No show ever did holiday specials as well as “New Girl” did. While not all of them hit the mark, here are my rankings of New Girl’s top five – and the only five Christmas holiday episodes – from my research.
5. “The 23rd” Season 1 Ep: 9
This episode is absolutely at the bottom. Of all of Jess’ boyfriends throughout the series, Paul Genzlinger was by far at the bottom of my list of favorites. The episode occurs at Schmidt’s holiday office party, and the main conflict is Jess telling Paul she doesn’t love him. I love this series so much, just not the first season for sure, and this episode is victim to that.
4. “Clavado En Un Bar” Season 3 Ep: 11
Yes– this is considered a Christmas episode. In this episode, Jess has 20 minutes to decide if she wants to take a new job offer or continue her career in teaching, and each of her friends is recalling how they landed their careers in their current professions. Although the episode’s main point is not a traditional Christmas theme, it is considered Christmas-y because of the background decor in the bar, which is Christmas-themed. So you might wonder why this ranked higher than “The 23rd”? Well, trust me, this was way more engaging than that episode– and after all, we’re ranking on the quality and entertainment of the episode.
3. “Christmas Eve Eve” Season 6 Ep: 10
Ahh, the secret Santa episode– not my favorite, but one of the better ones. The episode shows the effort and love Jess has for Nick, and it is truly sad to watch her get pushed to the side for the billionth time. Although Jess finally receives the love she deserves at the end of the episode, this one just doesn’t do it for me. This episode is overall– meh. Not bad or good, but definitely not topping the list.
2. “LAXmas” Season 4 Ep: 11
The whole gang is trapped at the airport in one way or another in this episode. What makes it hit my top two is the guest star appearance, Billy Eichner. I love Billy, so obviously, this episode hits number two for me, especially with Jess’ existential crisis about her relationship with Ryan. Overall it is a fun, exciting episode which says a lot because it takes place in LAX.
1. “Santa” Season 2 Ep: 11
I could re-watch this episode FOREVER. Jess and the gang head to several holiday parties they were invited to on Christmas eve. My favorite part is Jess telling Dr. Sam that Winston is her boyfriend when he can’t go along with the scheme because he genuinely cannot even hear. Angie and Nick’s relationship getting risky and off the rails by the end of the night sells the episode’s comedy even more. By far the most chaotic episode but the best.
Whether you’ve seen New Girl or not… Actually, not “whether or not”… go watch it right now; I’m serious. If not, definitely watch season two, episode 11, and you’ll get hooked on the series.