In lesser hands, the premise for the latest Netflix comedy series might have resulted in Cringe TV, like something out of a TikTok parody video or “SNL” sketch: “It’s the mid-2000s crossover we always wanted! Kristen Bell from ‘Veronica Mars’ is Joanne, an outspoken and agnostic blonde with a sexually explicit podcast, and Adam Brody from ‘The O.C.’ is Noah, a hot rabbi from a traditional Jewish family.
How can these two VERY different people make a romance work? After all ...
Nobody Wants This!” Talk about a title that could be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Of course, it’s all in the execution, and the good news is that “Nobody Wants This” is a smart, breezy, warmhearted and consistently funny show, with each episode playing like a mini version of an endearing rom-com. Inspired by the real-life experience of creator Erin Foster, this is a sweet confection that nevertheless has enough bite and edge to avoid delving into the mawkish.
It’s also refreshingly candid while being respectful in its treatment of Judaism, and yet not shying away from mining humor from certain tropes and misconceptions. In the 1990s and 2000s, the leads in rom-com series and films would often work in magazine publishing or advertising or at TV station; these days, they have a podcast. So it goes with Kristen Bell’s Joanne and her sister and best friend Morgan (Justine Lupe, Willa on “Succession”).
They’re both single and they’ve been through all the dating apps more th.
