‘Nobody Wants This’ series review: Kristen Bell and Adam Brody keep you hooked to this sweet if shallow rom-com

A still from ‘Nobody Wants This’
| Photo Credit: IMDb

It almost sounds like the beginning of a joke — a cynical relationship podcaster meets a rabbi. While there are laughs to be had on Nobody Wants This, inspired by creator Erin Foster’s love story (she was a cynical writer till she met her Jewish husband), the series also looks at interfaith romance, the pressure of families, and the love, hate and competition that mark most sibling relationships. That these homilies are delivered in tiny, digestible episodes is an added bonus.

Joanne (Kristen Bell) runs a successful podcast (119 episodes to be precise) on sex and relationships with her sassy sister, Morgan (Justine Lupe). Noah (Adam Brody), a rabbi, is waiting for the right moment to propose to his perfect Jewish girlfriend, Rebecca (Emily Arlook), when he sees her already wearing the ring! Her reasoning being why wait, when they both know what they want. That proves the final straw for Noah and the two break up.

Fresh off a disastrous date, which Morgan rescues her from (after stopping to take money from an ATM — mom always said you need cash at the end of the world), Joanne heads off to a party thrown by her best friend  and agent, Ashley (Sherry Cola). Noah is also there at the party as he is Ashley’s neighbour and she feels a party would cheer him up after his break-up.

After the requisitely charming meet-cute, sparks fly between Joanne and Noah. There are, however, difficulties, including Noah’s boss, Rabbi Cohen (Stephen Tobolowsky), telling Noah he would need a Jewish wife if he is ever to become head rabbi at Temple Chai. With big companies interested in investing in the podcast, Morgan feels ever since Joanne has started dating Noah, the podcast has become boring. Morgan feels Joanne is turning herself into something she is not just to please Noah. That causes friction between the sisters.

There are the families, too. While Joanne’s divorced parents—mum Lynn (Stephanie Faracy) and newly gay dad, Henry (Michael Hitchcock), are welcoming and curious of Noah, it is nothing compared to the scrutiny and opposition to Joanne from Noah’s family. His mum, Bina (Tovah Feldshuh), is quite the tartar apart from being Noah’s “favourite person in the whole world.” Noah’s dad, Ilan (Paul Ben-Victor), is all about keeping the peace. His brother, Sasha (Timothy Simons), is supportive while Sasha’s scarily competent wife, Esther (Jackie Tohn), being the perfect-Rebecca’s friend, is most definitely not on team Joanne.

Sasha and Morgan finding common ground in being the “loser siblings” is one of the charming aspects of the show. There is the basketball game, winning over the WAGs, Jewish camp, Joanne feeling inadequate before Rebecca, who does not even need socials for validation(!), and crashing Sasha and Esther’s daughter Miriam’s (Shiloh Bearman) Bat Mitzvah party.

A still from A still from ‘Nobody Wants This’
| Photo Credit:
IMDb

Noah seems too good to be true and you are not alone in waiting for Joanne to do a Carrie Bradshaw by searching his house for signs of weirdness. The strangest object in the mysterious box of Rebecca’s things that Noah has, a cast of Rebecca’s baby foot, is cutely creepy. Nobody Wants This is the exact opposite of its title with the petit fours sliding by in happily bingeable episodes greased by the jolly chemistry between Bell and Brody.

Nobody Wants This is currently streaming on Netflix