The Character of Nick Miller
New Girl, that one sitcom starring Zooey Deschanel, acquired a significant cult following after Netflix secured its distribution rights a few years back. Which makes sense — New Girl is great quality, considering both the overarching storytelling and the comedic gold throughout (especially by, surprise-surprise, Nick Miller). It’s a real shame the series didn’t have a strong fanbase while still on air.
The driving forces of New Girl are absolutely the same as they are for any other sitcom. Most single-camera comedy series follow a very traditional narrative path; nothing necessarily wrong with that — if it works, why change it, right? The matter of the case is that the core of these sitcoms are always the characters and the relationships they holds and develop between each other. Today, in particular, we take an analytical look at Nick Miller and deep dive in the depths he holds hidden.
Nick Miller: The Basics
Open up the TV Bible for New Girl, it’s online and you can actually read it, and you’ll see the initial pitch of who this character was supposed to be. They describe him as rough, maybe lowkey lazy, very perceptive, and most importantly, smart.
All things true, especially that last one, but intelligence isn’t everything. All those years behind a bar have made Nick an amateur therapist, acquiring him with a deep understanding of people and the world around him. He may sometimes even be correct in his opinions; it’s sad and definitely not something most people would want to admit, but Nick Miller’s pessimistic views on reality often make a lot of sense.
And yet, Nick’s main drawback — despite all the intelligence, despite the constant flow of information he has access to, Nick lacks the ability to look critically upon himself and improve himself.
Sitcoms are all about improvement. Where do these characters begin and where do they end? Where does Nick begin and where does he end?
The Loft
Nick Miller is distant, cold, rough. He doesn’t understand emotions and is not particularly good in situations that require any sort of psychological handling. He’s straight and to the point. Emotion, and everything surrounding it, intimidates him.
This is a fascinating character quality, but not necessarily a great one. People are driven by emotion. Poetry and the ability to see beauty and indulge in it are some of the things that make us human. So Nick must progress to that. He must learn not only to familiarize himself with his emotions, but to be content with them, too.
Much of that comes through Schmidt, Cece, Coach, Winston, and Jess of course, but we’ll get to her later. It’s friendship and all its intricate complexities and emotion-bound necessities that further Nick Miller’s character.
One of the most famous New Girl episodes is the cookie episode. Schmidt gets Nick a cookie because he was thinking of him. Nick says he would never do such a thing; he doesn’t understand it — people don’t just get cookies for each other, that’s weird. The love and care behind Schmidt’s action scares Nick and almost guides him through yet another emotional breakdown.
In the end? Nick gets Schmidt a cookie. It’s overwhelming and he doesn’t quite understand what it means, but he knows it’s correct. Love & friendship should be acted upon. This is one of many instances where Nick not only accepts his flaws and insecurities, but actively works towards fixing them. Maybe he doesn’t understand exactly why or how, but at least he’s on a path. The correct path.
The Love Life
The richest source of Nick’s development has to be, you guessed it, Jessica-damn-Day. Most of Miller’s emotional baggage stems from two cores: the relationship he had with his father and the relationship he had with Caroline.
Jess helps Nick Miller move on. In regards to his dad — well, besides the numerous conversations Jess has led Nick through in order to push him to some sort of self-realisation — Jess guides Nick through the process of saying goodbye to his father when he dies. She also generally helps Nick find some responsibility and fight through the laziness — both character traits that, by some way or another, we can assume stem from Miller Senior.
In regards to Caroline — she’s toxic and Jess isn’t; in fact, Jess is really the first healthy relationship Nick has ever been in. She’s there for him, she cares for him, she’s somewhat normal — all things Nick hasn’t ever experienced. And where would he have? Caroline, who’s basically crazy, or the one-night stands he meets at the bar? Jess becomes Nick’s rock.
But Miller actually does most of the work himself later on. After a few seasons of him getting accustomed to emotions, and after that eye-opening relationship with Reagan, Nick finally accepts his love for Jess. But love doesn’t come easy, does it? Love requires responsibility and commitment, characteristics that Nick Miller has lacked for the most of his life. And after a few seasons of struggle, after a series of wild events and interactions, he’s finally ready to change, accept his new better self, and propose marriage to the girl of his dreams.
Nick Miller: A Career Man?
Most people think of Nick Miller as just a bartender. But. That is far from the case.
First, Nick is a licensed lawyer. Then, he’s a bartender. Why? Well, he gives us the answer himself — it makes him happy.
If bartending makes Nick happy, if it truly fulfils him, who’s anyone to judge? Miller later even becomes part-owner of the bar, furthering his search for responsibility and purpose. Finally, and against all odds, Nick actually becomes a published author with some recognition. Sure, it took him years of procrastination, but he did it. That’s more than most people can say for themselves.
Nick’s creative success is that nice little detail, that last necessary flair he needs for his internal development. He might seem as a failure, but look closer, and that is far from the case.
It took years and the help of everyone around him, but Nick Miller finally got all those things he was missing. In the end, he is a responsible and committed man. A business owner. A published author. Successful. Getting married.
And most importantly, Nick grew. He worked on himself — maybe not consciously, but he did so nevertheless. Once a scared and broken man, in the end, Nick Miller is confident and internally peaceful. Finally, his struggles are over. He’s in a happy place.
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More character analysis pieces here.
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— Pouty Boy
Love this post. I was so sad when New Girl came to an end but I’m glad Netflix has brought it a new audience. Nick was by far my favourite character and it always felt like he had the best development.
Thank you so much. Nick is the best.