Let’s get this out of the way: “New Girl” is a phenomenal show with a terrible title. (If we’re being incredibly fair here, the original title was “Chicks and D*cks,” which is arguably a lot worse.) One of the best network TV comedies that doesn’t get nearly enough attention, “New Girl,” which was created by Liz Meriwether, centers around the titular “new girl” Jessica Day (Zooey Deschanel), who finds out her awful boyfriend is cheating on her and ends up moving into a loft with guys looking for a new roommate. Those guys — Nick Miller (Jake Johnson), Ernie “Coach” Tagliaboo (Damon Wayans Jr., who only sticks around for the pilot), Winston Bishop (Lamorne Morris), and Schmidt (Max Greenfield) — end up welcoming Jess and her best friend, fashion model Cece Parikh (Hannah Simone), into the fray.

Simply put, “New Girl” is an excellent ensemble comedy with an outstanding main cast, some really unbelievable guest stars (Prince and Taylor Swift appeared on the show, albeit not in the same episode), and a ton of great running gags (Winston’s inability to complete a jigsaw puzzle comes to mind, as does Nick’s zombie novel and the ever-shifting in-universe game “True American”). So what if you’ve already binged “New Girl” a bunch of times and need to try something new? Here are 15 shows like “New Girl” you should check out.

The best thing about “New Girl” is that it’s an ensemble comedy that’s weird, complex, and quick-witted; the same is definitely true of “Happy Endings.” This show, which was helmed by David Kaspe and ran for three seasons on ABC from 2011 to 2013, also opens with a breakup — this time, it’s between Alex Kerkovich (Elisha Cuthbert) and her fiancé Dave Rose Jr. (Zachary Knighton) as she leaves him at the altar for a guy on rollerblades. Dave’s friends — Alex’s sister Jane (Eliza Coupe), Jane’s husband Brad Williams (Damon Wayans Jr.), Max Blum (Adam Pally), and Penny Hart (Casey Wilson) — do their best to console Dave, and everything gets a lot more complicated when Alex returns from her “honeymoon” with the other guy early and wants Dave back.

Yes, you read that right: Wayans is on both “Happy Endings” and “New Girl,” and he actually left the latter after the pilot and forced them to recast after booking the former. When “Happy Endings” was unceremoniously canceled — season 3’s finale is definitely not a series finale — Wayans did return to “New Girl” from time to time as Coach. In any case, “Happy Endings” is yet another comedy with a top-notch cast who have incredible chemistry, and it’s the perfect post-“New Girl” binge.

It’s safe to say without “Friends,” “New Girl” might not exist … nor would a lot of other entries on this list. Technically, “Friends” also kicks off with a breakup in that the main gang — Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), Ross Geller (David Schwimmer), Ross’ sister Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), and Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) welcome Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) into their group after she breaks off her wedding to a wealthy dentist. Together, the six titular friends navigate life and love in New York City, and it’s particularly convenient that Monica and, eventually, Rachel live across the hall from Joey and Chandler. (Monica’s apartment is unreasonably enormous by New York standards, but that’s a larger issue.)

Again, it’s not an understatement to say that not only is “Friends” one of the biggest and most popular TV shows of all time, but it also paved the way for literally every other series listed here. If you somehow haven’t binged “Friends” yet, queue it up after you finish “New Girl” again.

At first glance, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” a workplace comedy set at a New York police precinct helmed by Michael Schur, doesn’t seem to have a lot in common with “New Girl” — except the two actually shared a crossover episode when they were both airing on Fox. (The first half, “The Night Shift,” was a “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” episode in the show’s fourth season, and the “New Girl” episode “Homecoming,” in that show’s sixth season, completed the story.) In any case, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” stars Andy Samberg (of Lonely Island fame) as Detective Jake Peralta, whose world is turned upside down when the precinct’s new captain, Raymond Holt (the late, great Andre Braugher) turns out to be a bit of a stickler for the rules. Flanked by his colleagues Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero), Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz), and Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio), just to name a few, Jake ends up bonding with Holt as the precinct tries to take down bad guys in Brooklyn.

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” shares a sense of innate goofiness with “New Girl,” despite the radically different subject matter. If you love the funny, offbeat brunette jokes of “New Girl,” watch them in a very different setting on this series.

Something that irritates characters on “New Girl” to no end is Jess’ quirky optimism, and you’ll find that kind of optimism in spades on Michael Schur’s beloved workplace comedy (and “mockumentary”) “Parks and Recreation.” The series stars Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a city government employee in Pawnee, Indiana whose biggest character flaw is that she’s so good at and so dedicated to her job that her sheer enthusiasm for the role can rub her coworkers the wrong way — especially her anti-government boss Ron Swanson, played to perfection by a then-unknown Nick Offerman. Much like “New Girl,” the cast of “Parks and Recreation” is comprised of comedy pinch-hitters like Aubrey Plaza, Adam Scott, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Chris Pratt, and Rob Lowe, who play Leslie’s friends and colleagues April Ludgate-Dwyer, Ben Wyatt, Ann Perkins, Tom Haverford, Andy Dwyer, and Chris Traeger, respectively.

