In just three seasons, the doorways within Fox’s hit comedy New Girl have certainly had their share of talented people walking through them, from Dennis Farina to Parker Posey. And the show’s newest guest star will walk proudly like a bird among them. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Kaitlin Olson has joined New Girl’s cast in a recurring role for its upcoming Season 4, injecting what will no doubt be uncomfortable hilarity into an already awkward situation.
While the depths of Olson’s character aren’t plumbed in the THR announcement, it’s a very sitcom kind of character whose arc will probably follow a predictable pattern, albeit in a presumably funny way. She’ll play Ashley, a former nemesis of Jess (Zooey Deschanel) and Cece (Hannah Simone) from their high school days. It would be uncomfortable enough if she popped in as a rebound relationship for Nick (Jake Johnson) or something like that, but it’s even worse.
Ashley is getting married to Jess’ dad. (flump)
Olson will first appear in New Girl for the third episode, joined in future matrimony by Rob Reiner, who will reprise his role as Bob Day for an unknown number of episodes. Bob was introduced back in Season 2 for the Thanksgiving fiasco, which also featured Jamie Lee Curtis as his ex-wife and Jess’ mother. (Rob Riggle also added some laughs to that one.) Jess’ state of mind isn’t always at its most focused where her dad and her dislikes are concerned, so having the two smash together like this will be pretty excellent.
I really hope Ashley isn’t just painted out to be a total bitch, as interesting as that would be. After so many years of watching Olson's heckled existence as Sweet Dee on It’s Always Sunny, I just want to watch her be happy for a while, even if it’s because she’s getting schtupped by Rob Reiner. I’d probably watch an entire series of that before I’d watch Reiner’s latest movie And So It Goes. Whether Ashley is a peach or a devil, I just hope Olson gets to make her “gag face” at some point, because it’s spectacular.
Mostly known for a consistently strong nine seasons on It’s Always Sunny, Olson recently got to show off her skills on the big screen for a role as a French drug pusher in Paul Feig’s The Heat. She’s had recurring roles in The Riches and Curb You Enthusiasm, and voiced characters in the short-lived 2012 animated series Brickleberry and Unsupervised. Her presence on more TV shows is almost vital to audiences’ lives.
New Girl has a few other guest stars coming this season, like Jessica Biel and Veep’s Reid Scott. Fans who love repeats will be glad to hear MTV and TBS both acquired the cable rights to the series, though it’ll be another year until they actually begin airing them, perhaps waiting until the series hits its 100th installment. For fans of all-new episodes, New Girl returns to Fox for its Season 4 premiere on Wednesday, September 17.
