The Netflix romantic comedy series Nobody Wants This was created by Erin Foster, based loosely on her real life romance. The show centers on Joanne, an unlucky-in-love agnostic sex podcaster played by Kristen Bell, who finds herself falling for Noah, a nice, charming, unconventional Rabbi played by Adam Brody.
Nobody Wants This
Release Date September 6, 2024
Creator(s) Erin Foster
Cast Kristen Bell , Adam Brody , Justine Lupe , Timothy Simons , Jackie Tohn , Tovah Feldshuh , Paul Ben-Victor , Sherry Cola , Stephanie Faracy , Emily Arlook , Shiloh Bearman , Stephen Tobolowsky , Michael Hitchcock , D’Arcy Carden , Eric Satterberg
Seasons 1
Writers Erin Foster
Showrunner Erin Foster , Craig DiGregorio
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It turns out almost everybody wanted this. With 10.3 million views in the first four days of streaming, the series quickly became a megahit. The hot priest from Fleabag has been usurped by the hot rabbi, who will be returning for an already announced second season. Here are a few reasons why the show resonated with so many people.
10 The Reality of Modern Dating
The series opens with Joanne having walked out on a first date because the guy was crying about his grandmother – who died when he was 12. Then she’s annoyed when he asks where she went, and you realize she left the poor guy sitting at a table. This sets the below-sea-level stage for the depth of awful dating has reached.
It’s Hard Out There
Talk to any 30 or 40-year-old who is out there trying to date, and they will confirm the horror of it all. It is dismal, folks. Scrutinizing photos for glimpses of baggage and trauma, trying to figure out if this person is worth putting together an outfit for is exhausting. It’s made jaded, run-for-the-hills creatures of all of us, and this show nailed it.
9 The God Factor
The series brings religion into the fold without making it about religion. Yes, Noah is a rabbi, and he gives sermons, but that’s not his entire identity. It’s obviously the huge elephant in the room – an agnostic dating a rabbi – but you aren’t hit over the head by it. It’s one puzzle piece of hundreds, albeit a huge piece in their on-again, off-again romance.
You Gotta Have Faith
There are five things people want to know before swiping left or right: age, height, location, job, and religion. Of course, there are some honorable mentions, but this is the main squad. Religion can be a huge dealbreaker in relationships, so it was nice to finally see a show that displayed that as a factor at all.
8 Joanne and Morgan
Perhaps the biggest love story in Nobody Wants This is the relationship between Joanne and her divorced sister Morgan, portrayed by Justine Lupe. They’re best friends who host a zero-filter, sex positive podcast. When Joanne starts dating Noah, her relationship with Morgan takes a lot of hits.
Soulmates
When you’re older and single, you inevitably start “dating” your friends – you know each other’s schedules, you’re always there for each other, they’re your emergency contact, they’re your everything. Their opinion and validation is more important than you’ll ever admit. Morgan and Joanne ride that fine line between love and hate, and it’s one hundred percent accurate.
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7 Esther’s Disinterest in Joanne
Sasha Roklov, played by Timothy Simons, is Noah’s almost always high, go-with-the-flow brother. He is married to Esther, played by Jackie Tohn, who was Noah’s ex’s best friend. As Noah courts Joanne, Esther snubs, avoids, and disapproves of Joanne until she’s literally cornered at a basketball game with booze.
Girl Code
Esther’s loyalty to her friend is commendable. Watching a new person try to take the place of someone you care about is uncomfortable. It’s like a stranger encroaching on your territory. Esther not liking Joanne comes as no surprise because it’s so real. If we were Esther, we’d hate Joanne too.
6 Dysfunctional Family Syndrome
Joanne’s parents are separated, and they celebrate by going to dinner every year even though her mother clearly isn’t handling it well. Her dad is now dating a man he met on Grindr. Morgan thinks Joanne is changing herself for Noah and is now boring. Noah’s family, besides his brother, aren’t open-armed to Noah dating anyone outside the Jewish community. It’s Noah and Joanne against the world.
Welcome to Crazytown
For better or for worse, family is a part of the package, almost always overprotective and looking for the smallest sign of weakness. The noise that surrounds a relationship can be deafening. If you’ve ever been in a relationship, you know that everyone believes they are entitled to an opinion about it and that you need to hear it. Joanne and Noah, we feel you.
5 Joanne’s Desire to Be Liked
“I need to get them to like me by tomorrow!” And that pretty much states the intensity of Joanne’s need to be loved by Noah’s friends and family. She takes it very seriously and goes down the line, winning everyone over one by one – even Esther.
Miss Congeniality
Whenever you’re in a new relationship, you want the friends and family of the person you’re dating to like you – unless you’re a sociopath. It’s natural to want to fit into their life and be welcomed by the people they care about. On that note, if anyone isn’t sure, prosciutto is, in fact, pork. Word to the wise.
4 Imperfect Relationships
Joanne and Noah go through a lot of ups and downs fueled by fear, insecurity, and bad habits. Lucky for Joanne, Noah has very strong communication skills, and he makes her talk everything out, even when she tries to run away from the conversation. The show makes a normal, flawed relationship look healthy, which is something new and different.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Nothing and no one is perfect and love is about embracing all of it. A lot of times, film and television have a tendency to write relationships either too perfect or unhealthy to a disturbing degree. More shows need to give healthy relationships that aren’t always on the verge of destruction a shot. As it turns out, they’re fun to watch and extremely relatable.
Related 10 Movies That Portray Genuinely Healthy Relationships
These films inspire us to search for relationships built on mutual respect, communication, and emotional balance.
3 Joanne’s Obsession With Rebecca
Joanne will be the first one to admit that she has a bit of a fixation with Rebecca, Noah’s ex, played by Emily Arlook. She asks Noah all about her and when that isn’t enough, she resorts to stalking her on Instagram, which Rebecca doesn’t have, making Joanne believe that she’s the kind of girl that doesn’t need validation – what a monster.
The Ex-Factor
If you’ve ever dated anyone ever and not thought about their ex once – you’re a liar. It’s natural to wonder about their past. It’s this magical window into who they were and how you fit into the picture now. It may not be the healthiest curiosity, but we’ve all been down that rabbit hole. Joanne is all of us.
2 The Inevitable Ick
Noah meets Joanne’s parents and earns himself the inevitable ick when he tries too hard to impress her family by wearing a “sport coat” over his sweatshirt holding a larger-than-life bouquet of sunflowers. Lucky for Noah, he accomplishes the impossible, avoids a devastating breakup, and makes a comeback.
No Going Back
As Morgan explains, the ick is like a chinese handcuff: the harder you try to get out of it, the more impossible it is to escape. There’s usually no going back, and that’s why most relationships don’t even get off the ground. Find someone who can handle you like Joanna did. It helps.
1 Joanne’s Biggest Fear
In one of the best episodes of the season, Noah asks what Joanne fears the most. The only way she can open up is by turning her back to him and confessing, “I will become emotionally dependent on a guy who will one day realize that I’m too much and break my heart.” Insert all the tears here.
These Are My Confessions
Joanne’s fear of not being good enough is so very relatable – even more so when you’re still navigating the “what this is?” portion of a relationship. But Joanne taught us that if you share your crazy, and they stick around, they might just be worth keeping.
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