Megan Fox is the new girl in "New Girl" Season 5.
Fox will be the substitute while the show's lead, Zooey Deschanel, is taking her time off on maternity leave. The star just gave birth to a daughter in August. Fox will play the part of a gorgeous sales rep in multiple episodes of the show's fifth season.
According to TVLine, while Jess, played by Deschanel, finds herself sequestered on jury duty, Fox comes to town as Reagan. Due to business engagements, this Reagan girl will have to rent out Jess's apartment up until Jess comes back or Deschanel finished off her maternity leave. While Fox will be seen in several episodes, her first appearance will only be in Episode 6 of Season 5.
Speaking about Fox's role in the show, executive producer Liz Meriwether said she still cannot believe that a girls as good-looking as Fox can be as hilarious. "It's insane to me that such a gorgeous person can be so funny, but I guess we just all have to accept it," Meriwether told TV Line.
"I've been a fan of her comedic skills since 'This is 40,' and I'm so excited to have her on the show. We had Megan in mind when we wrote this part -- she's the perfect person to come in and shake these guys up," the executive producer added.
According to a related report from the Entertainment Weekly, playing Reagan will be Fox's biggest TV role in ten years after being last seen on ABC's "Hope & Faith." EW is saying that Fox will juggle between her role in "New Girl" and her role on the upcoming "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" sequel.
The first episode of the next season will actually be titled "No Girl," Meriwether told The Hollywood Reporter in May when it was first became known that Deschanel will be absent for the next season. "People are going to be asking, 'How are they going to pull this off?' I'm kind of asking that question of myself," Meriwether said.
Nevertheless, she promised a fun episode even without Jess. "I directed the first episode without Zooey, that's the last one we shot this year, and it's really funny. It's a guys' episode. It's an opportunity to stretch ourselves..." Meriwether said that they have actually filmed four episodes of season five around this time. "When we come back, we're doing four episodes without Zooey, actually. She'll come back after that. It's kind of a weird schedule," she said.
The greatest challenge that emerged out of the situation is when they need to shoot Season 5 before they actually have a Season 5, Meriwether said. "But the writing staff really dug in, and the cast was game for it. I think we're lucky," she said.