Everybody wants what Joanne (Kristen Bell) and Noah (Adam Brody) have in Nobody Wants This. With Season 2 now streaming, we get to watch TV’s favorite couple break through the honeymoon phase and start the hard work of actually being a couple.
Season 1 captured the haze of the lovebirds falling for each other. Coming into Season 2, creator Erin Foster was excited to explore how their relationship deepens. “It’s such an interesting part of every relationship when you now have to see if you can make it work with each other’s friends, day-to-day routines, and how you handle the milestones that come in those first few months together from holidays, birthdays, and what you each think the future should look like,” she tells Tudum.
Fans have fallen for Season 2 just as hard as they did for Season 1, as have critics: Season 2 received three Golden Globe nominations, for lead performers Brody and Bell as well as for Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy. The Actor Awards also nominated Brody for a Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series.
Watch the trailer above, and continue reading for insight into the new season, streaming now on Netflix.
Created by Erin Foster and executive produced by her sister Sara Foster, the first season centered on an unlikely couple: Joanne, an agnostic and outspoken podcaster, and Noah, a kindhearted rabbi. Their unexpected courtship won over audiences and critics alike — both actors were nominated for Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and Critics Choice Awards. Brody won the latter.
“Creating Nobody Wants This will forever be a career highlight for me,” Foster told Netflix. “The incredible cast, crew, producers, and executives all made this into the show it is today, and to experience viewers’ reactions to this series now that it’s out in the world has been more than anything I could have dreamed.”
While Joanne and Noah’s blossoming romance drove the series, the supporting cast — including Justine Lupe and Timothy Simons as the couple’s wayward siblings — made the show unforgettable. This is also true of Season 2: Bell’s fellow Gossip Girl alum Leighton Meester (The Weekend Away), as well as Miles Fowler (Bottoms), Alex Karpovsky (Girls), and Arian Moayed (Succession, Inventing Anna), joined the already stacked roster. “If we got lucky with our main cast,” Foster says, “we got just as lucky with our guest stars.”
Meester guest-stars as Abby, Joanne’s nemesis from middle school who is now an Instagram mommy influencer. As she is married to Brody offscreen, Foster tells Tudum that “getting to create such a fun role for Leighton to play and getting to write her and Adam in a scene together was such a thrill for the writers’ room.” Fowler plays Lenny, Noah’s Matzah Ballers teammate who gets set up with Morgan (Lupe) and “brings such a cool and confident energy to the group,” says Foster.
Karpovsky plays recurring guest star Big Noah, an overly confident rabbi at Noah’s temple who Foster calls a “dream.” As another recurring guest star, Moayed is Dr. Andy, a charming, highly regarded (particularly by himself) psychotherapist who might just be the perfect match for Morgan. “Their pairing is so unexpected and fun to watch,” says Foster.
Jenni Konner (Girls) and Bruce Eric Kaplan (Girls, No Good Deed, Six Feet Under) joined as executive producers and showrunners for Season 2, and Nora Silver (Deli Boys, Welcome to Chippendales, Single Drunk Female) is also an executive producer.
“I’m so lucky to be able to continue this story,” said Foster, “and to do it alongside Jenni Konner and Bruce Eric Kaplan, who I’ve been such a fan of since Girls. … Justice for healthy relationships being the most romantic!”
Season 1 saw the lovebirds fall for each other quickly, but the fact that Joanne isn’t Jewish was a major complication for a rabbi. While Joanne considered converting, she admitted she wasn’t quite ready to commit to that process just yet. It seemed that the duo would have to go their separate ways, but Noah’s grand gesture in a parking lot after a bat mitzvah showed that he’s not ready to give up on their love — and neither is she.
Brody tells Tudum that he interpreted the ending as Noah promising Joanne, “I put you first. Everything else will work itself out, but I’m saying that you are my priority.”
Of course, “everything else” is a lot. The cultural differences between the two are vast, and Joanne isn’t necessarily beloved by Noah’s close-knit family. “In the light of day, will he still feel that way? I don’t know,” Brody adds. “It’s an open question.”
Luckily, Season 2 can dig into that tension as the duo decide to commit — or not.
“I think that’s what the show can explore,” Brody says. “What should he do? What should she do? What version of sacrifice is worth it? What constitutes growth, or what constitutes dimming yourself to be with someone else? It’s a sacrifice, but ideally, you grow together and you’re better for it — you don’t have to [lop] off a limb.”
New showrunners Konner and Kaplan described their new gig as a “dream,” with Konner adding, “Erin is the rare creator with a crystal clear voice and a genuinely collaborative spirit. I am a true fan of Erin’s show and also feel so lucky to be back in a room with two of my favorites, Bruce Kaplan and Sarah Heyward from Girls.”
“I am excited beyond belief to be a part of Season 2 of Nobody Wants This, created by the hilarious Erin Foster,” Kaplan told Netlfix. “It is such a unique and beautiful show, and I am already having the best time working on it.”
Season 2 is streaming now on Netflix. Need a refresher? Catch up on Season 1, available on Netflix now, and listen to Brody, Lupe, and the Foster sisters chat on Skip Intro with Krista Smith. Read up on everything you missed on Tudum, and keep checking back for more.
Additional reporting by Jean Bentley.
