The season 5 premier of New Girl, “Big Mama P,” jumped right into the action, finding Schmidt proposing to Nick to be the best man at his wedding with Cece and Jess waiting anxiously to be picked as the maid of honor.

Of course, these scenes involved shenanigans as almost everything with these characters do. In epic fashion, the rest of the show revolves around the engagement party that Jess throws for Schmidt and Cece. Yet before it happens she falls down a flight of stairs and breaks two legs and an arm, most likely a device used by the writers to keep Zooey Deschanel out of many scenes in this season because of her pregnancy.

The main event of the episode is the anticipation of Cece’s mother, Priyanka’s, arrival, especially because Cece hasn’t told her mother yet about marrying Schmidt in fear of her disapproval of him. In an overused comic scene, Nick, charged with picking up Priyanka from the airport, picks up a random Indian woman who does not speak English and doesn’t realize it isn’t Cece’s mother until he gets to the hall. The show picks up as Schmidt is determined to gain her approval after finding out that she did not even know about their engagement.

In a grand gesture, at Jess’s suggestion Schmidt learns the Indian dance of the group she hired to perform at the party. In an entertaining dance number reminiscent of Bollywood movies, Schmidt and the other guys join in the dance along with the random Indian woman Nick picked up from the airport, hoping to receive a blessing from Cece’s mother.

The theme, “The year of us,” which Jess repeats over and over in the episode is a hint on the theme of this season as a whole and what to expect from it. Now that Schmidt and Cece are tying the knot, they are beginning to mature and the rest of the roommates will surely follow.

Winston is now a famed police officer after saving a child, and Jess and Nick seem to be in a good place. The rest of the season will be interesting to see how Megan Fox is used, as she is slated to have a guest role in Deschanel’s absence and lessened appearances during her maternity leave. It will also be interesting to see the dynamics as the group matures, as produces have said that it is time for them to grow up and start acting more like adults.

What made the show so funny in previous seasons was their craziness and immature behavior, so the show will need to find some other elements to keep it fresh and funny. The first episode proved that they can be adults while still being funny though, while hilariously once again blending together Cece’s indian heritage with the group’s craziness.

Show: New Girl

Airs: Tuesdays

Network: Fox

Rating: 4/5