The cast of “Nobody Wants This” sat down with TVLine to unpack Season 2’s biggest relationship turns. Watch the spoiler-filled interview above, then read on for Adam Brody and Kristen Bell’s reflections on Noah and Joanne’s next chapter.
Early in “Nobody Wants This” Season 2, Noah and Joanne decide to table their discussion about conversion. But after Noah leaves his temple in search of a more inclusive community, the couple’s differing timelines test their love like never before.
“I think he’s tabled it, and he’s okay with that, and now he’s just hoping that he can make his life work [without rushing Joanne],” Brody tells TVLine. But in Episode 9, when the prospect of cohabitation arises, Noah draws a line in the sand.
“He’s taken some of the onus off converting and is just going, ‘I’m cool if we live separately; if you’re cool, I’m cool,'” Brody continues.
But Joanne is not cool with it — and it nearly tears them apart.
Joanne’s Lightbulb Moment Changes Everything
Erin Simkin/Netflix
I ask Kristen Bell if Joanne’s hesitation stems from her complicated upbringing. As she explains to Noah, she grew up with a mother who could never settle on one identity, and a closeted father who hid his own. Does Joanne fear that converting to Judaism would mean giving up her current identity — or perhaps repeating her parents’ mistakes?
“Perhaps,” Bell answers. “Because her mom had so many identities and her dad kept his hidden, it caused Joanne to plant a flag in the ground — this is my identity. She has all these characteristics that define her and make her feel safe, because anything other would be a threat to that identity.”
Still, Joanne’s understanding of faith — and of herself — evolves in the finale, when a conversation with Esther changes her perspective.
“It was actually more of a lightbulb moment,” Bell explains. “It’s one of those things that feels so random — you could have it anywhere — but it’s when a friend or acquaintance just gives you a different pair of glasses to look through. What Esther says to her on that couch — ‘You have all these Jewish qualities already; you’re not changing at all’ — lets Joanne completely reformulate what that identity would look like.”
Our conversation continues in the video above with series creator Erin Foster and co-showrunner Jenni Konner, who weigh in on whether Joanne’s “lightbulb moment” means she and Noah might finally move in together in a potential Season 3.
Watch our Q&A, then grade “Nobody Wants This” Season 2 via the following poll, before leaving a comment with your full review.
