There’s magic in a great cast. Get a great group together, whether it’s on “Friends” or “Cheers” or “Grey’s Anatomy,” and even the most humble material can feel elevated. And if a show can build a love story with that cast, with people the audience love and feel invested in, then its star can only rise higher.
That’s certainly bound to be the case after everyone watches the new season of “Nobody Wants This.” The Netflix series starring Kristen Bell and Adam Brody as sarcastic podcaster Joanne and almost too-charming rabbi Noah wormed its way into the hearts of those looking for a feel-good love story with its first season, but its second season — out Thursday — surpasses the original material in every sense.
There could be a reason for that behind the scenes, with the show’s original showrunners, creator Erin Foster and executive producer Craig DiGregorio, stepping back in favor of fellow Hollywood vets Jenni Konner and Bruce Eric Kaplan, but without knowing what went on off-camera, it’s hard to put too fine a point on it —Foster penned both the season two premiere and the finale, so she’s still very involved. What is clear is that the show is sharper now, with more heft and a deeper dive into the lives of its characters, both central and ancillary, with Sasha (Timothy Simons), Esther (Jackie Tohn) and Morgan (Justine Lupe) getting more screen time, more tumult and just more to do, period. There’s more of Noah’s anti-Joanne mother Bina, too, and anytime you get more Tovah Feldshuh, that’s a blessing.
That’s not to say everything’s easy on “Nobody Wants This,” because with Joanne still struggling with whether she’s willing to convert to Judaism and Noah working to rectify his love for Joanne with his love for his job as a rabbi, things are anything but smooth sailing. But while that issue is certainly an undertone for the entire season, it keeps from becoming tiresome, instead becoming a hinge upon which each character can slightly pivot at points along the 10-episode run. Joanne doesn’t know how to be certain about anything other than that she loves Noah and Noah, as it turns out, maybe isn’t all that certain about who he is as a person or as a partner, but they’re willing to make it work — at least until (spoiler alert!) it looks like they might not be.
Season 2 has great guest stars, too, including “Girls” actor Alex Karpovsky, who comes in as “Big Noah,” a new rabbi introduced to rile up Brody’s character at Temple Chai. Seth Rogen and Kate Berlant take a turn as a couple of free-wheeling members from a left-leaning temple across town, and Brody’s actual wife, Leighton Meester, comes in as Joanne’s old middle school rival turned lifestyle influencer. There are, thankfully, adorable winks and nods at the couple’s off-screen relationship, too, with Noah at one point telling Joanne that Meester’s character isn’t his type.
The guest with the juiciest part is Lupe’s former “Succession” co-star Arian Moayed, who enters the show as Dr. Andy, Morgan’s therapist turned boyfriend, a situation that’s as dicey and fraught as that set-up would suggest.
But while “Nobody Wants This” certainly relies on its wide-ranging and incredibly talented ancillary cast, it’s Brody and Bell that make the show what it is. There’s an easy magic between the two that’s almost impossible to find, and their love story never seems overly schmaltzy or unrealistic. (Their homes in L.A., though, are another story.) You can believe, as a viewer, that Joanne and Noah really do love each other, that they can be at both their best and worst around each other, and that, to use a Yiddish term, they’re beshert or “meant to be” — provided, that is, that they can get out of their own heads. It’s hard to find two more likable individual actors than Brody and Bell, and yet somehow together, they seem to shine even brighter. They’re the magnetic core of “Nobody Wants This,” drawing you in as a viewer but also elevating everyone else around them.
“Nobody Wants This” also seems like a fun show to make, with a good-natured vibe that trickles onto the screen, making the show feel warmer and more familial. You believe that Brody and Simons play semi-shoddy basketball on their off hours, and if Bell and Lupe don’t have the ability to banter like their on-screen sisters in real life, I’d be surprised. There’s joy in watching something that’s technically great, to be sure, but there’s also joy in watching something that just feels good, and that’s always the case with this show.
It’s hard to imagine that there’s not a future for “Nobody Wants This” either, with Season 2 ending on a few cliffhangers that fans would be devastated not to see resolved. While Netflix hasn’t announced a Season 3, it would be foolish to step away from this series provided viewership numbers are right. It’s a winning bet on every level, and a show the streamer should be proud to host.
And like everything else about “Nobody Wants This,” that’s comforting, because it’s nice to see good rom-coms thriving on TV, especially starring a couple of grown-ass adults. It’s as smart as anything else on TV right now, including more serious fare on other channels and streamers, and, like Joanne and Noah, it truly deserves all the love it’s got coming.
“Nobody Wants This” Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
