson … has a sliiiightly different system.
“I haven’t put them in a safe spot,” he laughed, admitting that he was about to embarrass himself. “I just store them up above a really high shelf. I just toss ’em back. There’s just dead baby teeth.”
Max Greenfield (Schmidt)
Greenfield portrayed Schmidt as a buttoned-up, tightly wound, fast-talking, confident germaphobe.
Together with his wife, Tess Sanchez, a former casting director, Greenfield has two kids: Lilly, born in 2008, and Ozzie, born in 2015.
What Schmidt-type activities has Greenfield been up to lately?
Well, remember that time Schmidt choreographed a dance to impress Cece’s mom? Greenfield and his daughter Lilly have been racking up millions of views on their TikTok dance videos. He appears to take his moves extremely seriously.
Greenfield has also written three clever picture books for kids: “I Don’t Want to Read This Book,” “I Don’t Want to Read This Book Aloud” and “This Book is Not a Present.” His most recent book, “Good Night Thoughts,” centers around an essential Schmidt emotion: anxiety.
Lamorne Morris (Winston)
On “New Girl,” Winston was a merry prankster who loved his cat, Furguson Michael Jordan Bishop. He was quirky, occasionally emotional and always … around. It often seemed like Winston was the butt of the joke.
Morris was just nominated for (and won!) an Emmy Award for his role in “Fargo.” But in true Winston fashion, his now 4-year-old daughter Lily couldn’t stop making fun of him for his reaction to the news.
He posted an Instagram video crying tears of joy upon learning of his Emmy nomination while Lily trolled him for his tears. “Daddy, are you crying again?” she kept asking her father, who was trying to carry on a conversation on the phone.
He pauses to tell her, “Yes, baby. Daddy’s crying.”
There is one more fascinating twist to the “New Girl” dads group.
If you have been reading carefully, you may have noticed that Greenfield and Morris have daughters with the same name, albeit different spellings. “New Girl” superfans may recall that Schmidt finally reveals his legal first name in Season 6, and it just so happens to be Winston.
Winston Schmidt and Winston Bishop have the same first name … and so do Greenfield and Morris’s daughters.
Mind. Blown.
True American: the next generation
A flash-forward in the series finale of “New Girl” shows the whole gang playing True American with their kids.
