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Was Fox’s “New Girl” Stolen?

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Stephanie Counts and Shari Gold are currently alleging that they worked with William Morris Endeavor agents to shop around a proposed television show they called “Square One.” They even pitched Zooey Deschanel in the lead role. They claim that their script eventually because the hit Fox comedy “New Girl” calling it “blatant plagiarism” according to the lawsuit.

Fox has (of course) denied the allegations except for the premise which follows a woman who leaves a bad relationship and moves in with three single mens. Fox claims that the premise is both a general and nonprotectable idea.

However, check out some of these VERY similar plot points between “Square One” and “New One:”

  • late twenties, early thirties woman who moves in with three guys
    • the move is result of break up after her ex – named Spencer – cheats on her
  • the protagonist is awkward and sexually inexperienced
  • the type-B bartender roommate is the one who likes and eventually becomes romantically involved with the protagonist

Fox has moved to have the lawsuit dismissed and understandably so the plaintiffs are, well, livid. 

“This motion to dismiss is fatally flawed and deficient in all respects as it should have never been filed,” plaintiffs’ attorneys tell the judge.

They continue to say,

“The problem arises from the fact that Defendants ask the Court to compare judicially noticed New Girl DVDs to Plaintiffs’ Square One scripts, but shockingly fail to address the actual copyrighted scripts for New Girl, including the pilot named ‘Chick and Dicks,'” say the plaintiffs. “Logically, this Court cannot consider substantial similarity in a motion to dismiss where it cannot even examine the underlying screenplay Plaintiffs allege to be infringing. The Chicks and Dicks script is referenced repeatedly by Plaintiffs in the First Amended Complaint and thus Defendants have no excuse for not including it in their analysis.”

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