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While nothing will ever fill the hole left in our hearts after Freaks and Geeks was canceled so many years back (some wounds never heal, NBC!), seeing Lindsay Weir pop up in our favorite shows is the next best thing. After her short stint on Mad Men, Linda Cardellini will play a recurring role on New Girl as Jess’ outrageous sister Abby.
Abby is “the wild-child sister who brings a real Springer energy to every situation,” and her first episode will feature Jess trying to bail her out of jail, all the while keeping her from meeting Jess’ boyfriend Nick. Cardellini’s first episode is slated to air in February; Jamie Lee Curtis, who has played Jess’ mother in previous episodes, will also appear.
And of course, there’s a handful of sibling enmity in store. A young Jess and Freaks and Geeks‘ Lindsey would never have gotten along, thanks to Jess’ tendency to attack every situation with her quirkiness dialed up to about a 14 on a ten point scale. Likewise, there seems to be some animosity burning between the two sisters judging by Abby’s character description. Maybe that’s why she hasn’t been mentioned by Jess before?
It will take some serious creative wizadry in New Girl writing room to convince us that Jess suddenly has a sister we’ve simply never heard about, especially after all of the flashbacks to her childhood and visits from her parents that were noticeably absent of any siblings. But sitcoms often play fast and loose with canon, and a sister suddenly being retconned into or out of existence isn’t terribly egregious (after all, we’re still waiting for Judy Winslow to come down the stairs on Family Matters). As long as the character is funny and adds a creative spark to New Girl, which has yet to hit its comedic stride this season, then Jess’ mystery sister is welcome, especially if she’s played by an actress like Cardellini.
