New Girl Scoop From Max Greenfield
James Olson
Updated on March 29, 2026
Glamour: In the winter finale, there was a moment between Schmidt and Cece where she indicates you guys are better off as great friends, but the underlying subtext was disappointment from Schmidt. Thoughts?
Max: I think Schmidt will always be hoping for a different response to that situation from her, but I think he's much more comfortable with that reality than he once was.
Glamour: In future episodes, you're going to be dating a city councilwoman. How long does this last?
Max: I think it's lasting for a little bit. Zoe Lister Jones is so good that I think it's turning into a real thing, so we'll see. It has been a lot of fun, and the stuff we've shot with her is really great.
Glamour: And I hear Schmidt develops an ulcer. From what?
Max: Work! Stress! He finds himself overworked at the office for not much in return, and he feels like Nick isn't doing anything at home except being lazy, so the two of them realize they have to change. They decide to get into business together and become business partners once again. They start coming up with their own inventions. They're entrepreneurs, these two.
Glamour: Has Liz Meriwether ever told you how she came up with the name Schmidt?
Max: No, I think it's a friend of hers who I oddly want to say, although I could be very wrong about this, but whoever this guy is that I've never met, his name is the inspiration for Jonah [Hill's] character in 21 Jump Street too because he's Schmidt. I don't know if his personality resembles the Schmidt characters at all, but I think it's a guy they all know. Schmidt is a pretty cool name.
Glamour: Liz still hasn't told you Schmidt's first name, right?
Max: No, I really have no idea. I have no clue. By the way, I just noticed your doughnut pen, which I'm really into.
Glamour: It's a scented pen, so it smells like doughnuts!
Max: It doesn't really smell like a doughnut. It smells like a pen.
Glamour: It does! It's like a scratch 'n' sniff pen! Try it!
Max: OK, but I have a really bad sense of smell. I take your word for it.
Glamour: Moving on from doughnut pens, let's talk about the opening credits.
Max: They're really flashy now!
Glamour: Yeah, but I miss the old ones even though we needed Hannah and Damon in there. Would they reshoot it?
Max: I sure hope not.
Glamour: Why?
Max: That wasn't computers—that was people actually pulling strings to get the set design to work and actual birds coming up and down. That took us longer to shoot than the whole first season! So complicated! So the new credits are great!
New Girl is all-new on Fox tonight at 9 P.M./8 P.M. CT.
__Do you want to see Schmidt and Cece revisit their relationship, or are you excited to see him move on with someone new?
