Jake Johnson and Cast Fought Studio Executives to Cast Lamorne Morris on New Girl

The cast of New Girl staged an internal campaign to convince studio executives that Lamorne Morris was the right choice for Winston Bishop, with Jake Johnson, Zooey Deschanel, and Max Greenfield writing directly to network and studio leadership. What started as uncertainty from decision-makers became one of television's most successful ensemble casts, though the path to Morris's involvement required active intervention from his future co-stars.

The Casting Challenge

Morris initially auditioned for the role of Coach, a character that Damon Wayans Jr. played in the pilot before departing for another project. When that position became unavailable, the production team began searching for an actor to fill the newly created Winston Bishop role. Despite multiple candidates coming through auditions, Deschanel remained convinced that Morris—already familiar to the entire casting team from earlier rounds—was the ideal fit.

During audition readings, Deschanel worked through numerous performers for the Winston role but kept returning to the same conclusion. "I was just like, 'What about Lamorne? That guy's so good. He's so talented,'" she recalled. Johnson, Greenfield, and Hannah Simone shared her assessment, having observed Morris's talent firsthand during the original audition process.

The Push Behind the Scenes

Faced with hesitation from studio and network executives, the cast took an unconventional approach. Rather than accepting the studio's initial reservations, Deschanel, Johnson, Greenfield, and their colleagues coordinated a letter-writing campaign to decision-makers. Each cast member wrote to different executives, making individual cases for why Morris represented the best choice for the character. "We kind of did this thing where I wrote to the heads of the studio and the network," Deschanel explained. "Everyone was writing to somebody different."

The messages emphasized not only Morris's talent but also his potential as a long-term addition to the ensemble. Deschanel's correspondence specifically stressed her inability to envision anyone else in the role. The collective effort reflected the cast's confidence that Morris would help define the show's success.

The Outcome

The campaign succeeded. Morris joined New Girl for its full run from 2011 to 2018 on Fox, becoming integral to the show's appeal and cultural footprint. The ensemble cast—Deschanel, Morris, Johnson, Greenfield, and Simone—grew into their roles early in their respective careers. Morris's career trajectory vindicated the cast's belief, culminating in an Emmy Award in 2024 for his performance as Deputy Witt Farr on FX's Fargo.