[Warning: Spoilers ahead]
The upcoming "New Girl" season 5 will go through a shake-up in their cast line-up - well, sort of.
The comedy show has had such a great year during its fourth season that Fox has decided to re-new "New Girl" for season 5. But rumor has it that some of its cast members will be missing-in-action!
New mom and new wife, Zooey Deschanel will reportedly be absent for four consecutive episodes when the show returns this fall.
Following the show's couples dropping some major relationship bombs during the fourth season's final episode, "New Girl" creator Liz Merriweather revealed how they would cope up with their lead star's short hiatus.
"Jess gets sequestered on a jury," Merriweather told Hollywood Reporter of their plan for Deschanel's character, Jess. "The idea behind it was to be able to do those pastel courtroom sketches, so you could still see her in the jury. It's a little weird, but we're having fun with it."
"It's a way to have all of the guys check in with her," she added. "They watch the news reports on the trial. And they show being set in L.A., this is a city where celebrities get into trouble and juries really do get sequestered."
She added that Deschanel's absence gives the audience a chance to get to know the other characters more, with the first episode of "New Girl" Season 5 evolving around the guys.
"I directed the first episode without Zooey, that's the last one we shot this year, and it's really funny," Merriweather said. "It's a guys' episode. It's an opportunity to stretch ourselves... Or it will be a total disaster, and then she'll come back."
Meanwhile, Deschanel won't be the only cast member who will be missing this season.
Damon Wayans, Jr. will reportedly be leaving the show for the second time, only a year and a half after his return.
After the show's pilot episode, Wayans had to leave to do an unexpected renewal of "Happy Endings." But when it was ultimately cancelled, Wayans was able to return to "New Girl."
Now, the actor decided to leave the show to keep his options open to prospects and piloting TV shows.
"He would hate me saying this. I'm very sorry to see him (Wayans) go," the show creator said. "But having already shot the first four [episodes] of season five, there's also this nice return to our original cast. There's more time in the script to invest in each of the characters."
