Fix: Rom-com, opposites attract, Veronica Mars meets Seth Cohen
Platform: Netflix
Netflix Summary:
An agnostic sex podcaster and a newly single rabbi fall in love, but can their relationship survive their wildly different lives and meddling families?
FYA Summary:
By this point, if you haven’t heard about Nobody Wants This, it’s because you’ve thrown your phone away in a fit of rage/despair over the election season. (Totally reasonable.) So, for those of you still holding on to your phones, you’ve either heard about it and watched it, or you’ve heard about it and not yet watched it. For the former, I look forward to discussing! For the latter, be prepared for a HARD SELL because this series is just so freaking GREAT you guys.
So, Joanne (Kristen Bell) is a single woman who’s never really been in a serious relationship, mostly due to the fact that she isn’t interested in getting attached. Noah (Adam Brody), on the other hand, is a rabbi who’s been with his girlfriend, Rebecca, for a while—so long, in fact, that she assumes they’re engaged, which prompts Noah to realize she’s not The One.
When Joanne and Noah meet at a dinner party, sparks flyyyyyy, but can their (AMAZING) chemistry overcome the insane amount of hurdles to their relationship, including but not limited to: Joanne being a shiksa (non-Jewish woman) and Noah’s family being very NOT cool with that to the point of trying to sabotage their relationship; Joanne’s inability to be vulnerable; the fact that Joanne’s job* is doing a podcast with her sister, Morgan, where they talk about sex and relationships; and Noah’s promotion to Head Rabbi being dependent on him being with a Jewish woman?!!
Um, yeah, that’s a lot of obstacles, a.k.a. THE INGREDIENTS FOR THE PERFECT ROM-COM!
*One thing to know is that everyone in this movie is either rich (Noah’s family) or at least well-off. Like, Morgan and Joanne each have their own houses, in LA, and they’re nice bungalows. Even though their job is a podcast?? That doesn’t have a major ownership deal yet?? And you know what, I am more than happy to suspend disbelief because this is what classic rom-coms do, y’all. Oh, you work as a waitress and still live in a great apartment in San Francisco? Ah, you work for a magazine and own a penthouse? GOOD FOR YOU!
Familiar Faces:
Adam Brody as Noah; Kristen Bell as Joanne
I will never understand why it took so long for the world to get the pairing it deserves (haha okay because we don’t deserve it). Kristen Bell and Adam Brody are absolutely electric together, from their super-charged banter to their super-hot physical interactions to their super-nuanced ways of simply looking at each other. And the characters themselves are, of course, a big ingredient in the recipe for their romance.
Kristen Bell plays Joanne like a more realistic and likable Eleanor from The Good Place. She’s maybe not the best person, but she’s definitely not the worst, and her charm and humor make her someone I would definitely want to be friends with (but would absolutely never depend on). As Noah, Adam Brody is maybe too good to be true, but I’ll allow it because I’ve already established that this series is playing by the Classic Rom-Com Rules. Noah is kind and funny and thoughtful, and he makes Joanne feel safe enough to be vulnerable; he also calls her on her bullshit, which equals more sparks! The casting (and the writing) guarantees that it will be IMPOSSIBLE for you not to be rooting for these two as if your very existence depended on them being together.
Kristen Bell as Joanne; Justine Lupe as Morgan
Now, after I’ve said all that, I will admit something to you. My favorite couple on this show is actually Joanne and her sister. Justine Lupe (you may recognize her from Succession) is SUBLIME as Morgan, who is kinda shallow and dramatic but may very well be the more well-adjusted of the two? The way these two women talk to each other (both on and off the podcast) as well as bicker feels so incredibly real; as Joanne says, Morgan is her best friend and her mortal enemy. I LOVE THEM.
Timothy Simons as Sasha
My other fave on the series is Sasha, Noah’s brother. In the first episode, I was like, this guy is too awkward, he’s too much, please quit it with the annoying “wingman brother” bit. But then, as the series goes on, the writing—and Timothy Simons’ performance—evolves Sasha into such a lovable, layered, decent (but still weird) human being. I would dare to say Sasha might just be the MVP of Season One.
And then there’s a ton of other great actors, which I won’t delve into but yeah, everyone is at the top of their game on this show.
Couch-Sharing Capability: Qabatz!
I looked up that word, which the internet tells me is Hebrew* for “to gather or assemble” (please don’t be wrong and embarrass me, internet). This series is such a crowd pleaser, y’all, and while I watched it alone, I wish I had watched it with my book club, all of whom can appreciate a good rom-com (and the hotness that is Adam Brody). First of all, SO many laughs, from breezy asides to snappy barbs, I straight up chortled my way through episodes. Secondly, you’ll definitely want someone next to you so you can look at each other and say “Noooo!” or “Don’t do that!” or “I cannot BELIEVE she did that!” or “OMG Veronica and Dick!!!” (IYKYK.)
*I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Judaism is obviously an important element to the series. I’m not Jewish, but I enjoyed those elements and even learned a few things!
Recommended Level of Inebriation: L’Chaim!
There is a fair amount of drinking on this show, so feel free to pour yourself some wine and join in. While obviously drama pops up, as Noah and Joanne fight to stay together, let’s be real, the stakes are never THAT high. This series is way more of a good time than a bummer time, and I will always toast to that!
Use of Your Streaming Subscription: Everybody Wants This
I heard recently that a lot of platforms passed on Nobody Wants This, and to them I give a big ole Julia- Roberts-in-Pretty-Woman, “Big mistake. HUGE!” This series excels on every level, from the romance to the dynamic cast of characters to the razor-sharp writing, and I am so very thankful that we are getting a Season 2! I mean, yes, because I want to know how Noah and Joanne are doing, but also, I already miss my little misfit besties, Morgan and Sasha. Let us pray that they get their own podcast!
Also, to tide you over til S2, just gonna leave links riiight here to our Veronica Mars Rewatch Project and The O.C. Rewatch Project.
p.s. Nobody Wants This has a connection to a third series from the early 2000s which we have also, no surprise, recapped: Felicity! Lawrence Trilling directed several episodes of both shows, how cool is that?
