Netflix’s Nobody Wants This has been the talk around the table during the Jewish holidays. The new romantic comedy series follows Joanne, a non-Jewish podcaster living in Los Angeles—played by Kristen Bell, who also serves as co-executive producer—as she falls in love with Noah, an assistant rabbi at a local temple, played by Adam Brody.

The rom-com is an international hit, and Netflix has ordered a second season of the show. But it is not without controversy. The series has sparked discussions about Jewish representation as well as criticism for what many viewers deem stereotypical portrayals of Jewish women, including in the characters of Esther, played by Jackie Tohn, Noah’s sister-in-law, and Bina, played by Tovah Feldshuh, Noah’s overbearing mother. If that sounds familiar to you, that’s because Feldshuh has previously perfected such an interpretation of the Jewish mother in Rachel Bloom’s hit series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and in the film Kissing Jessica Stein.

Despite this, the series has a 95 percent approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers praising both its cast and sharp, witty dialogue.

Executive producer and creator Erin Foster drew from her own experiences dating her now-husband when conceiving the show. (Before marrying Jewish entertainment executive Simon Tikhman, CEO of The Core Entertainment, she converted to Judaism.) Foster is the daughter of legendary music producer David Foster and, like her main character Joanne, she hosts a podcast with her sister.

Nobody Wants This blends romance and humor with poignant moments as Noah and Joanne’s relationship evolves. He becomes Joanne’s guide to faith and Judaism—a subject she knows absolutely nothing about.

In one scene, for example, he sets up a makeshift “first Shabbat” for her at a restaurant, complete with two candles, wine for kiddush and bread. As she lights the candles and he recites the prayers, he explains their significance to her.

Those Jewish moments were “important to me,” the 42-year-old Foster told Hadassah Magazine in an interview. “Not everyone’s looking for a religious show, right? And not everyone’s looking for a show that’s going to talk about and teach you religion, especially with today’s climate. And so, I really wanted to ride the line between sprinkling in some interesting trivia or facts or lessons, so that people could fall in love with Judaism or Jewish culture in ways that they didn’t know before, and not making it heavy handed, so we didn’t lose people.”

Joanne, who considers herself agnostic, is described in the opening episode as not having “a Jewish bone in her”—a point of contention for Noah’s family and a challenge for him. He has envisioned a future with a Jewish family and is being considered for chief rabbi of his synagogue (which is clearly liberal, though its specific denomination is not mentioned). Even though Joanne charms everyone she meets, dating, much less marrying, a non-Jew is frowned upon by the the synagogue leaders and congregants. 

“Are you even a little bit Jewish, like an aunt, a grandmother? A forged document?” he asks her. The answer is, no.

Noah acts as teacher for both Joanne and the audience, explaining Jewish rituals like Havdalah, the many meanings of “shalom” and Jewish pro-sex attitudes. He even quotes Talmudic discussions about lashon hara, or gossip, in one episode.

“I really wanted some people to leave some episodes thinking, ‘oh, I didn’t know that. That’s cool,’ ” Forster said of the light Jewish lessons woven throughout the series.

While she emphasized the importance of Jewish representation in television and movies, Foster had not planned on spearheading an especially Jewish project during a time of significant antisemitism. 

“When I started working on this project, it was in 2019, so we weren’t in the situation that we’re in today,” she said. “You know, in some ways, we kind of always are, but it wasn’t as public in the media….”

But she feels it is a fortuitous coincidence, “in the sense that my contribution to the conversation is to hopefully giving people a show that is a positive experience around Jewish culture. The gift of a Jewish rom-com—we haven’t really had one of those!”

And no one gives off the Jewish rom-com vibes more than Brody’s “hot rabbi.” The actor, who previously played Jewish characters in Fleishman Is in Trouble and The OC, is cast perfectly in the role.

In an early episode, Noah admits to Joanne that he plays up “the Torah bad-boy vibe,” even as he is fully committed to Judaism. “I just loved the idea of taking the character of a rabbi and making him cool and cute and like a sex symbol,” Foster said with enthusiasm. “I just hadn’t seen that (onscreen) and I thought it would be swoony in a new way.”

Noah’s kindness, humor and honesty were just as crucial for Foster, who wanted to create a different kind of leading man—someone, she said, you “should” end up with.

Many rom-coms “create this dynamic of the guy that won’t settle down, who’s giving you the runaround or who isn’t interested in you, and he finally chooses you and makes you feel so special,” she explained. “I spent my 20s in relationships like that, which were really unhealthy for me and totally set me up for failure and made me feel bad about myself.

“If we can romanticize and make sexy,” she added, “falling for a guy who’s honest and emotionally available and also cute and hot and funny and challenges you, then maybe it helps young girls think being the good guy is cool.”

While Joanne is based on Foster, many of Noah’s emotional touchpoints are inspired by her husband, Foster said, whom she described as thoughtful, kind, confident and clear about his values. He “believes in people,” she said, “and wants to create a safe space for you to be exactly who you are.”

And the chemistry between Brody and Bell, good friends offscreen, is palpable, adding authenticity to the portrayal of a couple from different backgrounds navigating those differences—a challenge Foster recalls from her own dating experience.

“I think you have to have the hard conversations early, and from a place of openness,” she said. “I remember early on in my relationship with Simon, he said, ‘Well, you know, obviously we’re gonna name our children after one of our grandparents.’ And I was like, ‘Sorry, what? No, I already have my names picked out, they are already in a file somewhere on my phone! I’m not naming them after your grandfather I’ve never met!’

“But that is the Jewish custom, right? So, he had to accept that I didn’t grow up that way, and I had to accept that he did grow up that way. And so, you have to turn the knob down a little bit on the intensity and try to understand where the other person’s coming from. Usually, you end up somewhere in the middle.”

Finding that middle ground has worked for Foster and her family. She and Tikhman welcomed a baby girl, Noa Mimi, in May—though she hasn’t disclosed who she’s named after.

“I try not to over fill my plate every day, because I’m trying to enjoy where I’m at,” she said of juggling being a mom to a 6-month-old and promoting Nobody Wants This. “And I feel really lucky right now. I am in the greatest peak of my life, having all these things happen at the same time.”

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