6. New Girl
I love New Girl. Love it, love it, love it. As much as I’d like to wax lyrical for 500 words about how much I love this show, I don’t think the world needs that. What the world does need, however, is New Girl. I love this show. Did I mention that? I’d say that New Girl is my second favourite show on this list. It’s my sixth best show, but my second favourite, because my tastes are more discerning than yours. I differentiate between “favourite” and “best,” as I’ve stated before (I think).
Why do I love it so much? I genuinely don’t know. The first season I could take or leave, if I’m honest. It did nothing for me, and while it’s a worthwhile introduction to the series, it just didn’t feel like anything special to me. That all changed with the second season, in which the show seemed to really find its feet and work out what direction it was going to take with each character, and just what their individual arcs would be. They’d spent the first season establishing who all these people were, and in season two they just wind them up and let them go.
My favourite character is Schmidt, because he’s everything I need in a comedy character – he’s a douchebag, he’s absurd, he’s Jewish, he’s everything I love in comedy. I’m not denigrating any of the other characters, each of whom could star in their own series (indeed, New Girl is Jess’ series), but Schmidt just cracks me up. It’s also refreshing to get a few genuinely funny female characters in a mainstream sitcom, probably the most since Arrested Development (more on that later), all of whom are as ridiculous as any of the main characters. Even Cece, who could so easily fall into standard “hot girl” territory, is flawed, funny, and well-rounded. Let’s just hope that showrunner Elizabeth Meriwether and the team can carry it on into 2014, with season 4. I’m sure they will.