Just How Jewish Is Netflix's Kristen Bell and Adam Brody Romcom, 'Nobody Wants This'?

By Dustin Rowles | TV | September 27, 2024 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | September 27, 2024 |

Nobody Wants This is a new Netflix romantic comedy series about a “shiksa” named Joanne (Kristen Bell) who falls in love with a Rabbi, Noah (Adam Brody). Their story is nothing like my own, but it’s not not like it, either. My family is Jewish. My kids went to Jewish preschool, Jewish Day School for elementary, they’ve been going to Jewish Summer Camp since they were five (my son is a counselor), the boy teaches Hebrew school, and my wife — until a few months ago — was the director of the state’s largest Jewish organization, which made her one of the major leaders of the state’s Jewish community (she’s now the director of the Maine ACLU because she is seriously badass). We have Shabbat every Friday night. We’ll be attending high-holiday services next week. We as a family are deeply committed.

My wife is a convert, and I soon will be — some assume I already am. I should have been years ago, but there was a pandemic, my kid had cancer, and the rabbi went on Sabbatical, but I’m one meeting and a jump in the mikvah away from wrapping it up before the twins’ Bat Mitzvah in a few months. All of which is to say: Aside from dotting an I, I’ve gone through the same process that the creator of Nobody Wants This, Erin Foster, went through before she married her Jewish husband in real life, a relationship that formed the basis for this Netflix comedy.

And here’s the thing about Nobody Wants This: It’s really good. I came in very skeptical, particularly of the idea that a movie-length premise could sustain an entire season of television. It does, and leaves open the very real (and hopeful) possibility of a second season. Adam Brody is very good, and “Hot Rabbi” suits him well here. Kristen Bell is more Eleanor Shellstrop than Veronica Mars, but she’s well-suited to the role, too, although it has to be said that Timothy Simons (as Noah’s brother), Jackie Tohn (as Noah’s sister-in-law) and Justine Lupe (as Joanne’s sister) steal every scene they are in. Come for the hot romance between Adam Brody and Kristen Bell, but stick around for the fantastic supporting cast (which also includes Sherry Cola, Tovah Feldshuh, and even a few episodes with Stephen Tobolowsky and D’Arcy Carden).

But just how Jewish is it? Honestly, almost the perfect amount for what Nobody Wants This is trying to be: It’s cursory but still meaningful. Adam Brody — an agnostic Jew — does a fairly good job of selling the faith. If he were a rabbi in real life, there’d be a lot more converts.

And the series hits some of the major elements, and even turns candle lighting on Shabbat and star-watching on Havdalah into sweet romantic gestures. There is a visit to Jewish summer camp, being Kosher is well-played for laughs, there’s a fancy-ass Bat Mitzvah, and even a sprinkling of Hebrew words and phrases, some appropriately in context (a mitzvah here, a mazel there) and some not as much (“I can’t wait to teach you about tzedakah,” said no one ever).

I was particularly taken with a character saying that “converts are closer to God,” which is a very kind way of a born Jew to say, “Welcome! You may know more about certain aspects of our religion because you are intentional about it and had to study, but you don’t have the baggage of generations and generations of antisemitism, so maintain some humility. Baruch Hashem.”

What Nobody Wants This does not do, however, is mention Israel, which is fine by me, as someone who keeps my faith separate from the actions of an ultra-right wing government in the Middle East (something that a lot of non-Jews are less capable of). That doesn’t mean I’m not a Zionist (depending on how that word is defined), but it’s not much different than acknowledging that I am proudly an American while distancing myself from MAGA. In real life, maybe every Jew has to publicly acknowledge their opinion on Benjamin Netanyahu (war criminal), but this is a Netflix romcom. Let us have this.

“After Oct. 7, there were questions like, ‘Are we going to bring this up? Are we going to acknowledge it?’” Erin Foster told the Associated Press. “And the truth is, I always felt very confident that this is not the show to try to solve any issues that are happening in the world. I’m not the right person to tell that story because I don’t live in Israel and I didn’t grow up Jewish. It’s not responsible for me to pretend like I know what that experience would be like.” Instead, she’s happy to tell a positive Jewish story, especially at a time when people feel overlooked and not seen.

And as someone who picked one hell of a time to convert, a few positive Jewish stories is exactly what we need right now. I hope people flock to this series because it’s funny, romantic, and a little Jewish — and a second season, should Netflix renew it, has the real potential to be a lot more Jewish.