Everybody really wanted this - Netflix's 'Nobody Wants This' Review

I’ve been burned by a few shows that I was looking forward to this year (*cough* ‘The Boys’, ‘House of the Dragon’, ‘The Bear’ *cough*) but you know what hasn’t let me down at all? My Romance shows! My current top 3 of the year are ‘One Day’, ‘It’s Okay to Not Be Okay' (K-Drama blog incoming) and ‘Love Island USA’ (yes, I'm counting this as a Romance show because the journeys the three final couples went through had me giggling, kicking my feet and screaming as much as any ‘scripted’ romance of the past 5 years and honestly, if you haven’t seen this season of LIUSA, do yourself a favour and tune in).

So you can imagine my excitement and utter delight when I watched the trailer for Nobody Wants This, a show starring two of my teenage favorites: Veronica Mars and Seth Cohen. When the show arrived on Netflix last week, I went in expecting something light. In the end, it surpassed my expectations: it had no right to be as moving as it was. It reminded me a lot of ‘The Idea of You’ (Amazon’s age-gap definitely-not-about-Harry Styles movie) and not just because it was also set in LA. Like with ‘The Idea of You’, I went into ‘Nobody Wants This’ expecting something pretty straightforward and was then smacked over the head with hard-hitting questions about love, identity, family, religion, and life itself. So like super low-key, chill stuff. Let’s dive in.

Firstly, the premise. Kristen Bell plays Joanne, a non-Jewish podcaster who co-hosts a show about ‘sex and relationships in the modern age’ with her sister (played brilliantly by Justine Lupe, of ‘Succession’ fame). Adam Brody’s Noah is a Rabbi at his local Temple, looking to be promoted. They meet (very sizzlingly) at a mutual friend’s dinner party and romcom shenanigans ensue. The first two episodes of this show evoke the screwball comedies of the 40s - fast-paced dialogue, a wisecracking heroine, a charming love interest who is the only one who can keep up with her. It was a relief to watch because I’ve been decrying the loss of the Romantic Comedy (rather dramatically because I am a Leo) and I’ve never been more ecstatic to be wrong. I adored this show so much, that I didn’t even hate the fact that the main character had a podcast!

The highlight — other than the insane chemistry between these two — is how upfront and honest Noah and Joanne were with each other. Conventional wisdom about romance in TV shows is that you need to keep the central couple apart as long as possible because all the tension is in the getting together not the being together. Not so with ‘Nobody Wants This’. In the show, like in life, navigating a healthy relationship is just as dramatic as the act of falling in love. Meeting each other’s friends and family, navigating the baggage of past relationships and trying to meld lives is rich enough in conflict to be the sole focus of a show. As a result, miscommunication was almost never the impetus for this couple’s challenges, and when it was, it was resolved almost immediately. Instead, the issues felt real - they were complicated, adult issues. So complicated and adult that I often found myself wondering, Geez guys, what are we gonna do here?

The fun, and also slightly heartbreaking, thing is that these lovebirds are perfect for each other; they’re deeply compatible and are the perfect counterbalance to the other’s weaknesses. Where Joanne is impatient, Noah is diligent and while he can be a bit of a pushover, she is firm about her boundaries. They have shared values, a shared sense of humour, shared level of kink. It’s not a OHMYGOD GET OVER YOURSELVES kind of romcom. I simply ADORED season 2 of Bridgerton but after a certain point weren’t we all like sorry, what exactly is the problem here? Why can’t you be together? Refreshingly, Joanne and Noah don’t need to overcome themselves in order to be together. However, we’re then left with the question of whether or not these two, despite everything, can actually make it work and that was magic to watch. A mystery dressed up as a romance.

I think romcom haters are often people who’ve exclusively seen bad ones and consider them to be without substance. All genres have bad movies, that’s not unique to stories about love and of course a lot of that has to do with misogyny. However, a romcom done well is seeking to answer life’s fundamental questions, and, just like all storytelling, is intended to reveal something about human nature. Love is everything and everywhere, it gives life meaning so why would the stories whose purpose is to depict that be worthless?

Ultimately, I loved the questions that ‘Nobody Wants This’ was asking, rooted in one of humankind’s central preoccupations: love versus duty. It has driven characters to madness and even death. It was the driving force in the aforementioned second season of Bridgerton (which, I cannot stress enough, I deeply deeply loved).

The show’s tag line “Will they. Won’t they. Should they?” is indeed about the central theme of love but ultimately I think the show is also concerned with exploring something that we all ask ourselves and each other: can you be a different person, especially if other people won’t let you? If you’re constantly reminded of the person you’re trying to move away from, are your efforts ultimately doomed and, therefore, you shouldn’t bother trying at all? I personally don’t think this question is unanswerable. It isn’t about becoming an entirely ‘new’ person, it’s about evolution. If we’re dedicated enough, we can commit to the act of doing things differently from the way we did them before. Everyone is capable of that, the real question is whether or not people want to do it.

Joanne is always choosing guys who are emotionally unavailable and on the surface falling for a Rabbi, when she knows it could very likely not work, is very much in-keeping with this pattern of behavior. However, she constantly approaches situations with him in ways that differ from past relationships and, contrary to her self-described past experiences, he is steadfast in his commitment to her. With ‘Nobody Wants This’ you think you’re getting one type of dynamic and it is immediately flipped on its head. This idea is very much reflected in the story as everyone in Joanne’s life thinks she’s too good for the Rabbi whereas everyone in Noah’s life thinks he’s as far from the thoughtful, responsible guy that is too good for Joanne as one could be.

In truth, neither the people who say Noah is a ‘good’ person nor those that say Joanne is a ‘bad’ person have the power to make it so. But the show deals with how hard it is to see past the judgment and opinions of the people who, in theory, know you best, and how their thoughts can complicate one's sense of self. Are we who we think we are or who other people say we are? It is a question that the show can, and absolutely should, spend multiple seasons trying to answer. Don’t get me wrong, I would have happily watched, and, I’m sure enjoyed, the cliched version of this story. The surprising places it took its central pair is what elevates it from from fun watch to highly recommend.

Rating: highly recommend

Where to watch: Netflix (thankfully)