It’s hard to believe that September is almost here, bringing with it a new school year and autumn leaves and A NEW NETFLIX SHOW ABOUT A HOT RABBI OMG!!!
The trailer just dropped for Netflix’s “Nobody Wants This,” the rom-com starring Adam Brody as a hot rabbi (no, really, he is literally called that in the trailer) named Noah, and Kristen Bell as the very nice and very not Jewish woman, Joanne, who falls in love with him, and it has my previously curmudgeonly self officially excited for fall.
In the trailer, we get a glimpse of how the two meet. Joanne, who has been in a series of bad relationships, at least according to her sister and co-podcaster, meets Noah at a party. She at first doesn’t know he’s a rabbi and shares the gossip with him that there’s a rabbi at the party, saying, “He has a beard, and he was definitely judging me.”
“Sounds like a rabbi,” Noah sheepishly admits.
When he asks his friend about Joanne sitting not far from her at the table, she tells him, “There is not a Jewish bone in her body… unless you put one in her,” (ooh la la!) and when Joanne realizes Noah is the rabbi, he responds with a, “That’s hot, right?” (RIGHT!)
Brody and Bell have undeniable chemistry in this funny and slightly steamy trailer (as steamy as Netflix trailers for shows that aren’t “Love Island” can get). We see them flirting, making out and cuddling, having hot interactions around ice cream and visiting a local sex store where Noah obviously dons a priest outfit and more obviously runs into some of his congregants. We also see Joanne visiting Noah’s synagogue, where she accidentally crosses herself (“That’s not our thing,” Noah awkwardly tells her) and meets Noah’s Jewish mom, played by legendary actress Tovah Feldshuh, who unfortunately does not break into a musical number in this trailer. Noah’s mother does not seem to be very into Joanne (“You’re never gonna end up my son,” she whispers to Joanne while they hug) and I am slightly worried about this stereotypical Jewish mom representation, even if I’m always happy to have more Tovah Feldshuh in my life. I’m also always more happy to have more Jackie Tohn in my life — the “G.L.O.W” actress plays a character named Esther, Noah’s sister-in-law, who very charmingly calls Joanne either “whore #1” or “whore #2” in the trailer.
Just like Joanne, I think we can all agree that Brody as Noah is completely crush-worthy — whether he’s wearing a tallis (yum) or a shirt that says “matzah ballers” while playing basketball (I now kind of want some “Nobody Wants This” merch). One thing is for sure: This show is breaking every stereotype when it comes to nebbishy Jewish men. Noah appears to be a nice Jewish boy who is both sexy and kind. As show creator Erin Foster told Tudum, “You don’t have to be with the bad boy that makes you feel like shit but really revs your engine, or the good guy who’s really boring. You can find both.”
The show was created by Foster, a podcaster and actor, and it is based on her own beautiful romance with her husband Simon Tichman. According to Foster, it’s about “the only good decision I ever made: falling for a nice Jewish boy.”
“But I realized that being happy is way harder than being miserable (there’s nothing to complain about). So, I created this show based on all the ways that finding the right person can be so hard. Nobody Wants This, but we do, and that’s all that matters.”
After watching this trailer, it definitely feels like the show is absolutely perfectly cast — Kristen and Adam bring a lot of the same energy that Foster and Tichman have when they’re on the Forster sisters’ podcast, “The World’s First Podcast.” Foster has shared how honored she was when Brody, known to an entire generation as Seth Cohen from “The O.C.” and most recently to the lovers of the excellent “Fleishman Is in Trouble” as Toby’s best friend Seth, agreed to play Rabbi Noah.
“He’s been so careful with what he’s done. For him to feel like this was his leading man comeback onto the scene in TV was a huge honor for me,” she shared.
“Nobody Wants This” premiers on September 26, just a week before Rosh Hashanah, which means you can start your holiday prep while watching this (hopefully) very sweet new show. We don’t know if, like Simon and Erin, who recently welcomed their first daughter and gave her the beautiful Hebrew name Noa (one of the most popular names in Israel this past year, fun fact!), Joanne and Noah get their happily ever after, but watching this trailer full of romantic spark certainly has me rooting for it (but maybe they can hold off a bit so we can get a season two).
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