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92-926: Robert Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and producer. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Mike "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitcom All in the Family (1971–1979), a performance that earned him two Primetime Emmy Awards . His other acting credits include Throw Momma from the Train (1987), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), The First Wives Club (1996), Primary Colors (1998), EDtv (1999), Everyone's Hero (2006), and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). Reiner made his directorial film debut with heavy metal mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap (1984). He then earned acclaim directing

184-500: A minstrel show stereotype who dons the same "happy-go-lucky" attire as his boss in the season 3 episode "Everybody Tells the Truth" (Archie's version is just as stereotyped—the assistant is a member of the Black Power movement and his boss is a mafia thug). Michael is also determined to ensure that Gloria shares his beliefs. In 1971, Michael is surprised but excited to learn that Gloria

276-414: A single-camera comedy, New Girl is neither performed in front of a studio audience nor has a laugh track . Some scenes are cross-covered (i.e. are filmed with a shooting camera on each person at the same time), to allow for better improvisations. Handheld cameras are avoided for a more filmic look. The actors first perform scenes as written, then act out the alternatives or improvise, to later allow

368-460: A 1976 episode. Mike accepts a faculty position at the University of California, Santa Barbara , and he and Gloria move to California at the end of the 1977–78 season (at which time Reiner and Struthers ceased to be regulars on the show). They appear in a Christmas episode during the 1978–79 season, in which Archie, Edith, and Edith's niece Stephanie visit Michael and Gloria, exposing the fact that

460-474: A 4.2 adults 18–49 demo rating. In 18–49 demo, it ranked as the fifth highest rated show on Fox and 13th overall. On April 9, 2012, New Girl was officially renewed for a second season of 24 episodes; Fox ordered one more episode during the second half of the season. Main article: List of awards and nominations received by New Girl The show has been nominated for several awards, including five Golden Globe Awards and five Primetime Emmy Awards . New Girl

552-439: A California commune with one of his students—whom Gloria described as "the homecoming queen , a girl named Muffy"—and is in the process of going through a bitter divorce. At the beginning of the series (September 1982), it has been 63 days since Michael walked out on Gloria; he calls to invite her to the commune, but things deteriorate quickly when he claims Gloria is incapable of holding a job or of supporting herself and Joey. By

644-427: A clean-shaven look) and wears his hair well below the collar. (Reiner's hairline receded very rapidly early in the series and he began wearing a toupee when playing the character.) In season 2, episode 5, "Flashback: Mike Meets Archie" (October 16, 1971), Michael and Gloria celebrate their first wedding anniversary . A 1972 episode centers on their second anniversary and the 1978 episode "The Stivics Go West" reveals that

736-410: A college degree in sociology . His first meeting with Archie (seen in flashback ) portrays him as a bearded hippie with a tie-dyed shirt. His wardrobe throughout most of the series is much more subdued: most often he wears a denim shirt, jeans, and boots. He shaves his beard for his wedding with Gloria, but keeps his mustache afterwards (on rare occasions later in the series, however, he would sport

828-496: A douche of a more unique variety." The Huffington Post 's Maureen Ryan said how "Schmidt could have easily been 'the dumb guy', or the show could have exploited his status as an eminently mockable douche. But thanks to Max Greenfield's endearing depiction of the would-be lady-killer, there's a lot more the writers have been able to do with the character." On Rotten Tomatoes, season two holds an approval rating of 88% based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 6.56/10. After

920-441: A female doctor and when he reveals himself to be a sore loser when playing a board game called Group Therapy with his family and neighbors. He differs with Archie over the potential successes women and racial minorities can achieve. Michael also believes that neither can evolve socially without a quality education from people like himself. This is demonstrated when he falsely characterizes a blue-collar handyman's black assistant as

1012-504: A general audience. New Girl received acclaim from critics and was named one of the best new comedies of the 2011 fall season. The pilot episode drew 10.28 million U.S. viewers and a 4.8 adults 18–49 demo rating, making it the highest-rated fall debut for a Fox scripted show since 2001. Particular praise has been given to the performances of Deschanel, Greenfield, Simone, Johnson and Morris. The show has garnered increased mainstream viewership following its inclusion on Netflix , becoming one of

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1104-465: A heart of gold". Salon described Schmidt as "a sort of self-created alpha male and a collection of beta male qualities [... which] are performed with such conviction they congeal into a sort of deranged machismo, one slathered in sandalwood-scented lotion. As part of this transition, Schmidt has gone from being a douchebag in the classic model—a guy who, in the pilot, constantly wanted to show off his pecs and scam girls, and seemed capable of doing so—to

