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This New Netflix Show Is Basically One Big New Girl Reunion
Nick Miller won’t be the only familiar voice.
Nick Miller won't be the only familiar voice in Netflix's new animated series Hoops. New Girl alums Max Greenfield (Schmidt), Hannah Simone (Cece), and Damon Wayans Jr. (Coach) all pop up in the Hoops voice cast, which is led by Jake Johnson as Coach Ben Hopkins. But there are also a number of other actors in the show who appeared on New Girl in some capacity.
Rob Riggle, for example, appeared in three New Girl episodes as Big Schmidt, while Ron Funches made an impression as a man who interrupts Winston's date by singing love songs. Cleo King, who plays the high school principal in Hoops, also showed up on New Girl as Sergeant Dorado. "I had fun on that show!" the actor said during the Hoops panel at Comic-Con@Home 2020. "I had a great time. I got to play a hard-ass!"
Johnson responded, saying that her cameo was what led to King getting cast in Hoops. "When we were looking for this part, I remembered you in New Girl crushing it," he said.
Even Hoops creator Ben Hoffman had a one-episode arc in New Girl as a guy named Sherman. All that's missing is Zooey Deschanel and Lamorne Morris, though that may have been a little too on the nose.
Here's everyone you can expect to see.
Jake Johnson as Coach Ben Hopkins
While Ben has some similarities to Nick Miller, the high school basketball coach is much more prickly than the lovable bar owner. In Episode 1, he tries to hire a sex worker for one of his students, and he's a little too frank about his penis size and past drug usage. He's not exactly the best person to be working with kids.
Ron Funches as Ron
Funches plays Ron, another basketball coach who is best friends with Ben and also inexplicably dating his ex-wife, Shannon.
Cleo King as Principal Opal Lowry
Principal Lowry might come across as a bit strict, but it's really just a front. She loves smoking pineapple marijuana in her office and lets Coach Ben get away with arguably too much.
Natasha Leggero as Shannon
The comedian and Another Period star voices Ben's ex-wife and certified Horse Girl™ Shannon.
A.D. Miles as Matty
Miles has had small roles in everything from Wet Hot American Summer to Role Models, but he's perhaps best known for Jimmy Fallon's late night shows, on which he served as a head writer and occasionally appeared in episodes. In Hoops, he plays a seven-foot-tall high schooler named Matty, who is severely uncomfortable in his gigantic body.
Sam Richardson as Marcus
The Veep and Detroiters actor voices one of the basketball players, Marcus, who has an obsession with Billy Joel.
Nick Swardson as Scott
Swardson's Hoops character, Scott, is the only gay boy on the team. And before Matty came along, he was also the Colts' best player.
Steve Berg as DJ
Berg has appeared in The Good Place, The Goldbergs, and even an episode of New Girl. In Hoops, he plays a character named DJ, whose only personality trait seems to be that he's fat.
Ben Hoffman as Timebomb
Since Hoops is set in Kentucky, Timebomb plays the team's resident redneck.
Gil Ozeri as Isaac
The Big Mouth and Brooklyn Nine-Nine writer plays one of the less-athletic Colts players.
Rob Riggle as Barry Hopkins
The Daily Show and 21 Jump Street vet plays Ben's standoffish father, Barry, who runs a local steakhouse but is also something of a basketball legend. Naturally, Ben is a disappointment.
Max Greenfield as Lonnie
Johnson's old New Girl co-star voices an uptight ethics teacher named Lonnie.
Guy Fieri as Himself
In Episode 2, the Mayor of Flavortown cameos in a series of how-to videos.
Will Forte as Dawa
In Episode 6, Forte plays a spiritual guide who attempts to help Ben stay more zen during basketball games.
Damon Wayans Jr. as Damian Chapman
After playing a character literally named "Coach" on New Girl, Damon Wayans Jr. returns as yet another coach — specifically Damian Chapman, Ben's fiercest rival. The two have a standing bet each year, which Johnson's character never wins.
Hannah Simone as Dr. Brooks
Cece — er, Hannah Simone — plays a grief counselor named Dr. Brooks in Episode 8. While she's at the school to help the students process the deaths of Coach Singleton and later Kyle G., the chicken delivery guy, the adults keep taking advantage of her services to tell long-winded stories about their lives.
