 " New Year 's Eve " was written by supervising producer Erica <unk> , marking her third writing credit for the series after " Mr. Bob 's <unk> <unk> " and " Parents " . The episode was directed by Beth McCarthy @-@ Miller , who previously worked with creator Emily Spivey and executive producer Lorne Michaels on Saturday Night Live as director for 11 years . The episode features a guest appearance from Jason Lee as Kevin , Ava 's boyfriend . He first appeared in the eighth episode , " First Night Away " and is currently set to appear in a recurring role for the series . Lee had previously worked with Spivey and Michaels after hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live on November 12 , 2005 . This is the first time the series aired in the 9 : 30 pm timeslot for the first season after The Office ; the series previously aired in the 8 : <unk> timeslot on Wednesday . The series switched <unk> with another NBC comedy series , Whitney . Some media critics have said that the goal for moving the series was in order to make it more of a ratings success , like The Office . 