1196-566: A loft in Los Angeles with three men around her own age: Nick, Schmidt, and Coach. After the pilot episode , Winston, a former roommate and Nick's childhood friend, replaces Coach, who leaves the apartment to live with his girlfriend. Jess' childhood best friend, Cece, a fashion model frequently visits Jess and the guys. The series follows the group's interactions with each other as they become closer friends and develop romantic relationships. Midway through season 1, Schmidt and Cece become involved in

1288-526: A lot in season 1 until the writers started putting Schmidt–Nick kisses into the script, so that they shared more kisses than Nick and Jess did in the first two seasons. The New Girl pilot was released via on-demand, iTunes, and TiVo on September 6, 2011 before its September 20 premiere on Fox in the United States and on City in Canada. Other international broadcasters include Channel 4 and E4 in

1380-429: A mix of a drinking game and Candy Land where the floor is lava ; it also involves shouting the names of American presidents. The idea of True American came from a New Girl writer who played a similar game in college. As she could not remember the game's exact rules, the writers focused on making the game as funny on the page as possible, but only established chanting " JFK ! FDR !" and walking on chairs. Throughout

1472-599: A mostly sexual relationship but break up at the end of the season. In Season 2, Jess is laid off from her teaching job; she and the others get involved in mostly temporary relationships however, Cece enters an arranged marriage engagement with Shivrang ( Satya Bhabha ) that is broken up at their wedding in the season 2 finale when Cece realizes she loves Schmidt. Schmidt had recently started dating his old college girlfriend Elizabeth had to choose between Elizabeth and Cece. Meanwhile, Nick and Jess develop feelings and start dating at Cece's wedding, making their relationship official at

1564-541: A nude protest at a proposed nuclear power plant site and are arrested. This is the last appearance of the Michael Stivic character. Michael Stivic does not appear in the 1982 spin-off series Gloria , which starred Sally Struthers. Initially, Reiner had been asked to participate in the series and resurrect his Michael Stivic character, but he declined. It is explained on the show that Michael left his wife and young son Joey (then played by Christian Jacobs ) to live in

1656-408: A recurring role on New Girl (2012–2018). In October 1971, he had a guest role in an episode of The Partridge Family . In 1972, Reiner, Phil Mishkin, and Gerry Isenberg created the situation comedy The Super for ABC . Starring Richard S. Castellano , the show depicted the life of the harried Italian American superintendent of a New York City apartment building and ran for 10 episodes in

1748-406: A social worker, his career aspirations shift towards teaching as the series progresses. When the neighboring Jefferson family leaves the neighborhood, this allows Michael and Gloria to rent the house from patriarch George, finally giving the couple a home of their own. The new arrangement eases the tension between Michael and Archie, but still allows for frequent visits and interactions between all of

1840-502: A thin premise, [...] Meriwether manages to make the situations funny and lets Deschanel channel her charm – a winning combination." David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle would rather see the show tone down. He felt "the show's fundamental setup isn't all that inspired, but it could work with smarter writing and better direction, especially with regard to Deschanel", who, in his opinion, overplayed Jess' weird habits "to

1932-574: A timeline where Nick and Jess one child. The principal cast of New Girl includes: 20th Century Fox Television first approached playwright Elizabeth Meriwether in 2008 to develop a pilot that was eventually shelved. After Meriwether's success with the 2011 romantic comedy film No Strings Attached , 20th Century Fox approached her once more, and she pitched an idea for a TV sitcom about an "offbeat girl moving in with three single guys", inspired by her experience of "bouncing from Craigslist sublet to Craigslist sublet, for four years in L.A." when she

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2024-514: A weighted average, assigned the season a score of 66 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In June 2011, New Girl was one of eight honorees in the "most exciting new series" category at the 1st Critics' Choice Television Awards , voted by journalists who had seen the pilots . Robert Bianco of USA Today considered New Girl "fall's most promising new series" and praised how Deschanel and Meriwether "have shaped Jess into something we haven't quite seen before –

2116-464: A woman who is sweet yet crass, innocent yet sexy, beautiful yet clumsy, and brash yet irresistibly adorable." However, he noted how "Some people will be resistant to Deschanel's doe-eyed charm; others have a congenital need to insult anyone who most everyone else is praising, particularly if doing so gets them attention." The Hollywood Reporter 's Tim Goodman saw the show as a "mostly romantic comedy", and although Jess' adorability "might seem like

