Zooey Deschanel says New Girl stars were ‘forced to drive home’ after long shoots: ‘The hours wer...

The “Elf” star shared that she would have to call her mom to keep her awake during late night drives. Zooey Deschanel says New Girl stars were ‘forced to drive home’ after long shoots: ‘The hours were insane’ The “Elf” star shared that she would have to call her mom to keep her awake during late night drives. By Daysia Tolentino :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/DaysiaTolentinoauthorphotob1c9bf2343cf4cf7b77759eeb9f69e8d.jpg) Daysia Tolentino Daysia Tolentino is a writer at . She has written for since 2025. Her work has appeared in NBC News, Vulture, GQ, and InStyle.

The “Elf” star shared that she would have to call her mom to keep her awake during late night drives.

Zooey Deschanel says *New Girl *stars were ‘forced to drive home’ after long shoots: ‘The hours were insane’

The “Elf” star shared that she would have to call her mom to keep her awake during late night drives.

By Daysia Tolentino

Daysia Tolentino

Daysia Tolentino is a writer at *. *She has written for * *since 2025. Her work has appeared in NBC News, Vulture, GQ, and InStyle.

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September 4, 2026 5:56 p.m. ET

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Zooey Deschanel in ‘New Girl’. Credit:

- Zooey Deschanel and Jake Johnson recently reminisced on late nights spent on the *New Girl* set.

- Deschanel admitted the hours were “insane” and that she had to call her mother to keep her awake on the drive home.

- The actress also revealed that the cast did not have drivers taking them to and from set.

There were many late nights when the *New Girl* cast had to throw on their driving moccasins.

Zooey Deschanel recently shared that she and the rest of her costars were “forced to drive home” from set because “none of us had rides to work.”

“The hours were insane,” she recalled in a conversation with castmate Jake Johnson, during Wednesday’s episode of his podcast, *We’re Here to Help*. “I would drive home from work and be almost like falling asleep.”

Jake Johnson hopes to reunite with ‘New Girl’ costars on his new show ‘Sunset P.I.’

Zooey Deschanel had to ‘fight’ to get Lamorne Morris cast on ‘New Girl’

Some nights were so exhausting that Deschanel had to call in reinforcements for the trip home.

“My mom would wake up in the middle of the night because I’d be like, ‘I’m so tired. I can’t drive home,’” she added. “And she would wake up to talk to me so I’d stay awake. Isn’t that really sweet?”

* *reached out to representatives for 20th Television and *New Girl* showrunner Elizabeth Meriwether for comment.

Zooey Deschanel and Jake Johnson in ‘New Girl’.

Patrick McElhenney/FOX

Johnson agreed that the schedule was “too much.” While he doesn’t typically work long days now, he shared that he and fellow *New Girl* alum Damon Wayans Jr. recently had a lengthy shoot for their upcoming comedy series, inspired by *The Cable Guy, *which reminded him how exhausting it was.

“You get so weird because you’re so overtired,” he said. “So all of a sudden, we’d be in takes again and I was doing stuff really just to make Damon laugh and he’s doing stuff to make me laugh. And I’m like, you only get here after hour 13 when you’re like, ‘I have to go home now.’”

Max Greenfield, Hannah Simone, Zooey Deschanel, Jake Johnson, and Lamorne Morris in ‘New Girl’.

Brian Bowen Smith/FOX

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Despite the long hours, the cast has frequently gushed about their experience on the sitcom. In fact, star Max Greenfield has teased the possibility of a revival, saying that creator Meriwether has written new scripts.

“I’m not gonna play the game,” Greenfield said on the *Today* show in July. “As far as I know, it’s happening.”

Check out the full episode of *We’re Here to Help* with Zooey Deschanel below.

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Source: "EW Sitcom"

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Source: Sitcom

Published: September 5, 2026 at 01:57AM on Source: RED MAG

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