New Girl season 1

The first season of the American television sitcom New Girl premiered on Fox on September 20, 2011, and concluded on May 8, 2012, consisting of 24 episodes. Developed by Elizabeth Meriwether under the working title Chicks & Dicks, the series revolves around offbeat teacher Jess (Zooey Deschanel) after she moves into a Los Angeles loft with three single men, Nick (Jake Johnson), Schmidt (Max Greenfield), and Winston (Lamorne Morris). Jess's best friend Cece (Hannah Simone) also appears regularly. The show combines comedy and drama elements as the characters, who are around 30 years old, deal with relationships and career choices.

Main cast

 * Zooey Deschanel as Jessica "Jess" Day
 * Jake Johnson as Nick Miller
 * Max Greenfield as Schmidt
 * Damon Wayans, Jr. as Coach
 * Lamorne Morris as Winston Bishop
 * Hannah Simone as CeCe

Recurring cast

 * Mary Elizabeth Ellis as Caroline
 * Justin Long as Paul Genzlinger
 * Michaela Watkins as Gina
 * Gillian Vigman as Kim
 * David Neher as Benjamin
 * Rachael Harris as Tanya Lamontagne
 * Lizzy Caplan as Julia
 * Kali Hawk as Shelby
 * Dermot Mulroney as Russell
 * Phil Hendrie as Joe Napoli
 * Rebecca Reid as Nadia

Guest cast

 * Natasha Lyonne as Gretchen
 * Katie Cassidy as Brooke
 * Lake Bell as Amanda
 * Eva Amurri as Beth
 * Stephen Amell as Kyle
 * Jeff Kober as Remy
 * Clark Duke as Cliff
 * Ryan Kwanten as Oliver
 * Joey King as Brianna
 * June Diane Raphael as Sadie
 * Martin Starr as Dirk
 * Katrina Bowden as Holly
 * Jazz Raycole as Miriam
 * Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as himself
 * Jeanne Tripplehorn as Ouli
 * Thomas Lennon as Neil

Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds an approval rating of 84% based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 6.83/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Zooey Deschanel's offbeat style gets a worthy showcase in New Girl, and while it can get awfully cutesy at times, the show benefits from witty writing and a strong supporting cast." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 66 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Home media release
Fox Home Entertainment released season 1 on DVD in region 1 on October 2, 2012, a week after the second-season premiere. The three disc set includes deleted & extended scenes, audio commentary for three episodes, a gag reel, three featurettes and alternate jokes. A sneak peek to Ben and Kate is also included in the DVD.