2208-621: Is a "bad guy" but Trump is "also an abuser". Reiner serves on the advisory board of the Committee to Investigate Russia . He and David Frum launched the site in September 2017 with Morgan Freeman warning people that "We are at war" and that Russia has attacked the United States . Others on the committee's advisory board at the time of launch included James Clapper , Max Boot, Charles Sykes, and Norman Ornstein. Additionally, in early November 2020,

2300-497: Is a member of the Social Responsibility Task Force, an organization advocating moderation where social issues (such as violence and tobacco use) and the entertainment industry meet. He is also active in environmental issues, and he successfully led the effort to establish California's Ahmanson Ranch as a state park and wildlife refuge rather than as a commercial real estate development. He introduced Spinal Tap at

2392-517: Is an American television sitcom created by Elizabeth Meriwether and produced by 20th Century Fox Television for Fox that aired from September 20, 2011, to May 15, 2018. The series revolves around quirky teacher, Jessica Day ( Zooey Deschanel ), after she moves into a Los Angeles loft with three men, Nick Miller ( Jake Johnson ), Schmidt ( Max Greenfield ), and Coach ( Damon Wayans Jr. ). Former roommate Winston Bishop ( Lamorne Morris ) and Jess's best friend Cece Parekh ( Hannah Simone ) later join

2484-596: Is depicted as a morbidly obese, hypocritical tyrant. Reiner came under criticism for campaigning for a ballot measure (Prop 82) to fund state-run preschools while still chair of the First Five Commission, causing him to resign from his position on March 29, 2006. An audit was conducted, and it concluded that the state commission did not violate state law and that it had clear legal authority to conduct its public advertising campaigns related to preschool. Prop 82 failed to win approval, garnering only 39.1% support. Reiner

2576-450: Is giving the show a "built-in biological clock". Producer Jake Kasdan said that "Their lives are moving forward, [but] they're still trying to hang on to some kind of crazy youth" although he does not "want them ever to seem pathetic." Movie actress and singer-songwriter Zooey Deschanel was in the process of developing an HBO show when she read the New Girl pilot script and responded to

2668-520: Is he about to have Archie as a father-in-law, he'll soon be living with him until he graduates.) The close proximity results in frequent disputes, often over the simplest of topics, such as the proper order for putting on socks and shoes. Along with other issues, such as Michael's propensity for sitting in Archie's coveted chair and his huge appetite for the food purchased with Archie's working-class paycheck. Their huge ideological differences greatly contribute to

2760-445: Is orphaned at a young age when a car crash claims the lives of his parents. He is raised by his uncle Casimir Stivic, a former Marine lieutenant turned florist, who calls him "Mickey" with great affection. He also has an uncle Alex. When All in the Family begins, Michael is married to Gloria and shares a bedroom with her in the home of her parents, whom he addresses as "Ma" and "Archie" (or "Arch"), while focusing his efforts on earning

2852-471: Is pregnant, though the pregnancy ends in a miscarriage . Gloria becomes pregnant again in 1975 and their baby Joseph "Joey" Stivic is born in December of that year. During early episodes, Michael's best friend is Lionel Jefferson . In the first season, Lionel surprises Michael by announcing that he and his family are moving into the house next door. However, the characters rarely see or refer to each other after

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2944-578: Is the Binford Building, located at 837 Traction Avenue in the city's Arts District , with interior shots done in a studio set. The exterior shots for the bar where Nick works is of The Griffin (now The High Low), located in Atwater Village . The interior shots of the bar are originally from a restaurant called The Prince in Koreatown , and were recreated in a studio set after the first season. As

3036-538: Is working with writer Ward Parry on the project, which he is calling The Spy and the Asset . Rob Reiner married actress/director Penny Marshall in 1971. He adopted Marshall's daughter, actress Tracy Reiner ( A League of Their Own ), from a previous marriage to Michael Henry. Reiner and Marshall divorced in 1981. Reiner was introduced to his future wife, photographer Michele Singer, while directing When Harry Met Sally . The meeting not only resulted in his decision to change

3128-465: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said the show's pilot was "more charming than hilarious" and "cuter than it is funny, but when it does conjure laughs, its style of humor is reminiscent of ABC's Happy Endings ". Many critics considered Max Greenfield the show's breakout star in season 1; The A.V. Club even named Greenfield's Schmidt "the year's breakout TV character" as a "douchebag with

