In the third episode of season two of Netflix’s hit comedy “Nobody Wants This,” Rabbi Noah Roklov, a young rabbi played by Adam Brody, laments to his gentile girlfriend Joanne Franklin (Kristen Bell) and her sister Morgan (Justine Lupe) that another rabbi in town— known as “Big Noah” — has been promoted to senior rabbi at Temple Chai in Los Angeles.
“Things are just a little slow right now,” Noah (Brody) says to the sisters over breakfast. “People are interested in working with the Big Noah; knocking on my door a little bit less. Personally, I think he peaked at his first sermon — oh my gosh, he actually got the cover of Jewish Journal, which, like, you don’t know. You don’t even know how hard that is to get.”
(He’s right. There are only 50 Jewish Journal covers per year, yet over half a million Jews in Los Angeles.)
Brody’s character serves at Temple Chai. In the first season, Noah meets and starts dating Joanne, a secular Angeleno who co-hosts a sex and relationships podcast with her younger sister, Morgan.
The series was created by real-life sisters Erin and Sara Foster, daughters of Canadian music producer David Foster. The show draws heavily from Erin’s own interfaith marriage and her decision to convert to Judaism.
When a Rabbi Noah is up for a promotion to senior rabbi, his relationship with Joanne creates some static in the synagogue’s community. News of the gossip is broken to Noah by the soon-to-be-emeritus Senior Rabbi Cohen (Stephen Tobolowsky).
A 2020 Pew Research Center study took a survey of 4,718 American Jews. Among currently married U.S. Jews, 42% have a non-Jewish spouse, and among Jews who married since 2010, the intermarriage figure is 61%. For married Orthodox Jews, 98% have Jewish spouses. Among non-Orthodox Jews who married since 2010, 72% are intermarried.
Season 1, which premiered last year, followed Noah and Joanne’s improbable relationship from flirting at a dinner party to having “the talk” at his niece Miriam’s bat mitzvah. By the finale, Joanne considered converting, Noah jeopardized his shot at a promotion, yet both decide to endure the fallout of their love.
“Maybe the most interesting thing about it for me is the religiosity of it,” Brody said at a media event at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in June. “And I’m not a rabbi. At first I thought, ‘Oh wow, I’m out of my depth there.’ But then that’s what makes it acting. That’s what makes it fun. That’ll be fun to research and broaden my knowledge about that.”
Brody said that since the first season, he’s heard from many viewers in interfaith relationships who feel “seen” by the show. “A lot of people in interfaith relationships see a very positive portrayal of Judaism and interfaith love,” he told The Journal. “Or at least that’s the nature of people who talk to me about it. If they hate it, they’re not going to speak to me.”
Bell, who also serves as an executive producer, was attached to the project from the start. She said that she admires how the Fosters’ scripts turned small details into entire stories. “They capture this hyper-realistic comedy almost the way ‘Seinfeld’ did,” Bell said. “The whole 30 minutes could be about soup or a bagel or someone’s date not smiling — something so tiny — but they make a meal out of it. I was very aware how many of my girlfriends were going through what Joanne was going through. They’re on dating apps, they hate it, they’re in their 40s. They’re like, ‘Is this ever going to happen for me?’”
Season 2 picks up right where the first left off. In the Season 2 opener, Joanne narrates to her podcast audience:
“You might remember that against all odds, ‘the prophet’ and I fell in love and we became an adorable couple. Then, at a very fun bat mitzvah for his niece, I freaked out and broke it off. I was actually being very selfless, putting his career over my own happiness … but he ran after me in a very romantic way. And now we’re making it work.”
Morgan then calls her sister’s romance “a psychotically annoying relationship.” Noah and Joanne are still together, but the question has changed. It’s no longer “can this work, yes or no?” The question is, “what will they be willing to sacrifice to make it work?”
The show has many relatable laughs, for both Jews and anyone navigating complicated romantic relationships. “Nobody Wants This” doesn’t rely on the tropes of sitcom Jews. There’s no Woody Allen-like character, and the words “guilt” and “neurotic” are not used at all. Noah and his brother are a charming pair of Jewish brothers, their rec basketball team name is the “Matzah Ballers.” The clergy isn’t sanctimonious and most of the characters’ objections to the couple are explored beyond simply dismissing it as, “not Jewish, not approved.” The show doesn’t mock conversion nor make light of Noah’s convictions and faith.
Noah and Joanne’s relationship is now public, messy and fully lived-in. Joanne is learning what it means to share a life with a respected clergyman, while also being resented for being one of his “flaws.” She also shares some details about Noah on her podcast. At the same time, Noah is grappling with what it costs to stay true to himself, recognizing that career dreams and life goals can be fluid. Even when life seems to be going well, Noah’s dilemma on “Nobody Wants This” is one anyone can relate to.
The supporting cast of “Nobody Wants This” is a reliable Shabbat table of characters that are always a blessing when they’re on screen. Timothy Simons plays Noah’s goofy, taller older brother, Sasha. Simons credited the costume designer, Negar Ali Klein, with helping him develop Sasha’s character. “She brought in this scumbag, Westside, expensive-LA-guy vibe that I hadn’t considered at all,” Simons said. “It was the most fun thing I’ve ever seen.”
Actress Jackie Tohn plays Sasha’s wife Esther. Tohn relishes being in the role of a curmudgeon, calling it a “dream role.” “This woman’s snarky Jewish mouth comes right out of my face,” Tohn said. “It was the biggest dream come true ever to even audition. You wrote the absolute shit out of it.”
Meanwhile, Justine Lupe, who plays Morgan, filmed much of the first season while pregnant and praised the costume team for keeping “the essence of Morgan while hiding everything that was happening.”
Tovah Feldshuh and Paul Ben-Victor round out the cast as Noah and Sasha’s parents, Bina and Ilan Roklov. Their early scenes embody every condescending stereotype of bad in-laws (and not just Jewish ones).
It’s a great show about millennials finding their place in a noisy world where everyone seems to have the right to opine on a private relationship. It’s hard not to root for Noah and Joanne. They’re doing what pretty much any couple does — trying to be great partners for each other while filtering the unsolicited advice of everyone around them.
Perhaps in a third season, The Jewish Journal may be a great place for one of the characters’ public opinions on Noah and Joanne to be broadcast to the Los Angeles Jewish Community.