“Parks and Recreation” is a winningly joyful show that can lift even the lowest of spirits, and like “New Girl,” it traffics in what one could call “radical optimism.” If you haven’t watched it yet, definitely add it to your watchlist.

Another Michael Schur show with an enormous heart, “The Good Place” doesn’t even take place in the same reality as “New Girl,” but they still share some basic TV DNA anyway. As “The Good Place” begins, a woman named Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) wakes up in a mysterious place and is informed that she’s dead but has made it to the titular “good place” (as opposed to the “bad place,” so the two obviously correspond to traditional Christian versions of “heaven” and “hell”). In this afterlife, Eleanor meets fellow dead people Chidi Anagonye (William Jackson Harper), Tahani Al-Jamil (Jameela Jamil), and Jason Mendoza (Manny Jacinto), as well as the neighborhood “architect” that welcomed her, Michael (Ted Danson). Not only are some of her fellow “good place” denizens hiding secrets, Eleanor has a big one too: none of her personal details match her life on earth, and she believes she’s in the “good place” by accident.

One can easily imagine Jess Day baffled by the afterlifes seen in “The Good Place,” and even though this show features a huge twist that we never would have seen on “New Girl,” both shows preach the virtues of kindness and community (in, truly, the least annoying way possible). You’ll feel like you’re in a better place, so to speak, while watching “The Good Place.”

After “Friends” ended, “How I Met Your Mother” picked up its mantle and got a little weird with it, perfectly paving the way for ensemble comedies like “New Girl.” Much like Jess Day, the main character of Carter Bays and Craig Thomas’ series, Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor), is looking for love in all the wrong places, all the while flanked by his best friend Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), Marshall’s girlfriend-turned-wife Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), absurd womanizer with a big heart Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris), and the woman of Ted’s dreams Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders). Just like the “New Girl” gang does out in Los Angeles, the friends on “How I Met Your Mother” support each other living in New York City together, but the framework of this show is different than most: each episode begins with and prominently features a voiceover from an older Ted (the late Bob Saget) as he literally tells his kids the story of how he met their mom.

The ending of “How I Met Your Mother” will probably be debated until the end of time, but that doesn’t change the fact that this quirky, funny show with a killer central cast is a whole lot of fun — and another natural predecessor of “New Girl.” Absolutely check it out if you haven’t, but seriously: be prepared for that series finale.

“New Girl” devotes a not-insignificant amount of time to Jess’ job as a teacher and even sets a decent number of episodes within the middle school where she works in California. That’s why “Abbott Elementary” belongs on this list. This truly excellent ensemble network comedy is particularly great because it feels like a love letter to the genre itself crafted by showrunner and creator Quinta Brunson, who also stars as Janine Teagues, a second-grade teacher whose ebullient enthusiasm would probably be a good match for Jess. Alongside her colleagues — like her boyfriend Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams), friends Melissa Schemmenti (Lisa Ann Walter) and Jacob Hill (Chris Perfetti), professional mentor Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph), and the school’s principal Ava Coleman (a spectacular Janelle James), Janine constantly tries to make life at Abbott better for her students despite fighting the very real lack of support in the Philadelphia public school system.

“Abbott Elementary” is a relatively recent addition to the ensemble comedy canon, but it’s a welcome one, and its unabashedly joyful tone would make Jess smile (and her cynical roommates cringe, probably). Your homework? Check out this spiritual successor to “New Girl” as soon as you can.

To be fair, “You’re the Worst” is so acerbic compared to “New Girl” that it would make Jess blush outright, but it’s still definitely an important entry on this list. The series, helmed by Stephen Falk, centers around unlikely lovers Gretchen Cutler (Aya Cash), a literal hot mess working in public relations in Los Angeles, and misanthropic British writer Jimmy Shive-Overly (Chris Geere). When the two meet at a mutual enemy’s wedding, they hit it off and go home together, and then, against all odds, keep seeing each other, greatly surprising their respective best friends Lindsay (Kether Donohue) and Edgar (Desmin Borges).

Again, you won’t really find any of the sunny optimism seen on “New Girl” on “You’re the Worst,” but it’s a thought-provoking, deeply felt, and shockingly emotional love story told in wholly unconventional ways. Maybe “New Girl” is a little too nice for you sometimes, and if that’s the case, try “You’re the Worst.”

One can definitely imagine a world where not only are Jess Day and Dr. Mindy Lahiri are friends, but almost insufferable to be around when they’re together. The latter is Mindy Kaling’s lead character on the writer and actress’ series “The Mindy Project,” which she helmed and starred in alongside Chris Messina, Ike Barinholtz, Ed Weeks, Beth Grant, Adam Pally, and a handful of other comedy powerhouses. As an ode to her late mother, Kaling’s Mindy Lahiri is a obstetrician and gynecologist (which is what Kaling’s real-life mom did for a living) working in New York City who happens to be a hopeless romance and optimist. Sound familiar?

Mindy’s friends and colleagues are just as fun as Jess’ on “New Girl,” and even though “The Mindy Project” tackles some bigger concepts like motherhood, the two shows share a lot of genetic material. For a change of setting after “New Girl,” switch up the location and profession with “The Mindy Project.”

