The Cast’s Push to Secure Lamorne Morris as New Girl’s Winston Bishop

In a recent appearance on the Zach Sang Show, Zooey Deschanel recounted how the original “New Girl” ensemble rallied to have Lamorne Morris cast as Winston Bishop. Deschanel said the cast “fought” to bring the now Emmy-winning actor onto the comedy after the role was created, describing the effort as a coordinated campaign of letters to studio and network executives.

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“New Girl,” created by Elizabeth Meriwether, aired on Fox from 2011 to 2018 and starred Deschanel, Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield, Hannah Simone and Damon Wayans Jr. as Coach. Morris originally auditioned for the Coach role but withdrew when he accepted a job on another pilot that later failed. When the writers added the character of Winston—a former basketball player and childhood friend of Nick—the cast recognized Morris as the ideal fit.

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Deschanel explained that after reviewing numerous candidates, she and her co-stars repeatedly advocated for Morris, noting that “Jake loved him. Max loved him.” She described the collective lobbying: the actors each wrote to different studio heads, urging that “Lamorne is the best, best, best for this character, and [would be] such a great addition.” The campaign culminated in the decision to cast Morris, a choice that Deschanel now says makes it “impossible to think of New Girl without Lamorne Morris.” Morris later earned a 2024 Emmy for his role as Deputy Witt Farr on FX’s “Fargo.”

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The source provides no documented dissent or alternative viewpoints regarding the casting process, indicating that any opposition was either minimal or not publicly recorded.

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• “What about Lamorne? That guy is so good,” — Zooey Deschanel

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• “So we kind of did this thing where I wrote to the heads of the studio and the network. Everyone was writing to somebody different. So we were all like, ‘Just putting my two cents in, you know… we think Lamorne is the best, best, best for this character, and [would be] such a great addition. I was like, I can’t see anyone else playing this part.” — Zooey Deschanel

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• “So we kind of did this thing where I wrote to the heads of the studio and the network. Everyone was writing to somebody different. So we were all like, ‘Just putting my two cents in, you know… we think Lamorne is the best, best, best for this character, and [would be] such a great addition. I was like, I can’t see anyone else playing this part.” — Zooey Deschanel

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