Jamie Lee Curtis has revealed that she “hated” working on New Girl, despite praising the sitcom as a “great show”, because she found its single-camera production process too similar to making a film.
Jamie Lee Curtis reveals she hated filming New Girl
Curtis discussed her experience at NBCUniversal’s Summer Backlot Experience, where she reflected on her television career and her preference for multi-camera sitcoms. The actor played Joan Day, the mother of Zooey Deschanel’s character Jess, and appeared in several episodes of New Girl between 2012 and 2018.
“I did a single camera, which, I mean — great show, New Girl, very funny — it’s a good show, but doing it is just like doing a movie,” Curtis said at NBCUniversal’s Summer Backlot Experience, which Entertainment Weekly attended. “You know, you’ve got a camera crew, and nobody laughs. It’s silent, and it’s awful. For me, awful. Single-camera comedies, for me, not fun.”
Curtis's comments reflect a longstanding preference for the multi-camera sitcom format. She previously starred in Anything But Love, the ABC sitcom that ran from 1989 to 1992, alongside Richard Lewis. Curtis played Hannah Miller, a magazine writer whose relationship with Lewis's Marty Gold formed the centre of the series. Her performance earned her a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 1990.
Curtis later appeared in other television comedies, including an episode of The Drew Carey Show, before taking on recurring roles in NCIS and New Girl. She also starred as Cathy Munsch in Ryan Murphy’s horror-comedy series Scream Queens from 2015 to 2016.
Her television work in recent years has included The Bear, in which she played Donna Berzatto and earned an Emmy for her performance. She has now returned to the sitcom format with Newlyweds, an upcoming NBC comedy starring Téa Leoni and Tim Daly. Curtis serves as an executive producer and also has a recurring role in the series.
The new series marks a return to the multi-camera format Curtis has repeatedly expressed a preference for, after her experience on New Girl. Newlyweds is scheduled to premiere on NBC on October 23, 2026.
Facts Only
* Jamie Lee Curtis discussed her experience at the NBCUniversal’s Summer Backlot Experience.
* She played Joan Day, mother of Zooey Deschanel’s character Jess, and appeared in several episodes of New Girl between 2012 and 2018.
* Curtis stated that doing a single-camera production was like doing a movie.
* She found single-camera comedies to be not fun.
* Curtis previously starred in the ABC sitcom Anything But Love (1989–1992).
* Her performance in Anything But Love earned her a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 1990.
* She appeared in The Drew Carey Show and later in NCIS and New Girl.
* She starred as Cathy Munsch in Scream Queens from 2015 to 2016.
* Her recent television work includes The Bear, where she played Donna Berzatto, for which she earned an Emmy.
* She is set to star as an executive producer and recurring role in the upcoming NBC comedy Newlyweds.
* Newlyweds is scheduled to premiere on NBC on October 23, 2026.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The narrative presents a tension between artistic preference and production reality within television. Curtis’s articulated aversion to single-camera sitcoms suggests an underlying value placed on the collaborative, interactive nature of multi-camera formats, framing the production method itself as a factor in enjoyment and quality, rather than solely focusing on the final product's success. This pattern suggests that for some creators, the process shapes the outcome’s perceived value; moving from a disliked experience (New Girl) to a preferred format (Newlyweds) indicates an attempt to re-establish control over the creative environment. The transition from critically acclaimed sitcom work (Anything But Love) to subsequent projects shows an evolution in career trajectory that involves navigating different structural expectations within media. The implication is that audience reception and creator satisfaction are deeply tied to production logistics, suggesting that perceived quality is not purely aesthetic but is mediated by behind-the-scenes mechanics.
Bridge Questions: How do different production methodologies inherently shape the type of narrative—sitcom versus drama—that can be most effectively told? What does the ongoing shift in established formats suggest about evolving audience desires for narrative structure? If creators express a strong preference for process, how should the industry balance creative vision with logistical constraints?
Sentinel — Human
The text reads like a compilation of biographical details framed around a specific personal reflection, strongly suggesting it is human-written journalistic narrative rather than purely synthetic generation.