‘I just feel bad for Jennifer Aniston’: ‘New Girl’ actor Jake Johnson

They couldn’t get it off the ground.

In a new profile in the Hollywood Reporter, “New Girl” alum Jake Johnson opens up about the best TV show he never made — and why he was shocked when the promising pilot crash-landed.

Best-known for his role as the grumpy, lovable Nick Miller, who fumbled his way through seven seasons of the Zooey Deschanel sitcom, Johnson is back on our screens (and in our hearts) for Season 2 of “Minx,” where he stars as a sleazy ’70s publisher behind the first erotic magazine for women.

But according to Johnson, a failed pilot he shot for Apple TV+ could’ve been his biggest hit.

Before it was shot down due to budgeting constraints in the early days of the pandemic, the show — another ’70s-set sitcom, this one about a cult — was met with rave reviews.

Johnson laughed, remembering how he got ahead of himself, after the pilot’s early reviews.

“I’m finally getting the respect I deserve,” Johnson recalled thinking, adding that he “didn’t even think there was an option of [the show] not getting picked up.”

He pictured the accolades awaiting his return to the small screen.

“My only thought was, ‘How do they tell ‘The Morning Show’ that they just got knocked off the Apple pedestal? I just feel bad for Jen Aniston,’” he remembered thinking.

Needless to say, it came as a surprise to hear that the show was D.O.A.

“In my head, I’d already won every award and changed the game,” Johnson said. “Then I get the call that they’re not moving forward. You panic … And then, very quickly, you realize it’s dead.”

Since then, Johnson has contended with more successes and failures.

“Minx” turned a profit for Max, but the streamer canceled the show nonetheless.

Then came the news that it would be picked up by Starz for a second season, which just so happens to premiere on July 21, or “Barbenheimer” Day, when the ‘Barbie’ film and ‘Oppenheimer are both set to be released.

These days, Johnson said he doesn’t put the cart before the horse. Currently, he is focused on his upcoming directorial debut, “Self Reliance.”