3220-538: The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1968 and 1969, with Steve Martin as his writing partner as the two youngest writers on the show. Two years later, Reiner became famous playing Michael Stivic, Archie Bunker's liberal son-in-law, on Norman Lear 's 1970s situation comedy All in the Family , which was inspired by the British sitcom Till Death Us Do Part . It was the most-watched television program in

3312-465: The 2004 Iowa caucuses . He endorsed Hillary Clinton for president for the 2008 election . In 2015, he donated $ 10,000 to Correct the Record , a political action committee that supported Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign . Since the 2016 election, he has continued to campaign against Donald Trump , calling him racist , sexist , anti-gay , and anti-Semitic . Reiner said that Harvey Weinstein

3404-561: The London Live Earth concert in July 2007. Reiner was mentioned as a possible candidate to run against California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006 but decided not to run for personal reasons. He campaigned extensively for Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election , and he campaigned in Iowa for Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean just before

3496-528: The Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania . In the late 1960s, Reiner acted in bit roles in several television shows including Batman , That Girl , The Andy Griffith Show , Room 222 , Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and The Beverly Hillbillies . During this time he also appeared in several films, including some by his father such as Where's Poppa? (1970). He began his career writing for

3588-546: The Depression and he resents the fact that Michael has the chance to attend college and advance his education. Michael is presented as a representative of the counterculture of the 1960s (reflecting current events during the run of the series). Michael is a dedicated academic , however, and there is no suggestion of the drug use or " free love " of that subculture. It is revealed in the season eight episode "Gloria and Mike Meet" that in 1969, Michael's dedication to humanitarianism

3680-531: The Jeffersons leave All in the Family to join the spin-off The Jeffersons . George Jefferson, however, later makes a guest appearance at his former residence when the Stivics start preparing for their move to California and meet with him to give notice that they will no longer be staying in his house. Another of Michael's close friends, Al Bender (played by Billy Crystal ), marries Gloria's best friend Trudy Tannen in

3772-510: The Nick–Winston dynamic in season 1 and sought to figure out Winston's relationship with the other loft mates in season 2. The writers noticed late during the first season that Morris seemed better suited to play a smart character and act as the loft's voice of reason, although Meriwether found that when Winston "finally does blow up, he's crazier than all of them" and that he works better "in these kind of crazy, comedic runners, small pieces of

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3864-502: The Trotskyist angle is drastically softened: Michael Stivic is a social liberal and somewhat of a leftist , but does not adhere to any form of communism. He is sympathetic to the Students for a Democratic Society movement (SDS), which is suggested by his occasional use of SDS ally and Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman 's guerrilla theatre antics. A Polish-American from Chicago , Michael

3956-653: The United Kingdom, RTÉ2 in the Republic of Ireland, Network Ten and Eleven in Australia, and Four in New Zealand. The pilot episode drew 10.28 million U.S. viewers and a 4.8 adults 18–49 demo rating, making it the highest-rated fall debut for a Fox scripted show since The Bernie Mac Show in 2001. The second episode made New Girl the top-rated show on television in the marketing-important 18–49 demographic, improved

4048-657: The United States for five seasons (1971–1976). The character's nickname "Meathead" (given to him by his cantankerous father-in-law Archie) became closely associated with him, even after he had left the role and went on to build a career as a director. Reiner has stated, "I could win the Nobel Prize and they'd write 'Meathead wins the Nobel Prize'." For his performance, Reiner won two Emmy Awards , in addition to three other nominations, and five Golden Globe nominations. After an extended absence, Reiner returned to television acting with

4140-443: The advisory board included Evelyn Farkas, Michael Hayden, Michael Morrell, Leon Panetta, and Clint Watts. Reiner endorsed Joe Biden for president for the 2020 election . In June 2021, Reiner said that he was working on a 10- to 13-episode TV project covering the relationship between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. The project, he said, would cover the leaders' childhoods up until the point where their lives cross. Reiner said he

4232-451: The artistry of the single-cam comedy". The New York Times said season 2 "erupted in fantastic and bizarre fits and starts" because of the characters' unmatched personalities, and lauded the writers for not playing up the will-they-or-won't-they dynamic. By emphasizing how the characters got together, the show "made for hilarious setups [that occasionally led] to high-level Abbott and Costello slapstick. The continued Nick–Jess relationship

