Morgan (Justine Lupe) spent Season 1 of Nobody Wants This watching her sister, Joanne (Kristen Bell), fall head over heels for Rabbi Noah (Adam Brody). Just as swiftly as fans swooned over Noah and Joanne’s against-all-the-odds romance, they became obsessed with Joanne’s always witty, sometimes unwelcomingly blunt sister. Equipped with scene-stealing one-liners, a closet of enviable sweater vests, and a memorable bonnet, Morgan delivers the show’s biggest laughs as well as the most excruciating burns.
As Joanne, with whom Morgan speaks a minimum of 10 times a day, untangles herself from their boundary-less bond, Morgan is set adrift, forced to face thorny questions about her life. “She’s having a bit of an identity crisis, and she doesn’t really know how to deal,” says Lupe, known for her show-stopping turns in Succession and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. “She’s like, ‘Am I going to find someone? I’m in my mid to late thirties, I am alone, my sister just found her romantic partner, and am I going to find that?’ This season is all about Morgan dealing with that internal doubt and crisis.”
Simmering beneath her brassy confidence and banter, there’s vulnerability and fear that come with witnessing her sister, whom Lupe describes as “one of the loves of her life,” change and move on from their dynamic. Season 2 dives headfirst into this side of the fan-favorite character, buoyed by her signature sense of humor and surprising friendship with co-loser sibling Sasha (Timothy Simons), Noah’s brother.
And this season, it’s Morgan who navigates an unexpected new relationship — with her therapist, Dr. Andy, played by fellow Succession alum Arian Moayed (Inventing Anna). Morgan and Andy hurtle into their new relationship, lapping Joanne and Noah on relationship milestones, which results in the sisters experiencing some role reversal.
As Morgan steps into the spotlight in Season 2 of Nobody Wants This, what makes her so endlessly relatable and compulsively watchable is how she embraces every part of herself. “With Morgan, there’s a lack of restraint in being who she is. It’s all on the table,” Lupe tells Tudum. “People relate to the mess that she is in all of those colors. There’s a little bit of sloppiness, and she’s temperamental. People like watching someone who’s being themselves.” It makes sense that the characters feel so authentic: Creator Erin Foster, who based the series on her real life, executive produces the series with her sister Sara.
Catch up with Lupe on Season 2 of Nobody Wants This, and one split-second cameo you might have missed.
Morgan is outwardly skeptical of Joanne and Noah’s relationship, but at one point, she admits to Noah’s mom, Bina (Tovah Feldshuh), that she does want what they have. Can you tell me about that dynamic?
Lupe: Oh, man. In the first season, she feels that Joanne is not being herself in the relationship. It’s almost like Morgan is taking the dad’s job of being like, “Is this who wants to date my daughter?” and channeling it into a fifteen-year-old girl version of that. They have these regressive teenage tendencies towards each other, which I think we all do. Sometimes when I go home, I’m like, “Wow, I’m the version of myself that never left this house with my parents.”
Morgan feels the threat of Joanne leaving their codependent relationship. She’s like, “What about our podcast? You’re going to leave our enmeshment for this guy?” This season, Morgan has more of an acceptance of Noah: this is the guy for my sister. In that, she accepts she wants that too.
It takes her some time to realize Dr. Andy is not quite right for her. Why is she holding on to that relationship?
Lupe: I get emotional about it because I have so many girlfriends who are fucking beautiful, thoughtful, smart, talented girls, and they’re waiting to find their guys. It’s a very vulnerable position to be in. It takes bravery to have patience, especially when someone with whom you’re this enmeshed has found their person. She’s in denial about the situation and muscling it into a place that is not authentic because she’s scared of being alone. It takes her mom reading her the riot act to give her the strength to say, “I am going to be brave enough to wait.” There’s something heartbreaking when Morgan says, “I don’t want to go back on the apps.” This whole season is her holding on to whatever tether she can to make her feel safe.
What kind of attributes do you think she’s looking for in a partner?
Lupe: I have no idea what Morgan’s looking for in a partner because she doesn’t seem to be excited by Dr. Andy in any specific way. I imagine that Morgan is drawn to someone who’s unabashedly themselves because she’s pretty authentically herself most of the time. My instinct is to think of my husband because there are parts of Morgan that I am familiar with, and my husband does a really good job of offering calm to my impulsiveness, while also being incredibly charismatic, friendly, and outgoing. I would wish someone like that for Morgan.
It’s not out of the question to get your husband cast, considering how many real-life couples are on the show.
Lupe: He had a cameo this season. He’s the guy who’s drawing my portrait in the Valentine’s Day episode. He drew the portrait of me that goes into the finale. [Lupe’s husband] Tyson [Mason] has zero interest in acting, and I had to beg him to do the part. even though he is not even on camera.
Nobody Wants This is about so many types of love, including between Joanne and Morgan. Can you describe their relationship and the show’s approach to nonromantic love?
Lupe: They’re kind of boundary-less in their relationship. They’re very reactive. They’re fiercely loyal to each other. The show does a really good job of showing two women who are colorful and aspirational characters, but also have real flaws and blind spots.
It’s very clear that Erin and Sara are soulmates of a kind, that they fiercely support each other, and their identity is very interwoven. Because of that, Erin did an incredible job of fleshing out the different dimensions of the love story between these sisters. I’m in love with this sisterhood.
What’s it like working with Kristen Bell?
Lupe: We’re both cuddly, heart-forward, intimacy junkies, so it created this very quick, fast friendship. Kristen is a fun, playful, and present actress. She’s always listening, she’s always there with you. It just makes for a really good time in these scenes. She's also just a really dear friend.
Tell me about working with Timothy Simons, and about developing Morgan and Sasha’s friendship in Season 2?
Lupe: Tim is one of my favorite people I’ve ever met. He’s one of my best friends now. I’m so lucky that I get to work with him because he’s an amazing actor. There’s something very bizarre and ambiguous between Morgan and Sasha in Season 1. Whether it’s platonic or romantic attraction, it’s very vague. I think that that’s what people are drawn to, watching these two oddballs grow close to each other in this unnameable way.
What happens in Season 2 is that they choose to channel that magnetism into a real support system for each other. Morgan understands that Sasha and Esther are going through something substantial. When Sasha says, “If she thinks I’m going to wait around for her to find herself and maybe come back to me, then she’s exactly right.” That exchange clears up any doubt, because you can feel how honest it is.
How did it feel picking back up after Season 1 was so beloved globally? How did you resist that pressure?
Lupe: The primal version of me hopes that it won’t let anyone down, that it will fulfill the relationship people have with the show. I had to therapize myself and go, “We got to just put our heads down, not look forward or to the side, and just be here and enjoy this experience.” I couldn’t ask for a better crew of pals to go through this with. I have to let go and trust that whatever happens with the show will happen.
How did you build Morgan’s style?
Lupe: Negar Ali Kline is just phenomenal. She brings in fabulous pieces, and we play around with what looks good together. What’s going on with Morgan in this moment? What is her function in the episode? It’s a really communicative, collaborative relationship, and she has a really clear point of view as a costume designer.
I would’ve never in a million years have thought of that first outfit at the dinner party. Even the detail of Joanne closing the door on her and saying, “I didn’t see you” while Morgan’s got this massive bear on her — it’s so amazing. Wearing the black leather dress to the baby shower. I was like, “Girl, go off.”
What do you hope fans take away from Season 2?
Lupe: The most awesome part of art is you don’t really know what people are going to take away from it. There’s more depth to this season, and some of the stuff is more serious. But it is a light show with good people being good to each other. Right now, we’re in a tough moment culturally and globally. So I hope it brings people a little bit of levity.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