Like “You’re the Worst,” the deeply underrated sitcom “Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23” — created by future “Fresh Off the Boat” showrunner Nahnatchka Khan — is a much more acidic take on the basic premise of “New Girl.” In this show, an idealistic girl from Indiana named June Colburn (Dreama Walker) moves to New York City and answers a listing for a roommate, only to meet Chloe (a devilishly great Krysten Ritter), who seems nice … at first. Apparently, Chloe’s whole schtick is that she lures in prospective roommates, collects the security deposit and a portion of the rent, and then behaves so horrendously that they leave and she makes a tidy profit; after a rough start, June sticks around, and she and Chloe strike up a very unlikely friendship.

“Don’t Trust the B—” can skew pretty dark for a network sitcom, but it’s incredibly fun — and how can you say no to a show where James van der Beek plays himself (as Chloe’s longtime best friend clinging to “Dawson’s Creek” mania)? It’s hard to track this series down on streaming, but if you do, it’s worth your while.

“Community” might seem like an odd pairing for “New Girl,” and despite the obvious connection here — Jess is a teacher, and “Community” is set at a community college — the similarities here actually lie with the ensemble casts. One of the best aspects of “New Girl” is that the characters feel lived-in and fully formed right from the jump, and the same is true of “Community.”

The show focuses on disgraced former lawyer Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) and his entry into Greendale Community College, where he meets fellow students Troy Barnes (Donald Glover), Britta Perry (Gillian Jacobs), Annie Edison (Alison Brie), Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi), and Shirley Bennett (Yvette Nicole Brown), among others. (Yes, Chevy Chase plays another student, Pierce Hawthorne, on the series, but his on-set behavior was apparently odious enough that he left the show after its fourth season.) “Community” is quite a bit weirder than “New Girl,” but the ensemble comes together in an equally delightful way, so head back to school at Greendale if you haven’t already.

When we first meet the titular character on “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom, who also created the series), she’s miserable as a high-powered lawyer in New York City — and after a chance meeting with a boy she was infatuated at summer camp as a kid, Josh Chan (Vincent Rodriguez III), she decides to uproot her life and follow him to West Covina, California.

Wait, so what does any of this have to do with “New Girl?” Well, can’t you see Jess Day doing something similar?! There you have it. “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” is also a musical, which would probably delight Jess to no end, so it’s actually a perfect complement to “New Girl” once your rewatch is finished.

Put simply, “Schitt’s Creek” is one of the most heartwarming shows in TV history, which makes it a perfect companion for “New Girl.” When we first meet the wealthy Rose family in the pilot — father Johnny (Eugene Levy), mother Moira (Catherine O’Hara), and son and daughter David and Alexis (Dan Levy and Annie Murphy) — their mansion is being ransacked by authorities after Johnny’s business manager made off with their fortune. They’re forced to move to a town called Schitt’s Creek that they bought as a joke, which is when the story really kicks off.

The beginning of “Schitt’s Creek” — when the family is still a bunch of fish out of water — is a little rough, but once the Roses learn to love life in Schitt’s Creek, it’s just pure sweetness from there on out. Frankly, one can see Jess planning a trip there with the guys in the loft so she can buy some of the artisanal jam David sells at his store.

“Adults” is a newer entry to the ensemble comedy genre, but there’s one big thing it has in common with “New Girl” — both shows are about a bunch of young, ragtag roommates trying to find their way in the world. Created by Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw, the show stars Malik Elassal, Lucy Freyer, Jack Innanen, Owen Thiele, and Amita Rao as Samir Rahman, Billie Schaeffer, Paul Baker, Anton Evans, and Issa, all of whom live together in Samir’s parents’ house in Queens, New York. Throughout the first season, which dropped in 2025, Samir, Billie, Anton, Issa, and Paul Baker — who is always referred to by his full name — navigate healthcare crises, job problems, and romantic entanglements in characteristically messy fashion.

There’s an episode of “New Girl” where the gang befriends some young, “cool” neighbors … and one can definitely see the characters on “Adults” just baffling the folks on “New Girl.” “Adults” is a (relative) new kid on the block, but it’s absolutely following in the footsteps of “New Girl.”

In Darren Star’s deliciously fluffy comedy “Younger,” Liza Miller, played by Broadway star Sutton Foster, finds herself in a dilemma when she and her husband go through a divorce … and she realizes she can’t break back into the publishing industry after being a stay-at-home mom for nearly two decades. With her friend Maggie Amato’s (Debi Mazar) help, Liza, who is 40, starts living as a 26-year-old — and ends up getting a job at Empirical, a huge publishing house in New York where she meets her new best friend Kelsey Peters (Hilary Duff).

Not only would Jess totally do this, but the relationship between Kelsey and Liza is the beating heart of the show — and mirrors the really lovely relationship between Cece and Jess on “New Girl.” Since both shows are so frothy, fun, and witty, “New Girl” and “Younger” go together like a glass of rosé and Cheetos (no, really).

“New Girl” is streaming on Hulu now.