Nobody Wants This

*Nobody Wants This* is a Netflix romantic comedy created by Erin Foster. Its first season, released in September 2024, follows Joanne, a Los Angeles podcaster who is agnostic, and Noah, a rabbi recovering from a breakup. They meet at a dinner party and begin a relationship, but their different religious backgrounds and expectations quickly complicate the romance. Joanne is played by Kristen Bell; Adam Brody plays Noah.

The show draws on a specific change in Foster’s own life. Foster has said that her relationship with her husband, music executive Simon Tikhman, inspired the story: she was not Jewish when they met and later converted to Judaism. The series is not presented as a literal account of their courtship, but that experience informs its focus on interfaith dating, conversion, family pressure, and the question of how much a person should change for a partner.

Joanne’s sister, Morgan, is her co-host and closest confidante. Justine Lupe plays Morgan, while Timothy Simons plays Sasha, Noah’s brother and a Jewish school principal. Their sibling relationships provide a parallel to the central romance: Morgan and Sasha are both wary of Joanne and Noah’s relationship, but their own connection develops as the story progresses. Noah’s parents, Bina and Henry, are played by Tovah Feldshuh and Paul Ben-Victor. Their hopes for Noah’s future, including his possible advancement within the synagogue, make his romantic choices consequential beyond the couple themselves.

The series was renewed for a second season after its debut. Its first season’s ten episodes were directed by directors including Greg Mottola and Dean Holland. Foster had previously worked as a writer and producer, including on *The New Normal* and *Barely Famous*, the reality series she made with her sister Sara Foster. *Nobody Wants This* marks a shift toward a scripted romantic comedy centered on a couple negotiating religion and family life.

The show’s premise depends on concrete incompatibilities rather than a mistaken identity or a single romantic obstacle: Joanne’s public work involves discussing sex and relationships, while Noah’s vocation places him within a religious community with its own traditions and expectations. Their attraction does not resolve those differences. Instead, the first season follows the practical and emotional negotiations that arise when a relationship becomes serious, including how each partner is received by the other’s family and whether a shared future requires conversion.