This time last year, Kristen Bell and Adam Brody’s “Nobody Wants This” was the breakout rom-com of the season that actually did the genre justice (despite its criticized portrayal of Jewish women) and had audiences saying the exact opposite of its title.
Unfortunately, Season 2 of the Emmy-nominated Netflix series is living up to its name.
To be fair, “Nobody Wants This” doesn’t stray too far from its original premise this time around. After somewhat accepting their religious differences, Joanne (Bell) and “hot rabbi” Noah (Brody) continue navigating their relationship in Season 2, albeit with even more challenges that test whether the unlikely couple can survive their wildly different lifestyles.
The most charming part about the show’s debut season was Joanne and Noah’s courting/falling-in-love phase, which was much more entertaining to watch than seeing their rocky relationship on the verge of falling apart. Season 2 makes it clear that the honeymoon phase is officially over, as Noah’s dilemma about Joanne converting to Judaism only grows more urgent to the point that, yes, it almost tears them apart again.
What I loved most about “Nobody Wants This” was that it was a lighthearted watch about a swoonworthy romance, but most of that magic is lost in Season 2. The writers of the show seemed to listen to viewers’ complaints about how characters like Esther (Jackie Tohn) were portrayed as mean and nagging, finally giving her a bit more depth as she navigates marital troubles with Sasha (Timothy Simons). However, they forgot to maintain the magic that made us fall for the show in the first place.
As quick as I binged Season 1, I found it daunting to power through Season 2’s episodes just as fast. Some just weren’t that interesting, while others felt like a rehashing of Season 1’s storylines. Case in point: Season 2’s finale is basically a remix of Season 1’s, another fairytale ending for Joanne and Noah after they briefly split.
If this is the best the show has to offer now, then, indeed, nobody wants this for another season. Considering how things end, it might be good to call it quits before the series runs its course.
All episodes of “Nobody Wants This” are streaming now on Netflix.