All six of the main New Girl cast members reunited at a special event on Saturday night, signaling not only a cast gathering but also another collaborative project on the horizon.
Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr., longtime co‑stars from the sitcom New Girl and the 2014 comedy Let’s Be Cops, are reuniting for a Hulu pilot that draws inspiration from the 1996 dark comedy The Cable Guy. The project, in which both actors are slated to lead and executive produce, was announced back in June.
According to the pilot’s logline, Johnson plays Chip Douglas, a solitary cable technician whose life changes when Wayans Jr.’s character, Steven Stephens, calls to restore his service, reviving a long‑forgotten childhood friendship. Their evolving bond offers each man what he’s been missing, but Chip’s growing obsession pushes the relationship into unsettling territory. Inspired by the film, the series explores the darkly absurd dynamics of modern‑day male friendship.
At the Chrysalis Butterfly Ball charity event, Johnson explained that the pilot originated from a chance conversation among former New Girl cast members who were gathered at Chateau Marmont to celebrate Max Greenfield’s wife, Tess Sanchez, and her newly released book, We’ve Decided to Go in a Different Direction.
Recalling the moment, Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter that after a reunion with Wayans Jr., who was then starring in his father’s series Poppa’s House, the two were walking to a car when Johnson joked, “If the show with your daddy goes away, let’s do a TV show together.” Wayans agreed, but two days later his series was cancelled, prompting both to pursue a collaborative project.
The duo obtained a script based on The Cable Guy but decided against a straightforward remake. They recruited New Girl’s writer and executive producer Rob Rosell to rework the material, infusing it with fresh comedy. The revised pitch secured Hulu’s green‑light, and the pilot has already been filmed, with Johnson calling it “really fun.”
Other New Girl castmates—Max Greenfield, Zooey Deschanel, Lamorne Morris and Hannah Simone—joined Johnson and Wayans Jr. on the charity carpet. Greenfield, expressing a touch of jealousy over his former colleagues’ new venture, said he’d love to appear on the show if it advances to a full series, even hinting, “Maybe tonight I’ll pitch some characters.”
