If you weren’t living under a rock during the summer, you probably saw one of the slew of promotional clips for Fox’s new comedy, “New Girl,” in which, after a messy breakup—to make a long story short—Zooey Deschanel is one of the guys.

Naturally, I was excited. Not because Zooey was her usual hilarious self, or because the premise of the story in itself seemed interesting, but because the entire plot seemed like cheerful disaster just waiting to happen. And that’s what we all know and love as comedy, correct?

The premise of the show is simple and what you’d expect. Deschanel is Jess Day, a quirky 20-something who’s just moved in with three guys with a spare room posted on Craigslist. The guys turn out to be equally quirky, each in their own slightly stereotypical way—the athlete, the playboy, and the insecure. Hilarity ensues Hopefully, anyway.

So I set out, hoping that the show I had high hopes for this year didn’t disappoint. Past my initial (grudging) misgivings, it made the cut, as it more than did so on the national level. The pilot episode, as expected, was basically a loosely fleshed-out version of the trailer, and barely twenty minutes long, but don’t let that deter you.

As it turns out, it didn’t need to be longer. The show snagged the rights to be called a smash hit when Fox requested a total of 24 episodes after just a couple of weeks in.

But back to the cast and motley crew. The characters themselves are figures we’ve all seen before, in other sitcoms, movies, and novels. It’s how they blend together that makes the show. Deschanel is refreshing as a female lead who stands on her own. Awkward at times, cheerful during others, and lovable whatever she happens to be doing, she plays Jess’ character perfectly, which may break into song at random times. Other actresses would butcher the role, but Deschanel makes it seem natural, not at all forced.

As I steadily made my way through the queue of the released episodes (the size of which was pretty scant, since the show was put on a short hiatus), I saw that we are not subjected to a laser-focus on her cutesy character. I was happy to see that the show didn’t leave the remaining cast of guys (and girl, Jess’ model friend) out to flounder as perpetual backup dancers. Not too much, but just enough attention was paid to the others, who seem acceptably three-dimensional.

“New Girl” endears itself not because it’s original, or overly hilarious, but simply because it doesn’t take itself too seriously. It doesn’t need to be too witty. And thankfully it doesn’t have a laugh track like most otehr shows of its kind.

So the stage is set. The few released episodes show major promise, but can “New Girl” hold a top spot? We’ll see. Until then, I’ll be enjoying the ride.