Every true “New Girl” fan has played the drinking game True American — or at least attempted to. Though the rules to the Fox sitcom’s complicated binging tradition (which includes a “the floor is lava” component) are incredibly confusing (and don’t actually exist, even in the writers’ room), the answer to whether the cast will have one last go-round in the seventh and final season is very clear.
“There may or may not be. There is,” showrunner Elizabeth Meriwether said of the final showdown, while laughing, at the show’s Television Critics Association panel on Thursday. Though she wouldn’t reveal the details to how or when the last drinks will be poured, the cast and producers bantered about how they’ve tried to understand the rules to the game many a time and enjoy Googling fans attempts to decipher them. They also get a giggle from some serious tribute videos.
The game has been played by Jess (Zooey Deschanel), Nick (Jake Johnson), Winston (Lamorne Morris), Cece (Hannah Simone) and Schmidt (Max Greenfield) a handful of times and requires more drinking than any real human could possibly handle, and an “incredibly esoteric knowledge of American history to a very deep level,” according to executive producer Brett Baer.
Of course, as Baer also noted “the reality of True American is, if you actually play by the way we play it on the show you would be dead.” Though they did tease a character death in the final season — so we’re really hoping no one dies from their love of country and beer.
The seventh and final season of “New Girl” will premiere on April 10 at 9:30 p.m. ET on Fox.