New Girl Cast Reunites at Charity Ball, Not for TV

The six stars of New Girl shared a stage again on Saturday night. Not for a new episode, but for charity.

Zooey Deschanel, Max Greenfield, Jake Johnson, Lamorne Morris, Hannah Simone and Damon Wayans Jr. reunited at the Chrysalis Butterfly Ball in Los Angeles on Oct. 10, where they jointly received the Rising Phoenix Award, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

Greenfield did double duty as the evening's host. The ball was held at The Beehive and supports Chrysalis, a Southern California nonprofit that helps people facing barriers get into steady, meaningful work.

Two other honours were presented on the night. Jared Wolff, chairman and chief executive of Banc of California, received the Corporate Trailblazer Award. Guadalupe Rios, a former Chrysalis participant who now works for Caltrans, received the John Dillon Award.

The get-together settles weeks of revival chatter. Greenfield had said in a Today appearance that series creator Liz Meriwether had written "amazing" scripts for a return, and said in July that a reunion was happening "as far as I know." There are no real plans for an on-screen New Girl reunion at this time.

What actually brought them together was much simpler. Greenfield organised the appearance through the cast's group chat, telling them the charity reunion was happening on Oct. 10.

For fans, this means the loft reunion was real, just different. It comes 15 years after New Girl premiered, and the Rising Phoenix Award given to the cast was the inaugural edition of that honour.