Jess (Zooey Deschanel) just does not know how to impress the guys.
When she comes home early to her boyfriend's apartment, wearing nothing under her chic trench coat, she finds he has been cheating on her and is dumped.
She needs a change of scenery, so she answers an advertisement for boarding on Craigslist; with three boring male roommates who are hesitant to accept her into their home.
Schmidt (Max Greenfield), the leader of the trio, is cocky and obnoxious, but has a good heart.
Coach (Damon Wayans Jr.), his personal trainer, is in charge of keeping Schmidt in line and Nick (Jake M. Johnson), the only sensible one, is going through a breakup and has his own demons to fight.
The fact that her best friend Cece (Hannah Simone) is a model is actually why the three guys let her live with them — because obviously she is crazy and not worth it otherwise.
Jess says herself that she cannot hide her own "craziness."
This term is thrown around often for comedic effect. But what constitutes crazy? Maybe she was just born quirky.
Sure, Jess is a bit more awkward than Deschanel's character Summer in (500) Days of Summer.
We are supposed to believe that she cannot get guys and that her quirky ploys do not work on men, as they do so well for Summer.
Her hey-look-at-me-I'm-so-awkward jokes seem to be a façade, because even Deschanel knows she is being adorable.
She just came out of a long relationship. The writers hope that we forget this within the first 10 minutes of the pilot episode.
Deschanel is supposed to carry her own show while submitting to the misogynistic men who help "train" her to be better at getting guys. Her roommates manage to be stock characters as well as vague and undefined.
If anything, watch the show for Deschanel.
If the show's goal was to portray a girl whom every girl wants to be and guys want to marry, then it succeeds.
After watching, we feel worse about ourselves. If she cannot get a guy, then there is no hope for the rest of us nerds. Who is that girl? It's JESS!
