Winston Bishop's detective skills are required. Because during its seven-season run, there were a striking number of disappearing family members on New Girl. Sitcoms aren't known for being the best when it comes to continuity. But Jess, Nick, Winston, Cece, and Coach had some downright suspicious activity on the family front.
The loft had a rotating cast of characters outside of the main roommates. And many family members were not forgotten. Like Jess's mom Joan (Jamie Lee Curtis), dad Bob (Rob Reiner), and stepmom Ashley (Kaitlin Olson); Winston's mom Charmaine; Schmidt's mom Louise (Nora Dunn), dad Gavin (Peter Gallagher), and cousin Big Schmidt (Rob Riggle); and Nick's cousin Bob (Bill Burr) and dad Walt (Dennis Farina). Rather eerily, New Girl had Walt die not long before Farina passed himself.
But then, there are the other siblings, parents, and one errant nephew who were either mentioned or seen and never heard of again. Others were brought up in retcon situations that didn't fit with the previous plots. Here, an ode to the missing family members of New Girl.
Nick's Mom
Character Actress Margo Martindale played Nick's mom Bonnie, who did not take an initial liking to Jess in the Season 2 episode "Chicago." But Jess won her over when she dressed up as Elvis for Nick's dad's funeral. Bonnie even packed Jess cheese puffs for the flight back to L.A.! But apparently, she didn't like Jess that much since Bonnie wasn't around for her son's wedding to her.
Nick's Younger Brother
Nick Kroll played Nick's brother Jamie when he came home to Chicago for their dad's funeral. But Jamie was never seen again. Jamie was supposed to be getting married to Deann, meaning Nick would've had a sister-in-law. But it'd be understandable if that wedding got called off.
Nick's Nephew
Nick gave his 12-year-old nephew Brendan a box of tacks for Christmas in Season 1's "The 23rd." Guess Brendan couldn't make it for Grandpop's funeral or Uncle Nick's wedding.
Nick's Older Brother
Besides Kroll's Jamie, Nick apparently had another brother. In Season 1's "Backslide," Nick watches a video of himself pleading with future Nick not to get back together with Caroline since she had broken up with him three times already — "Once before you had to speak at your brother's wedding." Since Jamie followed a strict siblings must marry in order rule until Nick told him that wasn't a thing at their dad's funeral, this would have to be an older brother. He was probably the dad to Brendan.
Coach's Three Sisters
When Damon Wayans, Jr. returned to the show after the cancelation of Happy Endings, Coach mentioned he grew up with three sisters in Season 4's "Girl Fight." He kept mentioning it throughout the episode to prove how he understood how women communicated with one another. Yet, in the pilot episode, Coach told Jess, "My boss says that I don't know how to talk to women." I'm not saying Coach was great when it came to talking with women when he came back to the show, but the writers clearly retroactively added his sisters in for Jess and Cece's fight.
Cece's Mom
Cece's mom Priyanka (Anna George) was around for Cece's engagement and nuptials to Schmidt in Season 5. But how about Cece's first wedding in Season 2? When she had her arranged marriage to Shivrang? Jess's dad was there, but where was Cece's mom? Cece was surrounded by women when Schmidt walked in on her in her wedding dress, but not one of them was acknowledged as being the mother of the bride. It was only until Cece and Schmidt's engagement party in Season 5 that the idea of Big Mama P was even introduced, so she could not give her blessing to Cece and Schmidt (after Nick mistook another Indian woman at the airport for Mrs. Parekh). But she showed up for the big wedding day (even if Schmidt didn't) after Schmidt called her every Monday for a year to highlight his love for Cece. She also walked Cece down the aisle during their loft wedding. But apparently, she couldn't be bothered to show up for Cece's first wedding to Shivrang.
Winston's Dad
To help Winston accept his impending role as a father, Jess found his dad for him in Season 7's "Godparents." Winston thought he was reconnecting with the man who walked out on him as a baby. But turns out, Googling the name "Van Bishop" may come back with more than one result. J.B. Smoove's Van Bishop wasn't actually Winston's father and so, Winston never got to meet his real dad.
Winston's Sister
Winston's sister Alisha, played by Keenyah Hill, only appeared in one episode, Season 2's "Katie." It's not a big deal that the professional basketball player didn't come to meet Winston's fiancée Aly with their mom in Season 6's "Misery." And since Winston often got the shaft in the storyline department, it's not like his wedding to Aly was shown on the series. It's just a little odd that his sister didn't come up at all when his mom was talking about Winston being her only son, or when she told him about his dad being a cop. In retrospect, Winston's sister may have only been introduced for Schmidt to hit on her, which isn't a great fate for any character.
Jess's Sister
Speaking of characters who were at least partially introduced for Schmidt to hit on them, enter: Abby Freaking Day. The most egregious of the missing family members is Jess's sister Abby played by Linda Cardellini. She popped in for a three-episode arc in Season 3 to act as a foil to Jess, make Jess question her relationship with Nick, and move in with Schmidt (which didn't make Cece too happy). Though she left to move in with their mom Joan in "Sister III," Jess's sister is never heard of again. Guess that's fitting of the wild child, but at least a mention of her when Jess visited Portland, when their dad got remarried, or when Jess got married would've gone a long way.
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