A romance podcaster and a Jewish Rabbi enter a relationship…
In late September the first episode of “Nobody Wants This” aired on Netflix as a new romantic comedy show. There’s Only one season with ten episodes, but it was renewed for a second season. Each episode is around 25-30 minutes long, so they’re on the shorter side and easier to binge watch, since I watched it all in one day. While it was a great show, don’t sit on your couch for over 3 hours.
Just a warning about this show there are a fair amount of profanity and scenes that are more than inappropriate. This is also clearly made in 2024, when they make a lot of pop references, like “ick,” “sus,” “Soulja Boy” and the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. Be prepared for grown adults using these. Hearing this from people who are in their 40’s say “that was sus” and that gave me the ick started to give me the ick. It just felt really strange but once I adjusted I enjoyed the show.
I really liked the story line of two people who come together from different lifestyles and upbringings. While the show was very personalized to them, it almost felt relatable because of how different dating is now. There was a lot of talk about online dating and trying to date in a world where sometimes people focus less on the relationship and more on the physical aspect. I did feel a lot of second hand embarrassment and moments where I looked away with cringe, but I think that is a common part of dating where there are moments that are a little cringe.
This show follows a podcaster, Joanne (Kristen Bell), who talks about relationships in a modern society and how many people find dates on dating apps and how many end up poorly. Then Joanne meets a freshly single Rabbi, Noah (Adam Brody),who lives out every aspect of his life immersed in Jewish faith.
It’s no surprise when the two of them fall in love, but how successful could it be if a podcaster who’s whole brand is to talk about the dirty details of relationships gets with a Rabbi, who can’t date a non-Jewish person? The big question is can the blooming relationship survive the test and opinion of their families.
Joanne comes from a rather dysfunctional family, her parents are divorced, her and sister, Morgan (Justine Lupe) run the podcast but often go through sibling fights. Joanne hasn’t had a stable relationship and ends up going on bad date after bad date and uses it for material on her show.
Noah is living in what seems like a different world. He is a Rabbi and loves his Jewish faith and tradition and his parents are married and very involved with his life. His brother Sasha (Timothy Simmons) and sister in law Esther (Jackie Tohn) want what’s best for Noah but they take the meddling route and try to rekindle the relationship he had with his Jewish ex-fiance.
Each person comes from a vastly different family dynamic and that explains a lot about who they are and why they do what they do. I like how they weaved this into the show because our families play a big part in why we are the way we are, and how sometimes our families best interest for us can stand in the way of what we want.
While they seem like Joanne and Noah are in a completely different world they met at a mutual friends party and from there they each make sacrifices to see where this relationship can go. It becomes very clear they have strong feelings for each other and they have to tune out the world to see if this relationship is worth stirring up controversy.
The show ends on a bit of a cliff hanger, which is frustrating but is a nice set up for the next season. The whole show Joanne tries to get Noah’s family to like her, with much difficulty and Noah does what he can to understand her life. It’s a lot of will they, won’t they and against all odds can the couple make it?
This was a fun show to watch, there were times where I felt a sense of singleness, but also hope that if it really matters then we can fight for the things we want.
Hopefully with not too many spoilers, watch this show to see if Joanna and Noah can rise above all outside noise to become the couple they want to be. This show, while being a rom-com, addresses a lot of current issues, of making sacrifices to be with someone you care about, following your own heart, and stepping out of comfort zones to really be open to what a person can offer. Each of them has to open their minds, hearts and souls to each other to really understand who they are, address past relationship trauma, and show cultural differences.