Megan Fox Joins ‘New Girl’ While Zooey Deschanel Goes On Maternity Leave

Megan Fox is joining the cast of New Girl for its fifth season while star Zooey Deschanel goes on maternity leave.

Megan Fox Joins New Girl

Fox, who recently wrapped filming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, has reportedly booked a multi-episode arc on New Girl. Deschanel, who stars on the sitcom as the titular ‘New Girl,’ will be off on maternity leave starting a few episodes into the upcoming season. According to reports, her character, Jess, will have to be sequestered on jury duty, forcing her to leave her apartment. Fox’s character, Reagan, will rent out Jess’ room while she’s away, thus making her the new New Girl.

Reagan is described as a “gorgeous, straight-shooting pharmaceutical sales rep who comes to town on business and shakes things up in the loft.”

Fox, who previously proved she had comedy chops in Judd Apatow’s This Is 40, will make her first appearance in episode six of the upcoming season. Prior to welcoming a daughter in early August, Deschanel pre-taped five episodes of the show, and is currently on maternity leave. The actress gave Fox her seal of approval on Twitter after the news broke on Friday, calling Fox “lovely and amazing.”

“It’s insane to me that such a gorgeous person can be so funny, but I guess we just all have to accept it. 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,” said executive producer Liz Meriwether.

Season five of New Girl is set to premiere on Fox in January.