4324-458: The attractive dork." Although Meriwether had always imagined the show as an ensemble show, Fox would later focus its first marketing push on Zooey Deschanel and gave the show the promotional tagline "Simply Adorkable." Basing Nick Miller on a friend also surnamed Miller, she originally imagined Nick as the smartest one of the group who doesn't need to say that and thought of him as "the everyman one, who's stepping away and commenting on what all

4416-507: The campaign to pass Prop 10, the California Children and Families Initiative , which created First 5 California, a program of early childhood development services, funded by a tax on tobacco products. He served as the first chairman of First 5 California, from 1999 to 2006. His lobbying, particularly as an anti-smoking advocate, prompted his likeness to be used in a satirical role in a South Park episode titled " Butt Out ", in which he

4508-573: The characters. Each of the actors improvisations allowed for the characters to switch traits around in the first season before solidifying their characters. Producers found more variety in Nick's character in season 1 and enjoyed Johnson's improvisations, so they relayed Coach's previous attributed rage issues to Nick. Nick's character connects the most with the other roommates, childhood friends with Winston and college roommates with Schmidt, allowing him to be more involved in their stories. Writers developed

4600-411: The characters. The show combines comedy and drama elements as the characters, who are in their late 20s and early 30s, deal with relationship issues and career choices. New Girl is a joint production between Elizabeth Meriwether Pictures and 20th Century Fox Television and is syndicated by 20th Television . Produced in Los Angeles as a single-camera comedy, New Girl is an ensemble show aimed at

4692-447: The characters." Each New Girl episode started out as a pitch page, went through stages of an outline and a final draft before being filmed and edited, a process which could take weeks. The writers were broken up to rework drafts until they found the funniest and most emotionally resonant version. All characters were aimed to be tied into the story, and determining their motivation was the major goal so that people would laugh. During

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4784-547: The classic wife character who would be ignored by the guys she tries to keep out of trouble. Meriwether's goal was to write about herself from an honest perspective, with Jess mirroring her at the start and later Deschanel until Jess turned into a "hybrid of me and Zooey, the writers, and the editor". Deschanel described Jess as a part of her, especially with regard to "the sort of enthusiasm and optimism" of her youth. She does not shy away from playing embarrassing scenes or being unattractive. As Kasdan said, "This show advocates for

4876-486: The conflict between the characters. Michael is a determined agnostic , although he occasionally identifies himself as an atheist to provoke Archie, who assumes Michael has no belief in God. This is a stark contrast to Edith's quiet Christian church attendance and his own non-practicing but nonetheless staunchly Christian viewpoint. Michael is also a dedicated humanitarian who wants to change the world. Originally intending to become

4968-550: The couple are nearing their ninth anniversary. In the show's early years, conflicts between left-leaning Michael and his bigoted father-in-law Archie Bunker are exacerbated by the characters living under the same roof. This arrangement, which begins immediately after Michael and Gloria's wedding, allows Michael to save for his college tuition. On their second wedding anniversary, he mentions lecturing Archie for "these past couple years I've been around here." (During his first meeting with Archie, Michael complains to Gloria that not only

5060-443: The couple have secretly separated due to troubles in their marriage, including Gloria's infidelity with one of Michael's college faculty colleagues. Though they seemingly resolve their differences during this episode, a Thanksgiving visit by Mike and Gloria during the 1979-80 season of Archie Bunker's Place shows that the Stivics' marriage is still troubled, exacerbated by Michael having lost his job after he and Gloria participate in

5152-531: The crazy people are doing around him." She sent the New Girl pilot script to movie actor Jake Johnson , with whom she had enjoyed working on No Strings Attached and guided him through the audition process. Johnson auditioned with Max Greenfield , who impressed the producers in his first audition as Schmidt. The actors auditioning for Schmidt were more varied in appearance than those auditioning for Nick, and Johnson and Greenfield were initially worried that they looked too much alike. however, both men were cast

5244-441: The end of season 2, and it lasts through most of season 3 until they realize that ultimately, they want different things in life. Coach returns to the loft in season 3, revealing that he had broken up with his girlfriend and rejoins the gang, and even has a short fling with Cece after ending the short relationship with Schmidt. He stays through season 4 until he moves out to be with another girl, May ( Meaghan Rath ) to New York. At

5336-538: The end of season 4, Schmidt proposes to Cece, and they marry at the end of season 5. Meanwhile, after bouncing around several random jobs and several dating choices throughout the series, Winston works to become a police officer with the LAPD , and falls in love with his partner Aly ( Nasim Pedrad ). In the beginning of season 5, Jess is called away to jury duty resulting in the group bringing in temporary roommate Reagan Lucas ( Megan Fox ), who becomes Nick's love interest for

