Netflix’s ‘HOOPS’ Will Feature ‘New Girl’ Reunions

Former New Girl star Jake Johnson is starring in Netflix‘s new animated series, Hoops, but he is not the only alum lending his voice. Several other regulars and guest characters alike will take part during a reunion of sorts. This includes Max Greenfield, the man who portrayed Schmidt and became a fan-favorite.

Johnson helped reveal the stacked list of actors during the show’s Comic-Con@Home panel. The series announced Hannah Simone (Cece) and Damon Wayans Jr. (Coach) would join Greenfield on the guest list. Comedian Nick Swardson, Sam Richardson and Will Forte (MacGruber) will also make appearances during Hoop’s first season.

The cast also includes Rob Riggle as Ben’s father, Barry and Natasha Leggero as Shannon, Ben’s estranged wife. Ron Funches plays Ron, the assistant coach and Ben’s best friend while Cleo King plays Opal, the principal of Lenwood High School. Finally, A.D. Miles is Matty, a 16-year-old seven-footer who is one of the players on the team. Riggle, King and Funches all had guest roles on New Girl.

The New Girl connection also extends to Hoop’s creator. Ben Hoffman created the animated series starring Johnson, but he also once guest-starred on New Girl. He played a character named Sherman during one episode in 2012.

Netflix recently released the trailer for Hoops, showing Johnson’s character of Coach Ben Hopkins in action. During this brief clip, Hopkins attempted to explain why the “follow-through” is the essential part of shooting hoops, but he continued to miss each shot. This led to Johnson uttering several swear words in front of his high school basketball team. This fits with the character description, which said that Hopkins is “a hot-headed, foul-mouthed high school basketball coach who thinks turning around his godawful team will take him to the ‘big leagues.”

During the Comic-Con@Home panel, Hoffman and the show’s cast members showed off some new footage from Hoops. The short clip put Hopkins on full display as he screamed at multiple referees at a basketball game. The character took issue with the size difference between his players and the opposing team. Additionally, he didn’t agree with some of the calls taking place on this court and used “colorful language” to make this point to the referees.

With the revelation that many other New Girl actors are appearing in Hoops, fans are reacting with anticipation. They will not have to wait long to watch the first season of Netflix’s show. Hoops will debut on Aug. 21.