We Finally Know When 'New Girl's Final Season Will Air, So Get Ready For Happy Tears

Start preparing yourselves now, because New Girl is officially coming to an end. The quirky comedy about five best friends living in Los Angeles is gearing up for its seventh and final season, so mark your calendars now: New Girl Season 7 set its premiere date for Tuesday, April 10 at 9:30 p.m. on Fox, and the special hour-long series finale will air Tuesday, May 15 at 9 p.m. It's all happening!

The network announced the bittersweet news at the 2018 Winter Television Critics Association press tour earlier this morning, confirming that the eight-episode final season, which has already wrapped production, will also see a massive time jump for the critically-acclaimed "adorkable" comedy. As fans remember, the Season 6 finale saw all our favorite characters take huge steps in their lives, with Jess (Zooey Deschanel) once again confessing her love to Nick (Jake Johnson) and they reunited after a three-season-long pause, Winston (Lamorne Morris) and Aly (Nasim Pedrad) getting engaged and Cece (Hannah Simone) and Schmidt (Max Greenfield) learning they're expecting their first child. These crazy kids have certainly come a long way since Jess first moved into the loft.

When New Girl picks up for its final season, the comedy will jump forward three years in time and viewers will get thrown right in to the hilarious events. For those worrying that the Nick and Jess relationship is just another fluke, you can rest easy: as the season begins, Jess and Nick are happily (!!!) together and returning from a whirlwind European book tour. Schmidt has become a stay-at-home dad while Cece is a working mom, and they're raising their daughter, Ruth. And by this point, Winston and Aly are also married... with a child on the way. Whoa, Winston's going to be a dad too?! New Girl is definitely going to look a lot different for this final run.

But while some things may look and feel different, at least some familiar faces will be returning for the final season. In addition to Pedrad reprising her role as Aly, New Girl Season 7 will feature the return of many of the series’ notable guest stars including Damon Wayans, Jr. as original loft resident Coach, Dermot Mulroney as Jess' "fancyman" ex Russell, David Walton as Jess' other ex Sam, Nelson Franklin as Jess and Cece's ex Robby, Sam Richardson as Dunston, and Jamie Lee Curtis and Rob Reiner as Jess' parents. Plus, Curb Your Enthusiasm's JB Smoove and One Mississippi's Tig Notaro will join the series as guest stars during the final season.

While some fans may not be ready to say goodbye to Jess, Nick, Schmidt, Winston and the rest of the New Girl loft residents, the Season 7 renewal is more than we could have ever hoped for. The Season 6 finale was written and filmed before FOX decided to greenlight a shortened final season, so it could have actually served as the series finale. That's why everything felt so big and final, with every character seemingly getting their happy ending six years in the making. But now we get to see Nick and Jess years into their relationship and debating marriage for themselves, Schmidt and Cece as veteran parents, and Winston becoming a parent himself.

And who knows, maybe we'll even get to see Jess and Nick finally take the next step and tie the knot themselves in one massive series finale wedding. With so many of Jess' family and friends returning for the final run, a wedding just makes the most sense. And in just a short few months, we'll have our answer.