5428-530: The end of the series (spring 1983), the divorce is final. Beginning with their first meeting, Archie routinely refers to Michael by the derogatory nickname "Meathead", as seen in a flashback in the second-season episode "Mike Meets Archie". In Archie's own words, it means "dead from the neck up. Meat...head." A later episode of All in the Family reveals that Archie Bunker himself was referred to as "Meathead" in his youth. Norman Lear said his father used to call him "Meathead". New Girl New Girl

5520-586: The ending of that film, but he also married Singer in 1989. They have three children, Jake (born 1991), Nick (born 1993), and Romy (born 1997). In 1997, Reiner and Singer founded the "I Am Your Child Foundation", and in 2004, they founded the "Parents' Action for Children", a non-profit organization with a dual purpose: 1) to raise awareness of the importance of a child's early years by producing and distributing celebrity-hosted educational videos for parents, and 2) to advance public policy through parental education and advocacy. Reiner has stated that his childhood home

5612-447: The episode" that contrast the relationship dramas of the other main characters. The Winston–Schmidt friendship was developed significantly in the second half of season 2 when the story focus moved to Nick and Jess. The Nick–Jess relationship affects the three guys' friendship as Nick starts being more considerate of Jess' feelings regarding shenanigans. Damon Wayans Jr. was planned to reprise his role as Coach in at least four episodes in

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5704-471: The family members. Michael enjoys a warm relationship with Edith, whom he calls "Ma". She frequently intervenes to try to defuse tensions between her husband and son-in-law, though she also occasionally takes Mike to task for initiating unnecessary arguments with Archie. In the 1973 episode "Games Bunkers Play", Edith offers Michael some insight into Archie's attitude toward him. She explains that Archie dropped out of high school to help support his family during

5796-401: The first season, Meriwether usually made a final pass at the draft alone because of her film and theater background. The actors' performance influenced new story ideas with the actors also handing in story ideas. The main set built for the pilot was to represent a factory-turned-loft in downtown Los Angeles. It was reused once the show was given a full season. The apartment building exterior

5888-477: The game. Liz Meriwether said the game would not be easier to comprehend in later appearances, as the writers' goal is to actually make it harder to understand. In the final episode, a children's version of True American is shown. Creator Elizabeth Meriwether sees Nick, Schmidt and Winston "on the weirder side of things". The producers started learning more about the characters by seeing the actors' work and that "We probably rely on them more than we should" to define

5980-428: The material. The character of Jess was not specifically written for Deschanel, but the producers found it a great match and adjusted it to better fit the actress. With the support from Fox, Meriwether wanted to make Jess a unique, interesting and funny female character that would have been the side character on other shows. Deschanel became a producer on the show and helped build the character, requesting to not play

6072-466: The most popular shows on the platform. The series concluded its seven season run in May 2018. Jessica "Jess" Day ( Zooey Deschanel ), a bubbly and quirky teacher in her late 20s, comes home from vacation to find her boyfriend, Spencer (Ian Wolterstorff), with another woman and leaves him immediately to look for somewhere else to live. After Jess answers an ad for a new roommate on Craigslist , she moves into

6164-404: The point of overkill within the first 10 minutes of the show". Alan Sepinwall of HitFix considered New Girl "the best new comedy of the fall season, and the only new show I genuinely enjoyed from start to finish" because it was so well developed from the start. He praised Deschanel's "wonderful comic performance" and said that while the supporting actors "all bounce nicely off of Deschanel",

6256-676: The political romance The American President (1995), the courtroom drama Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), and the uplifting comedy The Bucket List (2007). Reiner has continued to act in supporting roles in a number of films and television shows, including Throw Momma from the Train (1987), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), The First Wives Club (1996), Primary Colors (1998), EDtv (1999), New Girl (2012–2018), and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). He has also parodied himself with cameos in works such as Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003), and 30 Rock (2010). In December 2023 Reiner opened

6348-464: The primetime CBS special Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic with a tribute to, and conversation with, Dick Van Dyke. Reiner has devoted considerable time and energy to liberal activism. Reiner is a co-founder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights , which initiated the court challenge against California Proposition 8 that banned same-sex marriage in the state. In 1998, Reiner chaired

