Prince Agreed To Appear On New Girl Under Some Very Specific Conditions

Once sitcoms reach a certain level of pedigree, they can get some pretty major guest stars to swing by. "New Girl," which ran for seven seasons on Fox, was no exception, and the series had some notable names pop up over the years, including Jamie Lee Curtis and Rob Reiner playing Jessica Day's (Zooey Deschanel) parents. That's really only the tip of the iceberg as the show also boasted the likes of Megan Fox, Jessica Biel, and Taylor Swift, to name a few. However, even with those big names, arguably the most impressive cameo the show pulled off was landing pop music icon Prince for the episode, appropriately titled, "Prince."

The singer doesn't exactly have an illustrious filmography outside of his role in "Purple Rain," so it was a substantial accomplishment for him to appear on a primetime sitcom. Prince was reportedly a big fan of the show, so it made sense to an extent he would make an appearance only under the condition that none of the Kardashians, who were scheduled to have cameos in the episode as well, appeared (via Vanity Fair).

However, that wasn't the only condition Prince had before making doves cry on "New Girl." He had a list of comprehensive demands that had to be met, and of course, those running the show were more than happy to accommodate him.

For those that don't remember the episode (as if that's even possible), the gang winds up at a party at Prince's house. While the musician's hard to come by initially, he appears out of nowhere right when Nick (Jake Johnson) and Jessica are in the middle of a tiff. While the couple deals with the fallout of Nick telling Jess that he loves her and her responding by giving him finger guns, Prince functions as a love conduit between the two, allowing them to share their true feelings for one another. 

It's an episode that only works because of Prince's monstrous iconic status, and when you have the opportunity to have Prince make his first sitcom appearance ever, you better believe he's going to make the most of it. Show creator Elizabeth Meriwether spoke with Vulture about the cameo and how Prince wanted to make the fictional Prince party as close to a real Prince party as possible. As she put it, "He wanted to choose the name of the non-speaking chef character, the chef's wardrobe, the paintings on the walls, the linens in the bedroom set, his wardrobe, Zooey's wardrobe, the music, the pancakes, the hairstyles ... he had a piece of art, a poem written out in the shape of an egg, flown from Minnesota to hang on the wall of the set. His vision of the episode was all-encompassing, but I never felt overpowered. He always asked what I thought. It was like he was asking me to rise up to meet him."

The result is arguably the most memorable episode of "New Girl" ever and a fitting tribute to His Royal Badness.