Note: This story contains spoilers from the “Nobody Wants This” finale.
As Netflix’s “Nobody Wants This” deepens its exploration into what happens when a rabbi (Adam Brody) and a shiksa (Kristen Bell) fall in love, Joanne and Noah face what seems to be an impossible issue in the finale. But as creator Erin Foster took inspiration from “Sixteen Candles” for that heart-melting ending, she and the show’s stars are “all in” on Season 2.
After Bell’s Joanne makes peace with converting to Judaism, the finale sees Joanne confess to Noah that she’s not ready to convert, leading her to break off their relationship amid Noah’s promotion to head rabbi. While Joanne might’ve considered converting as an “interesting … [and] exciting thing to add to [her] life,” Foster noted the seriousness of the decision “in practice,” saying she’s “just … not there yet.” In fact, those words are spoken by Joanne in the show.
“I like the idea of her getting to a place where she would be willing to change herself for a great guy, but then also admitting the truth that she wouldn’t really be doing it for the right reasons,” Foster told TheWrap.
The decision not to convert doesn’t make Joanne any more or any less of a “feminist” or “modern woman” to Foster, who believes “we’re all a little bit of everything.” Instead, she said Joanne is an “independent woman who’s ambitious and career-driven,” falling for “someone who’s more traditional.”
“I do think it’s also OK for a woman to change some things of herself for a traditional person, the same way it should be OK for a man to change parts of himself for someone who’s more unconventional,” Foster said. “I just wanted to end it on that like question of, ‘I’m willing to meet you in the middle; I’m willing to sacrifice things to be together, but I also have to be true to myself.’”
“Nobody Wants This” gives viewers the romantic ending they deserve as Noah races after Joanne, and in the final moments of the season, Noah admits to Joanne he can’t have both his promotion and a non-Jewish girlfriend, and even still, kisses her.
“I wanted for the audience to really believe … Joanne is leaving — She has done the thing that’s really hard to do, which is end a relationship that she wants to be in, but for the right reasons, and he’s not coming after her because he’s also healthy enough to accept what somebody tells him,” Foster said. “I really wanted it to feel like an unexpected surprise when you see him there waiting for her at the end.”
Specifically citing John Hughes’ classic film “Sixteen Candles,” Foster wanted to leave off on a “romantic ending,” saying her aim was for the show to feel “crushable” and ultimately give viewers that satisfying end they’ve been craving.
“I really do think this is the kind of show where you want to give the audience what they want,” she said. “I’m not trying to make some artistic choice that strips the audience of the happy ending that they want. But you also don’t want to clean it up too much where there’s nowhere to go.”
When it comes to Season 2, Foster and the leads are all in, with Brody jokingly telling TheWrap he’s interested in a potential next installment, “contractually and spiritually.”
“I would love to do a Season 2; Kristen and Adam would love to do a Season 2,” Foster said. “There’s so much more story to tell so if people like the show, then I would be really excited to keep telling it.”
Netflix hasn’t yet renewed the series, but it’s been on top of the Top 10 list all weekend. Stay tuned.
All episodes of “Nobody Wants This” are now streaming on Netflix.