6440-412: The producers and editors to choose the gags that ultimately work best. Morris estimated that 20 percent of each episode is improvised. True American is a fictional, convoluted drinking game that the New Girl characters first played in the season 1 episode 20, " Normal ". After "Normal" aired, internet sources began to summarize the rules for True American , which the characters described as

6532-516: The rating of its lead-in hit series Glee and beat the long-running hit series NCIS and Dancing with the Stars . At this time, Fox ordered 11 additional episodes to the initial 13-episode order, bringing the first season to 24 episodes. The ratings dropped when the show took a break for baseball, falling almost 30 percent to a 2.1 rating in the 18–49 audience group. During the 2011–12 television season, New Girl averaged 8.22 million viewers and

6624-540: The rest of the season. Shortly after returning from jury duty, Jess realizes that she loves Nick and wants to be with him. At the end of season 6, Nick and Reagan break up and shortly after, Nick and Jess get together, Cece and Schmidt are pregnant, and Winston is engaged to Aly and is trying to meet his father. Season 7 advances the storyline three years later where Schmidt and Cece have a three-year-old daughter named Ruth, Winston and Aly are expecting their first baby, and Nick proposes to Jess. The story advances further to

6716-605: The romantic comedy The Sure Thing (1985), coming of age drama Stand by Me (1986), fantasy adventure The Princess Bride (1987), romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally... (1989), psychological horror-thriller Misery (1990), military courtroom drama A Few Good Men (1992) which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture , and romantic comedy-drama The American President (1995). He has earned nominations for four Golden Globe Awards for Best Director, and for three Directors Guild of America Awards . Reiner

6808-435: The romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally... (1989), which has been critically ranked among the all-time best of its genre, the tense thriller Misery (1990), for which Kathy Bates won the Academy Award for Best Actress , and his most commercially successful work, the military courtroom drama A Few Good Men (1992), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture . Subsequent films directed by Reiner include

6900-481: The same day. Meriwether originally envisioned Coach as "a fat Jewish guy, like a manchild" and later as "this dumb jock [with] crazy rage problems". David Neher (who would play Schmidt's so-called "fremesis," Benjamin, in four episodes) was among the 400 actors auditioning for Coach before the producers settled on Damon Wayans Jr. who was expecting his show, the ABC sitcom Happy Endings , to be cancelled. When that show

6992-776: The scenes without Deschanel around them fell flat for him. Writing for the Daily News , David Hinckley lauded how none of the characters "settle in as the stereotypes they could easily become", and presumed that all of them would evolve and get smarter as the show progresses. Lori Rack of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the actors' comedic timing and playing off each other. Despite the guys sounding "like nightmares" on paper, "they have endearing, vulnerable cores that make them likable, and occasionally, lovable. [...] New Girl didn't give me as many laugh-out-loud moments as some comedies", but instead made her "feel warm and fuzzy". Rob Owen of

7084-438: The script developed, the plot moved on from being about the sexual endeavors of the roommates and became more socially oriented, so the title was changed to New Girl . The show attempts to combine "comedy and drama as the five characters explore the difficulties of the decade between 30 and 40, which is when many people take their biggest steps toward maturity" with regard to relationships and careers, which, unlike Friends ,

7176-404: The second season—including Elizabeth Meriwether , Brett Baer , and Dave Finkel . Stories were developed in a collaborative effort and aimed at viewers of any gender. Writers intended to keep actors and audiences on their toes by planning very few story arcs and focusing on setting up characters in the first couple seasons . The writers challenged themselves to create new stories and change

7268-535: The series, the writers created new rules on the spot in order to keep the actors improvising and encouraged them to "have fun, dig in, jump in". The game's second appearance in season 2's "Cooler" was played with the strip-poker version called "Clinton Rules", but the exact rules remain unclear even to the actors. True American with updated rules and the resulting hangover were featured in season 3's "Mars Landing". The writers started to do new True American episodes once each year without ever giving explicit rules for

7360-469: The show's dynamics to keep things fresh, while aiming to be "as emotionally real as possible." As the show's jokes rely on the actors' performance instead of perfectly constructed punch lines, Meriwether looked for the actors' strengths before writing. The A story generally revolved around Jess and had an emotional core. Still, Meriwether saw the show as an ensemble about friendship with "everybody having their own stories and people being interested in all of

7452-488: The studio decided to keep the characters and the plot of the pilot episode as they were. Morris joined the show in the second episode of the series when the producers had already broken seven episodes without knowing what the actor was going to be able to do. Wayans returned to New Girl in season 3 for a season-long arc after Happy Endings had been cancelled, and was officially added as a regular for season 4. New Girl had 11 writers during its first season and 15 during

