Nobody Wants This season 2 review: The honeymoon phase is officially over

Only a few days have passed for Joanne (Kristen Bell) and Noah (Adam Brody) since they reconciled at the end of Nobody Wants This season one. But in real time, plenty has changed for the leads in this little romcom that could. 

Big stars aside, few could have predicted just quite how popular Erin Foster’s show would become. This story of a sex podcaster and humble rabbi falling in love could have easily got lost in the endless Netflix scroll, while criticisms of the cruel stereotyping of Jewish women as unattractive nags didn’t exactly help either.

But just like the love Joanne and Noah share, Nobody Wants This defied the odds to become an instant favourite thanks to its breezy charm and the incredible chemistry shared by the two leads. Season one even received three Emmy nominations, including acting plaudits for Bell and Brody. 

With such acclaim also comes higher expectations this time around. Throw in two new showrunners, Jenni Konner (Girls) and Bruce Eric Kaplan (Six Feet Under), and plenty really has changed. The problem is that not everything has changed for the better.

Nobody Wants This starts off strong in its sophomore season, charting what love looks like for Joanne and Noah once the initial blissful period over. The pair even describe this new chapter as such in the season two premiere when they decide to host their first dinner party together. 

Season two shines in these moments, even threatening to surpass season one

Things are going well — despite Morgan (Justine Lupe) being Morgan and an emo turn from D’Arcy Carden’s Ryann — until talk of Joanne converting to Judaism rears its head again, reigniting issues temporarily tabled following the end of season one. 

As if that wasn’t intense enough, the episode ends with Noah losing out on his dream job to another Noah, one who doesn’t have an agnostic girlfriend who’s still on the fence when it comes to joining the Jewish fold.

At first, the season comes at this tension from a different place, combining these pressures with the everyday challenges resulting from deepening a relationship to the point where you begin melding together as one. 

The result is a series of entertaining, (mostly) stand-alone episodes themed in various ways: from a basketball game and an in-law’s birthday to Valentine’s Day and Leighton Meester’s much-hyped guest turn as Abby, a Momfluencer slash arch nemesis from Joanne’s days at middle school. This in itself is a welcome rarity in the streaming age where most episodes of any given show bleed into one long binge without any individual characteristics of their own.

This is where Nobody Wants This hews closer to the kind of weekly network shows that first made stars of Bell and Brody, balancing laughs and deeper characterisation with longer throughlines that are organically woven into each story. Season two shines in these moments, even threatening to surpass season one. 

As funny as it is to see Noah’s mother Bina (Tovah Feldshuh) strut onto the basketball court like a mob boss or watch in awe slash horror as Sasha (Timothy Simons) performs an Ariana Grande dance for his wife, more time is given to fleshing out the supporting cast this time as well.

Lupe is given far more to play with, balancing out the obnoxious one-liners with some much needed-depth. The walls come down as Morgan admits to needing Joanne more than she’d like to admit, and a surprise relationship twist also increases her screen time plenty too.

Esther Roklov, whose turn as Jackie Tohn is bumped up to season regular this time, is far more likeable and well-rounded, probably in direct response to criticisms levelled at the show last year. Detractors appalled by the depiction of Jewish women in season one may still have some issues with this new batch of episodes, but it’s clear that the writers have been listening and are trying to make up for past mistakes by softening the jokes levelled their way.

Noah’s obsessive need to play the “good boyfriend” role is revealed to be more toxic than either he or the show previously wanted to admit

Another problem with the first season (which received way less attention last year) was how it depicted Noah as nigh on perfect. Or at least didn’t devote as much time to unpacking his flaws in the same way it did his female counterparts. Episode four, the Valentine’s Day episode, dives into this for a series highlight where Noah’s obsessive need to play the “good boyfriend” role is revealed to be more toxic than either he or the show previously wanted to admit.

But just as season two hits its stride, the glory days for the show itself begin to wane with a second half that’s noticeably weaker than the first. It’s as if the writers lost confidence in themselves, pulling back from the depth of these first few episodes with a shift towards far more predictable tensions that quickly grow tired and repetitive. 

The charm of Morgan is her chaotic approach to life yet where she ends up by the end of this season couldn’t be more obvious. Nobody Wants This also spins its wheels when it comes to the question of Joanne’s potential conversion, repeating itself over and over with diminishing effect. That’s the backbone of the tension in the central relationship, and resolving it quickly wouldn’t have been the right answer either, but the cyclical way it is handled lacks appeal.

It doesn’t help that charismatic support from the likes of Sherry Cola and D’Arcy Carden has been reduced further (although it’s not like they were even in the first season much anyway, come to think of it). Of course, something has to give, and I’ll take more emphasis on the likes of Morgan, Sasha and Esther any day. But still. Guest starring turns from The Studio’s Seth Rogen and comedian Kate Berlant generate a few laughs, although I couldn’t help but feel that they should have been used more too. 

Yet with consistently strong turns from everyone involved, some even better than last time, you could say I’m just being greedy at this point.  

By the time season two ends, every character is in a very different place than they were at the start. The honeymoon phase is well and truly over, setting up real potential for a new kind of show, three seasons in. If only these last minute turns didn’t feel so rushed after the season spent so much time repeating itself beforehand.

…plenty really has changed. The problem is that not everything has changed for the better

Should you watch Nobody Wants This season 2?

Nobody Wants This adds depth to the majority of the supporting cast yet feels less focused than before, especially when repetition starts sinking in. Past critiques have clearly been taken on board, but new problems emerge as the central relationship we love begins to spin on its wheels. Will Joanne and Noah go the distance? Most likely. But will the show itself? Here’s hoping.

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