Zooey Deschanel Says New Girl Cast Fought to Get Lamorne Morris on the Show

Zooey Deschanel says she and her New Girl co-stars had to campaign for Lamorne Morris to join the series. The actor revealed the behind-the-scenes push in a recent interview, according to Deadline.

Deschanel stated the cast wrote letters to the heads of the studio and network to advocate for Morris. She said they collectively felt he was the best choice for the role of Winston Bishop, a former basketball player and childhood friend of Nick Miller.

What did Zooey Deschanel say about the casting?

Deschanel recalled reading with many actors for the part, but kept thinking of Morris. "What about Lamorne? That guy is so good," she remembered saying. Her co-stars Jake Johnson and Max Greenfield also supported the idea, having met him during the original audition process.

She described a moment of hesitation from executives, noting, "everybody was like, oh, I don’t know." In response, the cast launched their letter-writing campaign. "I was like, I can’t see anyone else playing this part," Deschanel said.

How did Lamorne Morris originally connect to New Girl?

Morris had initially auditioned for the role of Coach, which ultimately went to Damon Wayans Jr. He did not advance in that process because he took a job on another pilot that was not picked up. When the character of Winston was created later, Deschanel and the cast pushed for Morris to be considered.

New Girl, created by Elizabeth Meriwether, aired on Fox from 2011 to 2018. The series starred Deschanel, Morris, Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield, and Hannah Simone. As of July 2026, the show is available to stream on Hulu and Peacock Premium.