7544-744: The summer of 1972. Reiner and Mishkin co-wrote the premiere episode. Beginning in the 1980s, Reiner became known as a director of several successful Hollywood films that spanned many different genres. Some of his earlier films include cult classics such as the rock-band mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap (1984) and the comedic fantasy film The Princess Bride (1987), as well as his period piece coming of age tale Stand by Me (1986). He often collaborates with film editor Robert Leighton , whom he also shares with fellow director-actor Christopher Guest as their go-to editor. Reiner has gone on to direct other critically and commercially successful films with his own company, Castle Rock Entertainment . These include

7636-452: The teasing of the Nick–Jess relationship in the first season, critics named Jake Johnson the breakout star of season 2 as the characters' romance unfolded. Saying that "Not since Ross and Rachel's tango on Friends has watching a comedy romance been so satisfying", The Hollywood Reporter said the producers "did the impossible by engaging their leads in a love story, which only strengthened

7728-527: The third season, according to Meriwether "at a time when the roommates are at odds with each other". With Meriwether's openness regarding straight and gay communities, New Girl also plays with the guys' sexual orientation for humor. One of Winston's recurring alternate persona is Nick's gay lover "Theodore K. Mullins", which started out as an improv of Morris. Johnson thought that Nick and Schmidt had "a pretty funny bromance" with "their own little weird will-they-won't-they". Greenfield improvised kissing Nick

7820-421: Was added to TBS in 2015 and was removed in 2022. Additionally, the sitcom was added to MTV in 2015 and was removed in 2016. After 10 years on Netflix, the show became exclusively available on Hulu and Peacock since April 17, 2023. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , season one holds an approval rating of 84% based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 6.83/10. Metacritic , which uses

7912-645: Was born into a Jewish family in the Bronx , New York, on March 6, 1947. His parents were Estelle and Carl Reiner . As a child, Reiner lived at 48 Bonnie Meadow Road in New Rochelle, New York ; the home of the fictional Petrie family in The Dick Van Dyke Show , created by Rob's father, was 148 Bonnie Meadow Road. He studied at the UCLA Film School . In the early 1960s Reiner served as a trainee/apprentice at

8004-510: Was criticized in season 3 for dropping the characters' personalities, lack of tension, and for neglecting the show's female friendship between Jess and Cece. On Rotten Tomatoes, season three holds an approval rating of 88% based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 6.46/10. Season four holds an approval rating of 100% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 6.67/10. The series' seventh and final season has an approval rating of 100% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 6.78, and

8096-487: Was galvanized in order to weaken support for newly elected President Richard Nixon . Furthermore, that he was probably a member of the SDS's newly formed Worker Student Alliance that sought to encourage university students to find ways to fix problems within the working class. Though supportive of human rights , Michael at times displays male chauvinism as well. This is evidenced when he objects to having his appendix removed by

8188-444: Was in her twenties. This show was initially called Chicks and Dicks with two of the characters similar to the final characters of Jess and Schmidt. The initial idea was a Will & Grace -style comedy inspired by Meriwether's close friendship with a guy after their exes started dating each other. The Fox network liked the script and pursued Zooey Deschanel for the role of Jess, to whose story Meriwether felt most connected. As

8280-526: Was not observantly Jewish, although he did have a bar mitzvah ceremony; Reiner's father Carl acknowledged that he himself had become atheistic as the Holocaust progressed. Rob identified himself as having no religious affiliation and as atheistic on the January 13, 2012, episode of Real Time with Bill Maher . Reiner later told Huffington Post contributor Debra Oliver that while he rejected organized religion, he

8372-473: Was renewed for a second season, Wayans' spot was replaced with Lamorne Morris, who had also read for Coach but had been unavailable for filming the pilot. Meriwether estimated that about 80 percent of the pilot would have needed to be re-shot in order to remove Wayans from the episode, since he was in one of the leading roles of the show. As the producers also liked reflecting the frequent apartment changes in young people's lives, Meriwether, 20th Century Fox and

8464-513: Was sympathetic to the ideas of Buddhism . TV writer TV movies Television Film Mike %22Meathead%22 Stivic The character of Michael Stivic is an Americanized version of the British original: Till Death Us Do Part ' s Mike Rawlins, the Trotskyist "Randy Scouse Git" who arouses the passionate ire of his conservative father-in-law Alf Garnett . For the American version,

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