Elizabeth Meriwether and Zooey Deschanel of "New Girl" (Paley Center)

At the “New Girl” panel at the thirtieth annual PaleyFest on Monday night, the cast and several executive producers gathered to preview an upcoming episode and answer questions about the show. Zooey Deschanel, Jake Johnson, Lamorne Morris, Max Greenfield, Hannah Simone, creator Elizabeth Meriwether, and executive producers Katherine Pope, Brett Baer, Dave Finkel, and Jake Kasdan were all in attendance. Fresh off their third season renewal, the panel talked about the future of the characters and some of their favorite moments from the past two years. Here are some of the highlights:

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The Kiss
-    The original version of the script for the episode “Cooler” didn’t include Jess and Nick’s kiss, but creator Elizabeth Meriwether fought to put it in. When asked about the episode, she said, “If we waited any longer it was going to start to feel not true.”

The Boob Fight
-    The boob-slapping fight between Jess and Cece earned an interesting note from the censors: “Please watch the jiggle.”

Getting Nick and Jess together
-    The relationship came out of the chemistry between Zooey Deschanel and Jake Johnson, which was evident from very early on. However, the writers did try to fight against making them a couple too soon. Executive producer Dave Finkel explained, “It’s a hard balance to make sure that you’re pulling it out at the right time. You never know how much to give.”

Schmidt and Cece
-    When asked about the Schmidt and Cece’s relationship, Max Greenfield responded, “Both these characters kind of needed to grow up before they can be together.” Everyone agrees that the two characters love and care for each other, but as for what’s to come, Meriwether admitted, “I have no f---ing idea.”

Schmidt’s first name
-    The writers have a couple ideas they’ve been considering, but haven’t yet included one in an episode. “He’s also named Jess,” Meriwether joked.

Nick’s family reunion
-    In an upcoming episode, Nick’s father passes away and the audience gets to meet his family. Guest stars include Margo Martindale as his mother and Nick Kroll as his brother. Elvis also makes a guest appearance, portrayed by Jess.

Tran, the old Asian man
-    Nick’s awkward water massage was came from one of Finkel’s personal experiences. In response to Meriwether’s admission that the scene is very strange, Johnson said, “One of the weirdest… Of my life.” The panel also announced that Tran would be reappearing in an upcoming episode.

Flashback episode
-    “New Girl” has become known for using flashbacks to develop its characters, and the producers teased an upcoming flashback episode which tells the story of all the characters losing their virginities.

Jess and Nick's future
-    The writers don’t want to force any development in Jess and Nick’s relationship. Meriwether said that they only do what feels honest to the characters, “We sort of do what we feel is right for that episode." She also admitted that many parts of the story get changed as the episode is filmed, so the future is wide open for Nick and Jess.

Reach Staff Reporter Reid Nakamura here.